https://gonintendo.com/stories/325736-rumor-level-5-saw-mass-exodus-of-employees-leading-to-project

https://news.nifty.com/article/domestic/society/12184-44804/

This really explain a lot of the weird stuff around games like the newest installments for Inazuma Eleven and Yokai Watch.

There must be a reason why there would be a mass exodus, and that is mismanagement. People don't leave en masse unless something is fundamentally wrong

I wonder if it has anything to do with Pokemon? Or rather, if the delay will actually end up helping Yokai sell more units.
I know that both series can co-exist, Nintendo wouldn't advertise Yokai so much otherwise (they even had a Yokai in a NoA Mario Mountain Ski video)
But I bet that it might help the software sales in the short term. Although it is noted that not releasing during the holiday affected the sales of merchandise, so maybe it wasn't worth it in the end.

Of course that's mostly assuming that employees aren't leaving. If they are, there's nothing they can do about it but delay the game. I'm guessing that the employees weren't being treated properly.

Considering how many times Level 5 delays games or how someone will just disappear from the face of the earth, I wouldn't be shocked if they are very mismanaged company. 

they probably want a challenge from amazing DQ8, DarkCloud and Rogue Galaxy to milking you-kai watch and inazuma eleven you'll lose your touch that's what happened to NNK2

last time I checked, level 5 was not in any finantial trouble, not with how well Youkai Watch has been doing. Misuse of resources, maybe? I remember joking about it last April Fools. If this comes true...

sadly level5 isn't that developer anymore it was one time, thinking what great games they made in the ps2 era

Apparently they're not talking about layoff, but employees quitting. Could be that the management and work conditions there are terrible (which wouldn't be surprising in Japan, remember Konami-Kojima), and/or that other companies are targeting their employees for hiring with better conditions.

Japanese people usually don't quit their job, it's not in their culture, so something pretty bad must have happened.

They still make a whole lot af amazing games, they just changed target audiences.

Inazuma Eleven, Yokai Watch and Professor Layton are highly rated series with incredible sales.

OT : Could be a bunch of employees spinning off their own studio.

Well now everyone knows what this means. Time for MS to acquire them and add them to the other game pass studios.