Last year, Level-5 announced Professor Layton and The New World of Steam, a long-awaited new entry in the developer’s beloved puzzle game series.

During the Tokyo Game Show 2024 (via Automaton Media), Level-5’s CEO Akihiro Hino spoke a bit about the franchise’s long absence and surprise revival. According to Hino, Level-5 received a “strong push” from “Company N” to release a new entry, despite having considered the series concluded previously.

“There hasn’t been [a new title] in almost 10 years. The series concluded briefly.”

“Certain individual(s) from the industry really wanted us to release a new game…we had a strong push coming from company “N.”

“When I heard these opinions, I started to think it would be good to make a new game so that fans could enjoy the series at the level of quality provided by the latest console,”

Many believe that “Company N” refers to Nintendo, whose consoles served as a home for many of Professor Layton’s adventures. In which case, it seems fans of the series have Nintendo to thank for its revival.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.