Episode 11 of Re:Zero Season 4 confronts Subaru with a creature wearing Meili's face that tries to convince him his friends have ulterior motives. The episode parallels the first sanctuary trial, forcing Subaru to face his inferiority complex. Emilia helps him by explaining her perspective on his growth, and the cour ends with Subaru's conviction strengthened despite her death.
AI localization company Orange Inc. announced on Thursday that it will release five manga titles in English on its emaqi e-bookstore service, including Hiroki Ugawa's Shrine of the Morning Mist and Kensei Hokamoto's Resignation Agency: The Worker's Last Resort. The titles will be released on June 19 and June 26.
The animated film Super Kaguya Hime! surpassed 2.5 billion yen at the box office as of June 18, 2026. Publicity producer Misaki Hashimoto discussed the SNS strategy that helped drive the film's success, including the approach of enjoying the internet alongside fans and the use of scene cuts, Live2D Kaguya, and postable screenings.
Daisuke Sato, a producer and director at Nagoshi Studio, has changed his X profile to read "Former Nagoshi Studio." The studio, founded by Toshihiro Nagoshi as a NetEase subsidiary, announced its debut title "GANG OF DRAGON" in December 2025 but has since faced funding cuts and a dark website. No official statement on the studio's status has been made.
SemiRandom Interactive announced 'Historarium,' a sandbox god simulation game for PC via Steam. Players build continents, place cities, watch civilizations rise and fall, and can destroy everything. The game has no set goals and is planned for release within 2026.
Developer EXBO has renamed the free MMOFPS Stalcraft: X to Stalzone. The original name was rejected for trademark registration because it resembled Blizzard's StarCraft. A legal battle and a change to Stalcraft: X did not resolve the problem. The name also misled players about the game's genre, which is now an extraction shooter with MMO elements.
Don't Let It Starve, a roguelite placement puzzle from publisher Black Lantern Collective, tasks players with filling bento boxes to satisfy a monster called the Chef. Ingredients have different shapes and trigger combo bonuses. The game is available on PC via Steam for 920 yen.
Creek & River Co., Ltd. announced the technical artist exchange event Artists Meet Technicals 2026, to be held July 24 at World Beer Museum Yokohama on the final day of CEDEC 2026. The event, sponsored by SideFX, has a capacity of 150 and costs 6,000 yen (3,000 yen for students).
Koei Tecmo announced on June 17 that it is investigating and addressing low frame rate and heavy processing issues in Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, released June 10. The frame rate drops are especially noticeable in Quality Mode and handheld mode, with some players reporting 15-20 fps and calling the performance a downgrade from the Switch 1 version.
Alibaba Cloud opened its fifth data center in Tokyo on June 18, 2026, and launched its AI development platform Model Studio in the Japan region. The new facility serves growing demand from retail, gaming, entertainment, and manufacturing sectors. Model Studio supports text chat, image and video generation, and speech functions. Japanese users can access Alibaba's Qwen3.7-Plus model and third-party LLMs through a domestic API environment.
Good Smile Arts Shanghai is releasing magnet-equipped deformed figures of Madoka Kaname and Homura Akemi from Puella Magi Madoka Magica under the Huggy Good Smile line. Pre-orders are open at AmiAmi for 1,620 yen each, with a December 2026 release date.
Indie studio Flying Amateurs released a Japanese trailer for 'Above Land: Rhapsody' on June 18, alongside the launch of official social media accounts. The roguelite action adventure game features over 40 weapon types, including unconventional items like guitars and yo-yos, and supports solo or up to 3-player co-op. It is set on floating islands and built in Unreal Engine 5. A PC release via Steam is planned.
Two AI medical tools, Google's AMIE and the German-developed MIRA, demonstrated diagnostic and treatment performance equal to or better than human doctors in studies published in Nature. MIRA achieved 87.1% diagnostic accuracy across eight diseases, outperforming a panel of six doctors. AMIE matched doctors in reasoning and exceeded them in guideline adherence and medication decisions for difficult cases.
Level Infinite and SHIFT UP have launched a vote for a limited costume for Cinderella, who won first place in the 4th Global Popularity Vote. Players can choose between a school uniform, a maid outfit, or a bunny girl design. The winning design will be added to the game. Voting runs until June 24, 2026.
Alibaba released HappyOyster 1.0 on June 17, 2026, an AI service that generates game-like worlds in real time from text or image prompts. Users can move a character with WASD keys, attack, crouch, jump, and dash. The service is free with daily credits through July 17, 2026.
