Operation Backlog Completion 2026

New .hack Game Announced!

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Feb 162026
 

I thought we’d be talking about a Valentine’s Day game today, but that will have to wait for next time, because we have some exciting news to discuss.

A new .hack game has finally been announced!

That’s right, it’s really happening this time.

After the past few times we got our hopes up for .hack news only to be disappointed, I barely even considered it when I saw CyberConnect2 was going to announce a new game… and then I woke up to the announcement of .hack//Z.E.R.O.

.hack//Z.E.R.O. is a brand-new action RPG being fully developed and self-published by CyberConnect2 (instead of being published by Bandai Namco).

In an interview with Famitsu, translated here by Gematsu, CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama clarified that despite the similar title, this game is not connected to the light novel series .hack//ZERO.

He also said that the new game will more elements of real-world drama than previous entries did, despite still being focused on the in-game MMORPG “The World.”

This is exciting news. 2017’s .hack//G.U. remaster hinted at potentially a new game, but it’s been so long since then that I assumed remasters of the original 4 games were all we could expect, and even that felt increasingly unlikely. Now, with the revelation that .hack//Z.E.R.O. has been in the making for 10 years, it might have been a clue after all.

Either way, I’m looking forward to learning more about .hack//Z.E.R.O.! I’d still love for the original four to get remastered sometime, but a whole new game is even better.

What are your thoughts on the new .hack game?

CyberConnect2 Wants Fans to Ask Bandai Namco About .hack Remakes

 Video games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jul 192023
 

Remember a year ago when we got our hopes up unreasonably for a potential collection of the original .hack games, only for them to be dashed?

(“Last Recollection” turned out to be a Sword Art Online game.)

Well, .hack hopes are in the air once again – not because of any rumors, but because the developers would like to see it return as much as the fans would.

For a quick explanation if you’re unfamiliar with the series, .hack began with four games developed by CyberConnect2 for the PlayStation 2 set in a fictional MMORPG.

These four games are .hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and .hack//Quarantine. This is why you might sometimes see the original quadrilogy referred to as IMOQ, taking the first letter of each title.

The original four games were followed by an actual MMORPG adaptation in Japan, an anime series, manga, novel tie-ins, and other additions to the franchise, and eventually a sequel trilogy for the PlayStation 2 called .hack//G.U., along with even more spin-offs and tie-ins.

So while conversations about the series often focus on IMOQ and GU, there’s been a lot of .hack media over the years.

Anyway, 2017 saw the release of a remastered collection of the sequel trilogy, .hack//G.U. Last Recode, which also added a short fourth volume. The original four games, however, remain stranded on the PS2 without any ports or remasters in sight.

I played .hack//G.U. thanks to the Last Recode collection, and I enjoyed it! Although some parts were repetitive, the story was interesting enough to keep me invested. It came with a recap of the first four games that I watched, but I’d love to have a chance to play them.

In a recent interview with Noisy Pixel, the Vice President of CyberConnect 2 said they would love to bring back or remake the original .hack quadrilogy, but can’t do so without Bandai Namco’s permission. They “urge the readers to fire away all the requests to them so that we can get the green light from them to work on those titles.”

This has led to a new wave of fans tweeting with the hashtag #dothack and petitioning Bandai Namco in the hopes that the series will return.

Fan movements are nothing new – some of my earliest blog posts here are about trying to get Capcom to localize Ace Attorney Investigations 2 (which I still haven’t given up on) – but it’s less common for it to happen at the developer’s request. If enough .hack fans make their voices heard, maybe we’ll see the a .hack quadrilogy collection or even a brand-new .hack series after all!

Bandai Namco Celebrates .hack’s 20th Anniversary

 Video games  1 Response »  Tagged with: ,
Jun 202022
 

Today is the 20th anniversary of the .hack series, which most recently saw its second trilogy remastered as .hack//GU Last Recode.

Since Bandai Namco is celebrating the anniersary, fans were hoping it might include a game announcement, either a collection of the original quadrilogy or an all-new title.

So far, however, that hasn’t happened. Bandai Namco released a video celebrating the series with a 20th Anniversary book, an art compendium, a commemorative soundtrack CD, and digital publications that will be available in Japan.

They also announced a 20th Anniversary exhibit that will be held from August 9-28.

That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re out of luck for a new game announcement, though.

As reported by Gematsu, Bandai Namco trademarked the name “Last Recollection” back in April. Due to the similarity with the title Last Recode, there’s some speculation Last Recollection will be a collection of the first four games.

.hack//GU Last Recode also had a line in Vol. 4 (an epilogue story added for the collection) that could have been a tease for a future .hack game, although it’s been several years now since Last Recode came out.

Anyway, since they’re opening the exhibit in August, it doesn’t sound like they consider today to be the conclusion of the anniversary celebration. Maybe in the weeks ahead, we’ll hear about a new .hack title after all. What do you think?