Sega announced a special collaboration between the short anime Sonic & Friends and illustrator Kanahei's Kanahei's Small Animals to celebrate the series' third anniversary in August 2026. The collaboration illustration and new concept art were unveiled, and a pop up store will run at Shibuya MODI from October 2 to October 12.
Dentsu Group, with GeekOut and Studio Koi Koi Inc., announced on August 3 that it will handle planning and production for the Roblox adventure RPG Egg Hunt 2026: The Grand Eggspress. The game inherits the spirit of the community event Egg Hunt, sending players aboard a train through six worlds to find over 100 eggs.
CESA opened the Tokyo Game Show 30th anniversary special site on August 17, one month before TGS2026 runs September 17-21 at Makuhari Messe. The site will post a timeline of the show's history, past posters, and anniversary initiative news. CESA also announced special projects including an anniversary ticket with a gold medal, a producer talk stage, a panel exhibition, and venue activities.
Furyu will release a prize figure of Hatsune Miku in the Racing Miku 2025 Sepang Ver. design, based on an illustration by Kei Mochizuki. The figure, part of Furyu's Muchutto Figure prize brand, depicts Miku in a summer racing style, holding a water gun and posed as if dashing forward. The approximately 20cm tall sculpt captures an energetic expression with a wink and detailed clothing. It will be available as a prize starting in the 4th week of August 2026. The figure is part of the Hatsune Miku GT Project, which features Miku as a racing mascot. The announcement was covered by Dengeki Hobby Web and Inside, both noting the figure's dynamic pose and appeal. The prize will be distributed through Furyu's prize lineup, with details available on the official product page. Fans of the Racing Miku series and collectors of prize figures can expect this summer-themed addition to arrive later this month.
TicketMe has begun selling tickets for Tokyo Comic Con 2026, set for December 11-13 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. The platform offers a 3DAY PASS and advance one-day tickets for each day, with sales opening July 27. The event covers movies, comics, games, and cosplay.
Dwango announced on August 17 that it will livestream gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 on Niconico Live with Japanese interpretation subtitles. The broadcast starts at 3:00 a.m. JST on August 26 and is scheduled to run until 5:00 a.m. The event opens gamescom 2026, held in Cologne, Germany, from August 26 to August 31. This year's show is expected to be the largest ever, with all floors sold out for the first time in the event's history. Exhibitors include Nintendo, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Sega, Konami, Xbox, and EA. The Opening Night Live stream will feature guest talks, program introductions, and trailers for new titles including SILENT HILL: Townfall, METRO 2039, and Final Fantasy VII Revelation, plus new information and gameplay footage for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt expansion pack Songs of the Past. Niconico's stream will carry real-time subtitles. The viewing URL is https://live.nicovideo.jp/watch/lv351102382.
BANPRESTO is releasing monitor-top prize figures of Scanty and Kneesocks from New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. The two demon sisters arrive as crane game prizes on August 27, 2026. Each figure stands about 12 cm tall and recreates the characters' demonic expressions.
Bandai opened reservations for the ROBOT魂 <SIDE MS> MS-06J Wetlands Combat Zaku ver. A.N.I.M.E. ~MS MUSEUM~ at Premium Bandai. Priced at 11,000 yen, it ships in January 2027. The figure depicts the Zeon Zaku adapted for jungle and marsh operations during the assault on Jaburo, with museum-style display parts.
To mark the 2026 Awa Odori, collaboration merchandise featuring Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and Witch on the Holy Night will be sold from August 11 to 15 at ufotable Cafe Tokushima, Machi★Asobi CAFE Bizan, ufotable Cafe TOGO, and other locations. A stamp rally with ufotable's past Awa Odori illustrations runs concurrently, with a postcard reward for collecting all stamps.
