Development
Type-Moon producer Kazuya Niinō joined Imageepoch through CEO Ryo Mikagi to collaborate on a project. Niinō later contacted Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi for a proposed collaboration on the development of a new game in the Fate series, which, according to the producer, was to implement various genres.[9] At the time, Type-Moon was involved in the finalization of Fate/hollow ataraxia, and had short-term plans to develop other projects–for which Nasu was forced to refuse the role as producer.
Despite the failure, Niinō did not abandon the idea of creating a new game, and in 2007, prepared a more detailed proposal: a Japanese role-playing game, with a plot for a fundamentally new Holy Grail War not related to the events of Fate/stay night.[9] The basis of the work and themes is set in the near future with the setting on the Moon, which was previously briefly mentioned by Nasu as an element of the Tsukihime series. In addition, a supercomputer controlling the work of the Holy Grail within the virtual reality world, in which protagonists would be placed. Due to the peculiarities of the setting, Kazuya decided to make a role-playing game with a lot of textual information, akin to the visual novel series.[10] The producers chose 3D graphics and seamless transition plans from a third party. To differentiate the product from the rest of the Fate franchise, Kazuya invited a third-party artist working under the pseudonym Arco Wada to design the characters, despite the fact that Takeuchi did all character illustrations for previous Type-Moon games.[9] Wada was commissioned to create an outwardly similar character to provoke the audience[11] which kept about "30% of the original design".[12] Niinō indicated to Wada that the Roman emperor Nero should become the historical prototype of the main heroic Servant.[12] The original sketch, made to imitate Takeuchi's style, was rejected, and Niinō insisted on depicting the character in Wada's own style without unnecessary detail.[11] When Type-Moon leaders received a new offer from Niinō, they planned to stop the expansion of the Fate franchise and move to work on new projects.[13] However, they considered the possibility of developing a role-playing game based on the visual novel since the creation of Fate/stay night, as they were fans of the genre and considered the elements of the setting of the Fate universe suitable for such a project.[13]
After the concept was approved, Niinō divided game development between two developers: Type-Moon, whose script and character design were supervised by Nasu and Takeuchi respectively; and Imageepoch, who assigned Shuetsu Kadowaki to be the head of program and create game mechanics, assigned to the head of programming.[9] The producer himself reserved the connection between the creators and the control over individual plotlines.
Within Imageepoch, there were various ideas on the implementation of game mechanics, such as building gameplay fighting scenes by analogy with fighting, as well as complicated non-transitive balance system that consist of six different character actions. Unlike other representatives of the Fate franchise, both offensive and defensive skills were developed for each character, as the developers considered it necessary to "not only to reduce health points of the opponent but also to save their own" in order to keep the player's attention in the game.[9][10] Niinō and Kadowaki originally decided to use mechanics similar to rock paper scissors before realizing that it would not really interest the audience. In the end, they decided to develop a system of collecting information about the enemy to significantly improve the chances of winning fights and presented as in-game events, by analogy with the servants' status screen that is gradually filling with data in Fate/stay night .[9] More attention was given to the development of individual characters and the overall development of the story instead of focusing on game aspects. Unique joint actions in battle mode were intended to be used for various combinations of Masters and Servants, which were not implemented in the final project.
Niinō thought it was necessary to offer three playable Servants (Saber, Archer, and Caster), all of whom differ in different skills, character, and difficulty.[9] Despite the declared independence of the story, the concept of secondary characters in the story was based on similarities with the characters of Fate/stay night, some of whom were given the same names as in the visual novel, though developers claimed that their personalities and the histories were not identical to their prototypes. To emphasize this, some of them were asked to change the kanji in names, which was ultimately not implemented.[12] For the first time since Sasaki Kojiro was used as a servant in Fate/stay night, the ban on introducing Far Eastern characters as Servants was lifted and has made it possible for add characters like Lü Bu and Li Shuwen.[9]
Initially, Nasu doubted the possibility of realizing Nero's personality as the basis for Saber's heroine, and the creators considered other versions of the character's prototype.[9] Although the initial decision was left unchanged, the character's personality drastically changed to care about his environment and his love interest.[9] The second available character to choose was Archer, whose personality and appearance were kept by Niinō and Wada. They believed that this hero "should always look cool" and visually increased his masculinity.[11] The third character, Caster, caused the greatest difficulties as Niinō suggested designing her as an adult woman with animal ears.[9] The original design of the heroine was conceived by Takeuchi as a mixture of Japanese costume and Chinese traditional clothing Hanfu; the facial features and hairstyle were created under the impression of Yoko's character in Gurren Lagann.[12] In an interview, Wada said the reason she drew anthropomorphic characters, especially Caster, was because she liked animal ears and found them to be very cute.[14]
According to Takeuchi, Niinō personally developed the central storyline of the game while Nasu translated his ideas into text. Compared to previous franchise products, a new servant class was added – Saver, whose true identity is based on Shakyamuni Buddha as the final boss and Grail Defender. After the game's release, Niinō noted that he was not able to concentrate enough on dramatic aspects of the plot; in response, Nasu focused on daily school life. The scriptor's campaign setting turned out to be a capitalist and stagnant utopia, and the Holy Grail war was used to select masters that would use the artifact's properties for the common good, not personal fulfillment.
Seiyuu casting was done by Nasu, Takeuchi, and Niinō. The same cast involved in Type-Moon's previous work was approved.[9] Saber's role was given to Sakura Tange, who had voiced the protagonist in Cardcaptor Sakura.[15]
In 2020, a remake, Fate/Extra Record, was announced to be in development by Type-Moon Studio BB. Initially set to release in 2025 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC,[16] it was later pushed back to spring 2026.[17] On March 16, 2026, a mutual agreement was signed between Bandai Namco and Notes for the former to withdraw from publishing the game after it was reported to be indefinitely delayed.[18]