Bandai Spirits will release the METAL ROBOT魂 (Ka signature) Ex-S Gundam [Re:Coordinate] on June 20, 2026. The figure features refreshed coloring, a new head part with red eyes for the A.L.I.C.E. system activation mode, and includes beam smart gun, incom cables, beam sabers, and a base. It is a general retail product priced at 26,400 yen.
Korean webtoon creator Hyunwook Park reported that his paid-view revenue roughly tripled in May after the illegal distribution site Newtoki shut down in late April. Park noted he did not expect the impact since his work was not on the site. Other creators reported similar revenue increases. The suspected operator of Newtoki was extradited from Japan to South Korea on June 11.
Good Smile Company's Cutie Honey Nova PLAMATEA Black Honey plastic model kit took first place in Amazon Japan's Hobby Bestseller Ranking as of June 18, 2026. The ranking also featured returning favorites like Hot Wheels Ferrari Testarossa and a Pokémon Re-Ment set, plus restocked items such as the 30MM Full Armor Portanova and 30MP Bocchi the Rock! Hitori Gotoh.
CCSTOYS has opened pre-orders for the Mortal Mind Mazinkaiser SKL (Slash Metal Version) alloy action figure at AmiAmi. The 250mm figure features a metallic finish paint job and includes multiple effect parts, weapons, and a dedicated base. It is priced at 37,620 yen and scheduled for release in July 2026.
To mark 15 years since their Japanese debut, 2PM's past singles are being released as a mini CD collection in Bandai Gashapon machines. The keychain-sized replicas feature a removable paper jacket with handwritten messages from the members printed inside. The set includes 12 types, one secret, and launches in late June 2026 at 500 yen per play.
The offline playoffs for the streamer tournament LTK Season: Pandemonium start June 20 at TOYOTA ARENA TOKYO. Four teams of 15 players each compete in a three-tier system (MASTERS, NEXT, CORE) with a special BO4 point system that rewards strategic tier deployment. Dahlia Diadem enters as the top seed, but the format makes raw strength secondary to tactical choices.
Fourcast Studio is developing Loss Prevention, a competitive social deduction game for up to six players on PC via Steam. Players split into shoplifters and a shopkeeper, with the shoplifters trying to steal items from a grocery store while blending in with NPCs and the shopkeeper working to catch them. A demo is available now.
Bandai Namco Entertainment announced on Thursday that the fighting game My Hero Academia: All's Justice will arrive on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 3 in Japan and September 4 worldwide. The Switch 2 version introduces a new Minigame mode, which includes a collaboration minigame with Pac-Man. The Minigame mode will also be added to other platforms via a free update on the same day. The game originally launched in February for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. The Switch 2 physical edition includes a special inner cover featuring a newly drawn illustration by studio Bones of Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shigaraki. The game's Story Mode adapts the manga's final battle arc, and the roster includes over 40 characters from the series. Online battles via GameChat's GameShare functionality are supported. Preorders are open for Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate Editions, with preorder bonuses including early access to Izuku Midoriya (Rising) and All For One (Chaos) plus 30,000 Hero Coins.
Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro and 109 Cinemas Osaka Expo City will host an IMAX Christopher Nolan Special from July 10 to July 16, screening Interstellar and Tenet with select scenes in the 1.43:1 aspect ratio via IMAX Laser/GT technology. A special screening of Project Hail Mary is also planned for July 11.
Fangamer Japan began selling a Dark Sanctuary poster, a Holy Water Cooler keychain, and a piano arrangement vinyl for Deltarune on June 18. The company also unveiled plans for a Rouxls Kaard plush, an Elnina and Lanino plush set, and two plush keychains, with email notifications available for future stock.
Publisher gamigo announced the official renewal of Gloria Victis: Medieval MMORPG on June 17, 2026, reviving the game three years after it ended service in 2023. The revived version has already recorded a peak concurrent player count of about 2,800 on Steam, though early reviews are mixed due to bugs and communication issues.
KRAFTON launched a 20% off sale for Dinkum on Steam and Nintendo eShop on June 18. On Steam, the bundle including the soundtrack is 30% off at 1,813 yen, slightly cheaper than the game alone at 1,840 yen. The Switch 2 and Switch versions are at their lowest price ever.
Hakuhodo DY ONE has become the first company in Japan to handle the advertising pilot for OpenAI's ChatGPT. The company established a handling system as a domestic launch partner following the pilot's launch in Japan in June 2026, aiming to treat AI dialogue as a new advertising touchpoint.