ABEMA will hold a Nijisanji collaboration week on its voice actor program "Seiyuu to Yoru Asobi 2026" from August 17 to 21, 2026. Two Nijisanji livers will appear as guests each night for five consecutive nights, totaling ten livers. The program is in its ninth year and airs nightly on the Anime LIVE Channel.
final Inc. opened pre-orders on August 10 for ZE500 for ASMR CyberPatra, the fifth collaboration model with VTuber Suo Patra, made over five consecutive years. Patra supervised the project and designed the product and costume images, yielding two colors, Midnight and Pearlshine. The earphones feature two ASMR-dedicated sound modes and a new Touch de Patra function.
Newly drawn goods themed "After the Rain, Clear Skies." for The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You will appear at a pop-up shop at Tower Records Shibuya Store from September 2 to September 13, 2026. Web sales run concurrently at the Anique Shop. The lineup includes trading can badges, trading acrylic keychains, and acrylic stands, with a purchase bonus bromide.
jig.jp released the official report for Palette Project's fourth Thanksgiving Festival, held August 2, 2026, at Kanda Square. The event was the first under the new system since operations transferred to jig.jp. Eight members appeared, including trainee Natsunami Maharo, who was promoted to full member. The festival featured fan meetings and a 3D live. A sixth one-man live was also announced.
RTA in Japan announced on August 15 that its offline speedrunning event, RTA in Japan Winter 2026, will run from December 25 to 31 at Bellesalle Iidabashi First in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. The event will be primarily offline with some online components. Game applications open August 22, with selected titles announced October 18.
Mass Creation announced that the roguelite action game Swords & Slippers has surpassed 200,000 Steam wishlist registrations. The store page went public on August 6 and passed 100,000 wishlists in under 100 hours. Five days later, the count reached 200,000. The milestone post featured the heroines in a hot spring.
ByteRockers' Games announced a partnership with Elysium Game Studio for NEO BERLIN 2087, a cyberpunk detective game set in 2087 Berlin. The game follows detective Nolan as he investigates a conspiracy while protecting Natalie. It launches in 2028 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a gamescom 2026 media preview.
Embracer Group's Q1 FY2026/27 report places the next Kingdom Come title, Darksiders 4, and Tomb Raider: Catalyst in FY2027/28, spanning April 2027 to March 2028. The Middle-earth RPG from Warhorse Studios is not listed for that window. Metro 2039 hit 1 million wishlists faster than any prior Embracer title.
Mass Creation reported that its stylish roguelite action game Swords & Slippers reached 100,000 Steam wishlists on August 10, four days after its store page opened. The developer also noted that its official X account surpassed 100,000 followers three days later. The game features fairy tale heroines fighting evil stepmothers.
Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026 opened August 14 at BEXCO Hall 2, running three days with a business day and two festival days. The event drew a record 856 submissions from 57 countries, up about 44 percent from last year's 592. Around 180 works from 41 countries were selected. The conference featured keynote talks by Nexon Games' Kim Yong-ha and yosp CEO Shuhei Yoshida. Grand Prix finalists include Japan's Finding Polka.
FWGames, the game brand of Frontier Works, opened the Steam store page for Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead: Road to Paradise on August 15. The RTS tower defense game follows protagonist Yusuke Takemura and allies toward a safe haven. It is set for PC release in 2027.
Developer Kiichi published the Steam store page for Chrona & Sirona on August 12. The turn-based RPG follows Chrona, a magic school student, and Sirona, her lookalike, as they investigate a tea party incident. Chrona's TP resource rises with tension, boosting stats, or falls negative, lowering them. A demo is planned.
