A prequel, Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, launched for Android and iOS in 2020 in Japan, followed by a worldwide release in 2022.

[2] Octopath Traveler features a graphical aesthetic known as "HD-2D", defined by the developers as combining retro Super NES-style character sprites and textures with polygonal environments and high-definition effects.

Once a protagonist character is chosen, they cannot be removed from the active party until their story arc, which consists of four chapters, is concluded.

Each player character has a unique "Path Action" command that can be used when interacting with NPCs: The Warrior Olberic and the Hunter H'aanit can challenge characters; the Apothecary Alfyn and the Scholar Cyrus can inquire about certain bits of information that can be used for completion of quests or in the form of hidden items; the Merchant Tressa and the Thief Therion can acquire items directly from NPCs, one via commerce and the other via pickpocketing; and the Cleric Ophilia and the Dancer Primrose can guide NPCs and use them as guest summons.

The Order of the Sacred Flame, the continent's dominant church, formed to worship the leader of the non-fallen gods, which continue to preside over Orsterra.

Using the Obsidians as her personal army to eliminate threats like Primrose's father, Lyblac also attempted to use Graham Crossford, the man who wrote Tressa's journal and saved Alfyn as a boy, as a vessel for Galdera to gain corporeal form due to his bloodline's ties to the god.

The eight heroes fight a vicious battle against Galdera, sealing him back into the afterworld and saving Kit, who receives closure with his father's spirit.

[6] During the development process, various graphics options such as the depth, resolution, saturation, as well as other features such as whether water should be pixel or photorealistic are taken into consideration to perfect the "HD-2D" look.

According to sound producer Yasunori Nishiki, the developers wanted to create a sense of wistfulness as well for her music theme even though her story is driven by revenge against her father's killers.

[5] The second demo was released on June 14, 2018 and included various tweaks and improvements gathered from surveying players, along with all eight playable characters and save data transfer to the full game.

The second demo consisted of the first chapters of each character's story, with certain areas blocked off to the player, and also had a three-hour play time limit.

[11] A prequel for Android and iOS, titled Octopath Traveler: Conquerors of the Continent, was originally scheduled to be released in Japan in 2019, but was delayed to 2020.

[30][31] While some commentators singled out Primrose's story arc as a highlight of the game,[32][33][34][35][36] others felt that it was cliched or mishandled due to its reliance on sexist tropes.

[46][c] Square Enix wrote in March 2020 that combined retail and digital sales of Octopath Traveler had surpassed two million copies.

[60][61][62] Additionally, Primrose and Olberic appear in Final Fantasy Record Keeper as part of a September 2018 crossover event.