Kodansha Brings Children's Garden and Mismon to Steam Next Fest
Kodansha is using Steam Next Fest to build early community engagement for two distinct indie-style titles from smaller developers, signaling a push beyond its traditional manga and anime licensing business into direct-to-consumer game publishing.
Key Facts
- Kodansha announced on June 9, 2026, that two upcoming PC titles will appear at Steam Next Fest starting June 16.
- The puzzle adventure 'Children's Garden,' developed by Health Organization, is set for a fall 2026 release on Steam with a demo featuring eight missions.
- The hack-and-slash strategy game 'Mismon,' by Mach Habanero, launches in summer 2026 on Steam, with a demo available now that includes up to the first major boss stage.
- In 'Mismon,' players command a party of five monsters selected from 30 types, equip them with over 140 gear options, and set formations for automatic battles.
Reporting from 2 sources: 4Gamer.net, Game Spark.
Kodansha announced on June 9, 2026, that two upcoming PC titles will appear at Steam Next Fest starting June 16. The puzzle adventure "Children's Garden," developed by Health Organization, is set for a fall 2026 release on Steam. Its demo is expected soon on Steam and itch.io, featuring eight missions. The game is themed around Sai no Kawara, the river of the dead in Japanese folklore, where players use a device to communicate with a child and complete an ethical correction program by stacking toys called Ombustu. Each Ombustu has unique properties like sticky or explosive, requiring creative solutions. Clearing missions grants afterlife lifespan used to read classified reports. The hack-and-slash strategy game "Mismon," by Mach Habanero, launches in summer 2026 on Steam. A demo released today lets players play up to the first major boss stage, about one to two hours of content. Players command a party of five monsters selected from 30 types, equip them with over 140 gear options, and set formations. Battles are automatic, with preparation deciding the outcome.
Kodansha announced the Steam Next Fest lineup on June 9, 2026. The event starts at 2:00 AM JST on June 16. A demo for "Mismon" is already available on Steam. The demo for "Children's Garden" is scheduled for release on Steam and itch.io in the near future.
"Children's Garden" is a puzzle adventure game themed around Sai no Kawara, the river of the dead in Japanese folklore. The player obtains a device that connects to the afterlife, and a child asks for help. The player undergoes an "Ethical Correction Program" in the child's place. In the puzzle part, players stack toys called Ombustu instead of stones. Ombustu have properties such as "sticky" or "explosive." The game requires creative thinking to find suitable combinations for each situation. The demo lets players clear 8 missions and glimpse some of the world's secrets. Consuming "afterlife lifespan" gained from the program allows reading classified reports hidden in the device.
"Mismon" is a hack-and-slash strategy game where players build the strongest monster party and fight against the Demon King's army. Players act as commanders, selecting 5 out of 30 types of Mismon (Mythic Monsters) to form a party. Each Mismon can be equipped with gear from over 140 options. Battles are automatic, with preparation determining victory or defeat. The demo released today allows play for about 1 to 2 hours up to the first major boss stage.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.