After skipping Xbox for 20 years, a major Japanese studio returns with the reveal of their latest RPG which looks like 'Animal Crossing' with multiplayer combat (2025)

Level 5 games of Ni No Kuni fame have returned to Xbox, with their first self-published effort in 20 years.

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC, which is a full on sequel to the classic Fantasy Life from the 3DS. Fantasy Life is a "slow life" RPG that will be familiar for players of games like Animal Crossing, where maintaining farms, fishing, building a home, and maintaining social links form the basis of play.

Fantasy Life diverges a fair bit from Animal Crossing, in that it is also a more traditional RPG complete with combat, complete with a deeper story. Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time also features cross-play, cross-progression for up to four friends, with "light" MMO elements and multiplayer combat, and definitely looks like one of the most promising upcoming Xbox and PC games for 2025.

FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time should be a great 'Animal Crossing' alternative for Xbox and PC players

Level 5's Ni No Kuni franchise came to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Cloud Gaming a little while ago, ported by Bandai Namco. Level 5 itself is publishing Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, however, which marks the first self-published Level 5 game on Xbox in a long, long time.

• FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time is coming to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC.
• It's a so-called "slow life" RPG reminiscent of Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing, albeit with deep story elements and multiplayer combat.
• Your character joins eccentric archaeologist Edward on an adventure to an uncharted island in Reveria to study fossilized dragons. Perhaps some of those dragons aren't so fossilized after all. (Also technically, that's palaeontology not archaeology, but we'll let it slide.)
• You will create your own character, build your own island home, decorate your house, and pick from 14 "Lives" which include combat classes such as Paladin, Mercenary, Magician, and Hunter, as well as gatherers like Angler, Woodcutter, and professions like Artist and Blacksmith.
• You'll be able to battle monsters, craft weapons and items, gather materials, and dungeon crawl.
• The game also sports cross-play and cross-progression, with multiplayer for up to four people, alongside 2-player couch co-op.
• Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time launches on May 21, 2025.

Seeing Level 5 support Xbox is an unexpected and welcome surprise

The last time the legendary studio even mentioned Xbox as far as I could find was several years ago in an interview with Gematsu. Level 5 was working on an MMORPG for the original Xbox, which Microsoft cancelled. CEO Akihiro Hino reminisced, "I do [want to make an MMO]. I always think, ‘If I get a chance I want to make one.’ However, I still feel the pain of having to cancel True Fantasy Live Online." Fans of Level 5 games often cite the cancellation of True Fantasy Live Online as a reason Level 5's RPGs often skipped the platform in recent years.

Microsoft hired former PlayStation exec Mena Sato Kato a few years ago, tasked with rebuilding Xbox's developer footprint in Japan. Since then, we've seen many franchises that long-skipped Xbox return to the platform, with heavy hitters like Final Fantasy among them. There was a time where games like Fantasy Life i "exclusively skipping" Xbox was a common thing to see, but Xbox fans of Japanese games have plenty of reasons to celebrate lately. Hopefully, Xbox can convince Cygames and Nihon Falcom to join the Xbox party next (and also get me a port for Monster Hunter Stories from Capcom, thanks!!).

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time drops on May 21, 2025 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch. Thanks to Jaber Altarrah for the tip!

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