Become is a developer-authored action adventure by Czech creator Valentin Wirth, shown in the SELECTED INDIE 80 hall at Tokyo Game Show 2026, where it received one of seven Gold Awards and was named a SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT 2026 finalist. It is set for a 2026 release with a Japanese localization.
Become surfaces in coverage through the Tokyo Game Show 2026 indie program, not through a publisher announcement. Czech creator Valentin Wirth is building the game, which casts the player as one of hundreds of millions of sperm swimming toward an egg. It appeared in the SELECTED INDIE 80 corner, the exhibition of 79 works chosen from 1,513 applications. Announced in February, the game was also named a finalist in SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT 2026, the event's 19th edition, which selected eight finalists out of 151 entries.
The Computer Entertainment Association announced on August 10 that Become had won one of seven Gold Awards in the newly established SELECTED INDIE 80 Excellence Awards, judged on creativity and completeness. The Platinum Award that cycle went to Lidrox's Finding Polka. The awards ceremony is scheduled for September 18 at the International Party + Indie Night, and the SOWN presentations run from 15:50 on September 17 at Makuhari Messe. Become's Tokyo Game Show showing on September 20 followed both events.
What the game does in play is narrow and specific. Movement works like ground walking with limited upward travel. Protein pickups grant abilities such as jumping. Heat zones drain stamina and cause a miss. The developer is preparing a Japanese localization and an educational bent alongside a 2026 release target, putting Become in the same show space as much smaller projects and treating its bounded scope as the design itself.
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Czech creator Valentin Wirth is developing the action adventure Become, shown in the SELECTED INDIE 80 corner at Tokyo Game Show 2026. Announced in February, the game casts the player as one of hundreds of millions of sperm swimming toward the egg. Movement plays like ground walking with limited upward travel, and protein pickups grant abilities such as jumping. Heat zones drain stamina and cause a miss.
The Computer Entertainment Association announced on August 10 the winners of the newly established SELECTED INDIE 80 Excellence Awards and the finalists for SENSE OF WONDER NIGHT 2026 (SOWN2026), part of the indie game project at Tokyo Game Show 2026. Lidrox's Finding Polka took the Platinum Award. Seven titles received Gold Awards, including Valentin Wirth's Become, a micro-scale adventure ADV featuring a sperm protagonist, which also appears among the SOWN finalists. The Excellence Awards evaluate works from the SELECTED INDIE 80 lineup on creativity and completeness. The ceremony is set for September 18 at the International Party + Indie Night. SOWN2026, now in its 19th edition, selected eight finalists from 151 applications; presentations run from 15:50 on September 17 at Makuhari Messe and stream on the official TGS program. Video creator Pokky returns as official indie game ambassador for a fifth consecutive year, serving as a SOWN judge and announcing the Pokky Award during the event. The SELECTED INDIE 80 website, launched the same day, lists 79 works chosen from 1,513 applications.
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The official Anime Times YouTube channel began streaming all 12 episodes of the first season of The Old Man in the Countryside Becomes a Sword Saint on June 22. The free release runs until June 28 at 23:59. The anime adapts the light novel series by Shigeru Sagasaki, originally serialized on the user-generated novel site Shousetsuka ni Narou. Season 1 originally aired from April to June 2025. Season 2 is set to premiere on July 8, making the free streaming a direct lead-in for new viewers. The story follows Beryl Gardinant, a middle-aged swordsmanship dojo master in a rural village who believes his skills are only slightly above average. His quiet life changes when a former student, now captain of the Kingdom's Knight Order, recruits him as a special instructor. The cast includes Hiroaki Hirata as Beryl, Nao Touyama as Alucia Citrus, Hitomi Ueda as Srena Risandela, and others. The free streaming covers the entire first season, allowing audiences to catch up before the second season begins.
The main PV for the TV anime adaptation of "Koko wa Ore ni Makasete Saki ni Ike to Itte kara 10-nen ga Tattara Densetsu ni Natteita." has been released. The series premieres on TOKYO MX and other stations on July 6, with Prime Video streaming three days ahead. The opening theme is sajou no hana's "Soredemo Uten wo Koete Yuku" and the ending theme is Name Undisclosed's "Arigatari na Nichijou to Koun na Hibi e."
The main promotional video for the TV anime adaptation of Here I Leave You, Go Ahead, and 10 Years Later, I've Become a Legend. has been released ahead of its July 6, 2026 premiere. The video previews the opening theme by sajou no hana and the ending theme by the unnamed artist. Broadcast details and streaming plans were also announced.