Why 'My Hero One's Justice' Dropped "Academia"

My Hero One's Justice has had My Hero Academia fans excited for the first big game for the series, but it's also had them wondering why "Academia," the most recognizable part of the original title, was dropped from the game's name.

Up until the game's official reveal for the Western release of My Hero One's Justice, everyone including Bandai Namco referred to the game simply as My Hero Academia: One's Justice. When the game was announced for Western audiences, the new name caught many off guard as it was rebranded to the same title sans "Academia."

We've inquired with Bandai Namco in the past to see if there was any notable reason behind dropping the word from the title but were told that the publisher had no information to share on the topic. However, we caught up with Bandai Namco at E3 this year to discuss My Hero One's Justice and asked the same question to see if any new information was available. This time, we received a response from Bandai Namco's associate brand manager Randy Le who explained why the name was changed.

"By having a slightly different name, it opens up the opportunity to develop original content that's still true to the series but something that's specific for our game," Le said when asked about the name change.

Le spoke before about how the game connects to the anime and said that events players find in the story mode would encompass the story of the latter half of Season 2 onward to the current point in the anime. While the story mode will let players relive these moments that they already know so well, it'll also present them with totally new scenarios that are made possible by the name change and the freedom that it brings.

"So like I said earlier, you have the story mode, but we also have original scenarios in the title as well," Le continued. "So there are some things that aren't necessarily canon or specifically from the show that's only in our game."

Le didn't go into detail about specific events that would be included in My Hero One's Justice that deviate from the anime's story. He did add during the same discussion that players will be able to replay the story mode through the perspective of the villains once it's been completed once, so there could be even more game-only scenarios waiting for players once they finish their first run through the story.

My Hero One's Justice releases in October for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.