Game Spark and GameBusiness.jp published a Japanese play report for Egg Hunt 2026: The Grand Eggspress, a paid 3D platform adventure on Roblox released on July 29, 2026. The game is billed as a spiritual sequel to Egg Hunt 2018: The Great Yolktales. Players explore six chapter-based worlds, from a thorn-covered mushroom realm to a blizzard-swept glacier, collecting over 100 unique eggs created by top UGC creators. The story follows the player and a whistle-shaped companion named Pip, who guards the broken Century Egg, as they restore a derailed train called the Grand Eggspress. The review praises the cartoon-style NPCs, dense world design, and a transformation ability that unlocks new areas, evoking classic 3D action games. It notes the rolling dash is the fastest movement option, which may require adjustment for precise platforming. The Japanese localization, using Roblox's translation service, is generally competent with humorous egg-themed dialogue, though some character tones and untranslated spots remain. The reviewer concludes the game is a solid, well-crafted adventure that challenges preconceptions about Roblox, best enjoyed in multiplayer.
Ukrainian manufacturer ICM announced five new plastic model and paint products for release from October 2026, distributed in Japan by Hasegawa. The lineup includes a 1/35 Ford Model T Doctor's Coupe with figures, a 1/48 UH-60A Black Hawk with ESSS and skis, a 1/48 Gardening Operation Set with a Hampden bomber, a 1/35 armed HMMWV, and a Korean War aircraft paint set.
Developer BusFactorOne announced Knode: Untangle & Connect, a physics-based puzzle game for PC (Steam) releasing September 12. Players untangle giant cables and plug them into matching racks across more than 12 stage types floating in the sea. Stages grow more complex as they clear, with multiple plug shapes and tangled cables. A shop terminal offers tools like flashlights, and an AI companion speaks over 140 lines of dialogue.
The KYOMAF MUSIC LIVE 2026 committee announced that vocal group Kalafina will headline a special one-man stage on September 19 at ROHM Theatre Kyoto, running alongside the anime festival Kyomafu. The event spans two days, with T.N.T performing on September 20. Tickets for the Kalafina stage go on general sale September 5.
Glitchy Frame Studio is giving away its anomaly-spotting horror game Targeted -10 Days for free on the Epic Games Store from August 13 to September 1. The game tasks players with spotting sabotage in an underground parking garage to survive 10 days and testify against a mafia boss. It includes hard and T-99 modes, plus an anomaly mode with supernatural horror elements.
KaeruPanda Inc. announced on August 12 that it will release 'Digital Display Collection 500 Series Shinkansen Memorial' for Nintendo Switch in early 2027. The game reproduces the side and in-car LED displays of the 500 Series Shinkansen, which is scheduled for retirement in 2027. It is the first entry in the 'Digital Display Collection' (DecoColle) series, following the 'Makucolle' direction display simulators. The game will be exhibited at Konami's booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026.
KING Art Games delayed Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV from September 17 to December 3, citing the need for performance optimization, bug fixes, and gameplay polish. The PC strategy game will launch December 4 in Japan. Commander Edition pre-orders get early access from December 1.
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has released its latest AI model, DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813, without a formal announcement. The release was first noticed on social media and message boards, where users and tech commentators highlighted the model's performance and cost efficiency. According to the open-source AI coding agent Cline, the model scores 15.8 percent higher on Terminal Bench, a benchmark that evaluates how accurately AI can execute real system operations and development tasks on a Linux terminal, compared to the April preview model. Cline also noted that DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813 runs at roughly one fifty-seventh the cost of Claude Fable 5 while delivering comparable performance. The model has 1.6 trillion parameters, 49 billion active parameters, and a 1 million token context window. Tech writer @ChrisGPT reported benchmark improvements across Terminal Bench 2.1, CyberGym, and DeepSWE, with scores rising from 72.1 to 87.9 percent, 52.7 to 83.3 percent, and 12.8 to 62.7 percent respectively. Pricing is set at 0.435 dollars per million input tokens and 0.87 dollars per million output tokens, with a discounted cache-hit input rate of 0.003625 dollars.
Retailers list the 13th volume of Honobonoru500's Flung into a New World? Time to Lift the 200-Year Curse! light novels as the final volume. The novel ships on October 15. J-Novel Club publishes the series in English. The web novel began on Shōsetsuka ni Narō in May 2018, and TO Books published the first novel in January 2020.
