Roco Kingdom Japan CBT Set for October 27, Applications Open
The Japanese launch is an early test of whether a 16-year-old Chinese children's IP, with 60 million pre-registrations before its Chinese release, can replicate that scale abroad, especially with a monster-collection system that deliberately avoids gacha.
Key Facts
- The closed beta test for the Japanese version of "Roco Kingdom" runs from October 27, 2026, with applications open on the official website.
- The Chinese version of "Roco Kingdom" launched on March 26, 2026, and drew over 15 million new registrations on its first day.
- The game features over 400 types of Jini, obtained by capture rather than gacha, with paid elements focused on costumes.
- An offline trial event for the Japanese version is scheduled for September 21, 2026, in Tokyo.
- The original "Roco Kingdom" browser game, released in China in 2010, has cumulative fans of 350 million.
Reporting from 2 sources: 4Gamer.net, Denfaminicogamer.
The closed beta test for the Japanese version of "Roco Kingdom" (iOS / Android) will run from October 27, 2026, with participant applications now open on the official website. The game is a free-to-play open-world RPG from Tencent group studio Morefun Studios, where players capture and raise monsters called Jini instead of obtaining them through gacha. The Chinese version launched on March 26, 2026, and drew over 15 million new registrations on its first day, later ranking first in average daily active users and sales among new games released in mainland China by the second quarter of 2026. The original browser game, first released in China in 2010, has cumulative fans of 350 million, and the IP also includes a 152-episode anime, over 100 books, and four theatrical films. The new title rebuilds that worldview as a 3D open world, with over 400 Jini types at launch, command-based turn battles using six Jini and four skills, plus housing, farming, and PvP. Paid elements focus on costumes and other visual items. An offline trial event is scheduled for September 21 in Tokyo.
- The CBT runs from October 27, 2026, with applications open on the official website, and a new trailer has been released alongside the application period.
- The Japanese release is the open-world successor "Roco Kingdom: World," which launched in China as a browser game in 2010 and was rebuilt for modern platforms.
- The original browser game ran on Adobe Flash and targeted children aged 7 to 14, positioning itself as an "online community for children."
- Denfaminicogamer notes the scale of the IP: 350 million registered users is more than double the population of Japan, and compares the original's generational impact to the "Yo-kai Watch" boom.
- The Chinese version's first month saw average daily active users exceed 13 million, a figure the Denfaminicogamer piece calls "almost unrealistic" for the Japanese market.
- Battles use a shared energy pool for skills, so players must manage turns and predict enemy skill loadouts rather than chain strong moves.
- Jini have environment-based subspecies, with over 400 types at launch, and some evolve into different branches depending on conditions, such as a chicken-like Jini becoming a swordsman or a power-fighter.
- Interaction animations include a cheek-rubbing cutscene before battle and unique victory scenes for each Jini, and Jini behavior shifts with day/night and weather, like taking shelter from rain.
- Transport varies by Jini: a unicorn-like monster can be ridden, flying Jini can be grabbed for air travel, and small Jini perch on the player's shoulder.
- The player is a student at a magic academy, with school life elements including classes, teacher interactions, and club activities alongside world exploration.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.