Shueisha Games — the gaming arm of Japan's iconic Weekly Shonen Jump publisher — has reopened a worldwide pitch program with one striking condition: you don't need to be a game developer. Just a proposal and a portfolio. Here's what the deal actually looks like.
Free iOS collection ONE-DOT GAMES, built on the minimalist concept Kenji Eno (D, Enemy Zero) left behind in 2009, launched on May 17, 2026. University students who never knew him are now carrying the torch.
Nintendo's first-party Switch 2 title 'Yoshi and the Mysterious Book' is reportedly built on Unreal Engine 5, a first for any Nintendo-published game. We unpack how dataminers cracked the case, why Switch 2's UE5 performance has been a worry, what this means for future ports, and whether this small platformer is quietly Nintendo's biggest engine pivot yet.
Four months after exiting Bandai Namco, Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada has launched VS Studio SNK, with his longtime rival SNK as parent company but explicitly not as a wholly owned subsidiary. We look at the 90s-spirited mission, the Yonemori and Oda reunion, and the divided fighting game community reaction, including the Saudi ownership question r/Fighters can't stop debating.
SEGA Sammy officially confirmed the cancellation of its 'Super Game' initiative in its FY2026 earnings, ending a 5-year plan to build a live-service mega-title aimed at 100 billion yen in lifetime sales. We break down why Sonic Rumble Party underperformed, why Rovio took another impairment hit, how 100+ developers were shifted to mainstay IP full games like Like a Dragon and Sonic, and how this fits the broader collapse of the GaaS gold rush following Concord, Suicide Squad, and Sony's own cancellations.
SEGA Sammy Holdings reported its FY2026 results: record revenue of 487.5 billion yen ($3.1B, +13.7％ YoY) was wiped out by 58.8 billion yen in special losses tied to Rovio Entertainment (Angry Birds) and Stakelogic, producing the company's first net loss in 11 years. We unpack the impairment, the international community's skepticism about the 776 million-dollar Rovio acquisition, the deprioritization of F2P, the redeployment of 100＋ developers onto full-game projects, and SEGA's bet on four new mainstay-IP titles ahead of Sonic's 35th anniversary.
MAGES. has officially announced no streaming or let's plays will be permitted for STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT, launching August 20, 2026. Console share features are restricted to private use only. What Western streamers and visual novel fans need to know — including the 2023 case where Japan's first arrest over a game stream was for a Steins;Gate game.
Konami Group reports record-breaking FY2026 results—revenue ¥493.6B, net income ¥100B, third consecutive year of record highs—and unveils a stacked 2026 lineup: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Silent Hill Townfall, Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2, Suikoden revival, and aggressive Switch 2 deployment.
Sony Group's FY2025 results: record $9.2B operating profit on $79.5B in sales, but net income fell 3.4% as the Honda EV joint venture imploded. PS5 cumulative sales hit 93.6M units, the memory crunch forced Sony to throttle PS5 production, and a fresh TSMC deal cements its image-sensor empire. With Crunchyroll, Demon Slayer's $750M global hit, and a $3.2B buyback, this is the IP conglomerate Disney should be watching.
SEGA and RGG Studio just dropped the theme song for STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, and the lineup is wild: Snoop Dogg, Ado, Official Hige Dandism's Satoshi Fujihara, and Tori Kelly on a single track. We break down Ado's record-breaking Hibana world tour (500,000 fans across 33 cities), Higedan's anime-fueled global rise via Spy x Family and Tokyo Revengers, Snoop Dogg's long history of collaborating with Japanese artists, and how international gaming and music communities are reacting to this Pacific-spanning collision.
MAGES. has set August 20, 2026 as the release date for STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT, launching simultaneously on PS4/PS5/Xbox Series X|S/Switch/Switch 2/PC. The remake adds new worldlines, new endings, fully redrawn CG, and re-recorded voices, and Western VN fans are already debating how it stacks up against ELITE.
Nintendo's surprise May 7 Star Fox Direct validated months of insider leaks. The next big rumored title, a Zelda: Ocarina of Time major remake, had three competing scenarios in international gaming communities: a 2026 launch, a sync with the May 2027 live-action movie, or no remake at all. Nintendo confirmed the remake for Switch 2 at its June 9 Direct with a 2026 window and no date attached. Here is the full record of the debate and how it resolved.
SEGA and RGG Studio have set STRANGER THAN HEAVEN for January 15, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass day one. The 50-year saga follows half-Japanese, half-American Makoto Daito across five cities and five eras from 1915 to 1965, with Snoop Dogg, Ado, Yu Shirota, and Dean Fujioka in the cast. Here's the full breakdown of the new dual-side combat system, the Tojo Clan tease, and how the international Like a Dragon community is reacting.
Kenichi Sugino, who designed the Game Boy Color, Advance, DS and 3DS over 37 years at Nintendo, and Goro Abe, who directed all 12 WarioWare titles, have joined Osaka Electro-Communication University as professors. We explore Japan's distinctive game education model, how it compares to DigiPen and USC, and the wave of generational change at Nintendo.
TYPE-MOON, French-Bread and Aniplex revealed MELTY BLOOD: TWI-LUMINA at EVO Japan 2026, launching early 2027 with Black Len playable at last. Refined battle systems, an eight-language launch, and what the global FGC is arguing about: rollback netcode, crossplay, and a shot at EVO Las Vegas 2027.
On May 1, 2026, Epic Games Store and Fortnite finally returned to iPhone in Japan, ending nearly six years of exile. The launch follows Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act, but Epic accuses Apple of leaving 'barriers everywhere'—a 9-step install flow, a 5% Core Technology Commission, and transaction-monitoring rules that scared off third-party developers. Here's what it means for one of the world's largest mobile gaming markets, the global Epic vs Apple battle, and the future of iOS sideloading.
On April 27, 2026, SEGA signed an MOU with Thailand's largest conglomerate, the C.P. Group, to jointly develop entertainment business across ASEAN. With Sonic and Angry Birds at the core, the deal targets a $14B+ Southeast Asian gaming market. We unpack who the CP Group is, what SEGA stands to gain, and the real risks behind Japanese gaming's biggest ASEAN bet yet.
Blaze Entertainment has confirmed that Evercade's NEOGEO support will continue into 2027, sharpening the contrast with PLAION's faithful-recreation NEOGEO AES+. With six games per cartridge at roughly $5 per title versus AES+ cartridges at $89.99 each, the two officially-licensed approaches to SNK's legendary console couldn't be more different — and Japanese media is calling it the 'Reiwa NEOGEO War.'
Toei, the studio behind Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon, just announced the first 3 games from its new publishing label Toei Games: KILLA, HINO, and DEBUG NEPHEMEE. All are original indie titles, not legacy IP. Here's a deep dive into why Japan's film giants are betting on fresh creators.
Principal photography on A24's Elden Ring movie has begun in London this week. The production has taken over the historic Greenwich Naval College to recreate the game's Royal Capital Leyndell, with leaked set photos showing medieval market scenes, armored soldiers, and dry-ice atmosphere. Additional shoots are planned in Scotland and Iceland. Budget reportedly well over $100M, A24's most ambitious project ever with ~100 days of principal photography.