The manga adaptation of Kisetsu Morita's I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level light novel will conclude with its 19th compiled volume, as revealed in the 18th volume released on Monday. Yusuke Shiba illustrates the manga, which has run on Square Enix's Gangan Online website since June 2017. The 18th volume shipped on Monday, and the 19th will be the final one. The light novel series, which Morita self-published on the Shosetsuka ni Naro website in June 2016 before SB Creative picked it up for print under its GA Novel imprint, is also ending. The 30th and final novel volume shipped on June 15, and Anime Corner reports it will conclude this October. The franchise has inspired a television anime: the first season premiered in April 2021, and the second in April 2025. Crunchyroll streamed both seasons, including an English dub for the first. The novel series ranked at #9 in the 2019 edition of the Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! guidebook. Yen Press publishes the light novel and manga in English.
Bandai Spirits will hold a lottery sale for the METAL ROBOT魂 <SIDE MS> Destiny Gundam SpecII Final Battle Ver. figure on Premium Bandai starting August 24, 2026 at 12:00. The figure commemorates TAMASHII NATION 2026 and is priced at 25,300 yen including tax, with shipping scheduled for November 11, 2026. The coloring is based on the final battle scene from the film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, with the elbow and knee joints appearing to glow red through plating applied to die-cast parts. The main body's exterior parts have a reddish tint to reflect that glow. The set includes Wings of Light effect parts, a high-energy beam rifle, a prototype 35-type modified railgun, a shield, beam shield effect parts, an Arondight beam sword, beam boomerang effect parts, and a dedicated stand. The figure stands about 140mm tall with a wingspan of about 400mm. Applications are limited to one per person and are open to CLUB TAMASHII MEMBERS Sky Stage or higher. The product is handled via lottery, not first-come, first-served.
The wotagei performance group Zero kara Uchishi Hajimemasu. will make a guest appearance at the Grand Final of STAGE:0, Japan's largest high school eSports tournament, on August 15 at COOL JAPAN PARK OSAKA WW Hall. They will use NGK Corporation's LED-equipped EnerCerLight BANGLE for the first time instead of penlights.
Tamiya announced the 1/10 RC Clod Buster (2026), an electric RC car assembly kit scheduled for release on September 19, 2026. The monster truck features a twin-motor full-time 4WD drivetrain, 165 mm diameter tires, a resin body with plated grille and supercharger parts, and opposite-phase 4-wheel steering. It is priced at 46,200 yen and requires a radio, receiver, servo, batteries, and charger separately.
The Idolmaster series' first cross-franchise xR live event, IDOL WORLD SUPER FESTIVAL 2026, held its final day on July 26 at Keio Arena TOKYO and ASOBI STAGE. The day three performance, themed ALL call and response, featured 15 idols across agencies performing songs designed for audience participation.
StoryHub Inc. announced the first wave of speakers for its conference StoryHub Ensemble 2026, set for November 5 at Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall in Tokyo. The theme is storytelling in the AI era. Lottery applications for participation opened August 5, with an October 15 deadline.
Premium Bandai is accepting preorders for the Gigantic Series Godzilla (2001) 25th Anniversary Ver., a large figure measuring about 78 cm in length and 40 cm in height. It commemorates the 25th anniversary of the film Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. The figure features battle damage paint and is priced at 78,100 yen. Preorders close on August 16 at 23:00, with shipping planned for October 2026.
VketReal 2026 Summer, held July 25-26 at Bellesalle Akihabara, introduced a numbered ticket system and revamped avatar check registration, easing last year's crowding complaints. New features included a real-time message board linking VRChat and the venue, plus first-time exhibitors like NuNuPC and Ichikara.
Universal Studios Japan opened One Piece Premier Summer 2026 on July 30. The limited event runs through November 19. It features the Straw Hat Banquet Restaurant with new festival-themed dishes, including Luffy's beef and sausage burger set and Law's chicken and curry rice burger set. A glowing drink cup and a straw hat are among the new merchandise.
AMERICAN HOLIC is releasing a retro-cute Mickey & Friends apparel collection on August 7, 2026, at stores nationwide and online. The 8-item lineup includes tote bags, cable knit polos, vintage-style T-shirts, a denim shirt, a drawstring bag, and character face charms. An early sale runs August 5-16 at Nihombashi Mitsukoshi Main Store.
PEANUTS and Italian dive watch brand SPINNAKER have announced their first collaboration, the Fleuss 40 Automatic PEANUTS Snoopy Snorkeling Limited Edition. The watch features a snorkeling Snoopy on the dial, with hour and minute hands formed by Snoopy's arms. It launches August 26, 2026 in four limited colorways.
The Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love anime franchise opened a 15th anniversary site on July 31, 2026. The celebration includes free limited-time streaming of all four TV series on YouTube, encore screenings of three theatrical films, a ST☆RISH cast live in January 2027, the new single PRISM FOREVER! on October 21, and a pop-up store.
KLab's AI VTuber agency Yumekairo Production will hold its first company-hosted event, Yumekairo Summer Party 2026, from August 1 to August 31. The month includes weekly streams, event goods, and new music content. Full details arrive August 1 at 8 p.m. on the official YouTube channel.
Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has joined the Payday TV series adaptation as executive producer through his production company G-Unit Film & Television. The project is a co-production with Vice Studios and Starbreeze Entertainment, announced in March 2026. Details on screenwriter, streaming platform, and broadcast timing remain undetermined.
The anime adaptation of Ezogingitune and DeeCHA's I Became a Legend After My 10 Year-Long Last Stand light novel series has cast Naoto Kobayashi as Garuvu, a sacred wolf beast. The character debuted in the anime's sixth episode on Monday. The series premiered in July on multiple Japanese platforms and Crunchyroll.
BATTLE LAB announced the incremental game '10 Million Pixels' for PC via Steam, with the store page now public. Players mine over 10 million pixels using bouncing balls, gather resources to launch new balls, and hunt for a single hidden 'Golden Pixel.' Seven ball types and randomly generated environments are planned. Japanese language support is included.
Hong Kong toy maker threezero is displaying painted prototypes of its 1/6 scale fully articulated Fallout power armor figures, the T-51 Vault Tech Power Armor and T-60 Power Armor Rust Color. The display runs August 8-16 at the Kikoten 2026 mecha hobby event in Osaka. Each figure comes with a signature weapon.
The Game Awards 2026 will take place at 4:30 p.m. local time on December 10, broadcast live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The official X account announced the date on August 11, with more details and tickets planned for the fall. Last year's event saw Expedition 33 win nine awards including Game of the Year.
Anime News Network reviews episode 30 of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3, focusing on the introduction of Momi Momiji, a middle-schooler with a massage obsession. The review notes her courtship is the least dramatic yet, with minimal development, and highlights the show's pattern of problematic girlfriend introductions.
Gamescom 2026 will run from August 26 to 30 in Cologne, Germany, with the opening night event scheduled for August 25 at 3:00 AM Japan time (August 26 local). The German Games Industry Association (game) and Koelnmesse report that this year's exhibition space sold out entirely through reservations for the first time, despite last year's expansion, making it the largest gamescom to date. Exhibitors include Japanese companies Nintendo, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Sega, and Konami, alongside EA, Ubisoft, Xbox, CD PROJEKT RED, Deep Silver, Focus Entertainment, KRAFTON, NC, HoYoverse, NetEase, and Tencent Games. Several titles will offer their first public playable demos, including Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, Konami's Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, and Sega's Stranger Than Heaven. The event will also feature a dedicated Games Done Quick speedrun stage, with live programs running about ten hours daily from Friday to Sunday. Opening Night Live, hosted by Geoff Keighley and Eefje "sjokz" Depoortere, will include new trailers, gameplay reveals, and information on Metro 2039 and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt expansion "Melody of Memories."