In an interview at BitSummit PUNCH, Ysbryd Games founder Brian Kwek and production lead Rob Cocks described the publisher's behind-the-scenes work on 'Love Eternal,' including visa support, hiring a detective to sell games, and bridging gaps between developers and services like localization and porting. The horror action game, developed by brlka, is already out on Steam and consoles without Japanese support; a Japanese version is planned via PLAYISM.
ABEMA will air a free marathon of the first season of the TV anime The Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Sword Saint on June 22 at 3:30 PM. All episodes will be free for one week after broadcast. The second season is set to premiere on July 8.
Lefto Studio released a demo of BOMBANANA! during Steam Next Fest on June 16. The cooperative bomb defusal game assigns each of three players the role of one of the See No Evil, Hear No Evil, or Speak No Evil monkeys, each with a different communication limitation. The demo has earned a Very Positive rating on Steam, with 99% of roughly 200 user reviews positive. The full version is planned for August 2026.
ReLU Games has launched a 30% off sale on Steam for the cooperative survival horror game Mimesis, dropping the price to 840 yen until June 25. The game, which entered early access in October 2025, also received a major update on June 15 that overhauled the game cycle and added new content.
Paris-based indie developer ExoDive announced DUSKDOG, a survival exploration game set on a dim, cold surface lit by a broken artificial sun. Players control Rika, who explores the silent ruined world, manages body temperature, and restarts antennas to expand the light range. A demo is planned soon.
Japan's Minister of State for Economic Security, Kimi Onoda, criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's use of Naruto imagery in a generative AI video posted on Truth Social on June 6. Onoda said the use risked damaging the work's reputation and urged caution, even if it does not constitute clear copyright infringement.
Archosaur Games held a technical session at Unreal Fest Chicago 2026, where Chief Artist Bing Liu presented on character expression and rendering in Unreal Engine 5 for the romance adventure game Code Name: Kamiwan. The talk covered texture detail, lighting integration, facial animation, and multi-platform optimization, with emphasis on maintaining natural character presence at close range.
The third cour of Dr.STONE SCIENCE FUTURE released a key visual and cast comments as Why-Man reveals its true form in episode 36. Koichi Yamadera and Kotono Mitsuishi voice the mysterious entity, with the story now reaching the moon for the final confrontation.
A June 15 webinar hosted by Shireru detailed how KOSEN alumni advocacy over two and a half years led the Ministry of Education to consider conferring degrees to graduates. The effort began when a graduate living abroad discovered she had no degree certificate, only an associate degree title. Alumni collected cases and conducted surveys, building a case that moved the government.
The main promotional video for the TV anime The World's Strongest Rear Guard: A Novice Explorer in the Labyrinth Country has been released. It shows battle scenes and daily life, and includes clips of the opening theme by Redhair Rosy and the ending theme by Inner Journey. The anime starts July 5, with a special ABEMA program on June 27.
The idle fishing game Fish to Dish: Idle Sushi has received a major update for its first anniversary, adding a collaboration with Dave the Diver. Players who upgrade their sushi restaurant to level 15 can encounter Dave, who will dive for fish and return with his catch. The update also includes character skins, a yacht, and new decorations.
Sega released the package version of Little Kitty, Big City for Switch on June 18, 2026, priced at 3,980 yen. The game, developed by Double Dagger Studio, is a casual adventure where players control a black cat exploring an open-world city. The download version has been available since May 2024.
A manga adaptation of D's light novel, illustrated by Rinko Kashiwa, began serialization on June 18 on the Gangan ONLINE app. The story follows Princess Suiren, who is forced into a political marriage with the Cold Emperor of an enemy nation and must navigate conspiracies in a harem reversal tale.
Actor Masahiro Motoki appears on TBS talk show A-Studio+ on June 19 for the first time in 14 years. The episode includes an interview with his eldest son UTA, who discusses Motoki's fatherly side, as well as segments on director Kiyoshi Kurosawa and photographer Kazuhiro Nakamura.
At NDC26, Nexon Korea's Oh Se-hyun detailed the Replay open license project, which revives dormant IPs from 20 years ago. The project prioritizes surviving fan communities over old game assets, using AI to lower the cost of code analysis and asset organization. Partners are selected per IP to rebuild a core experience before expanding into a franchise.
Phoenixx announced the Switch version of the roguelike action game Clock Rogue, developed by MONO ENTERTAINMENT, will launch on June 25 for 890 yen. The game uses an internal clock mechanic where players time attacks and defenses without a visible timer. Pre-orders are open on the Nintendo eShop with a 20% launch discount until July 7.
The RPG The Unleaving, which draws on Chinese folklore and the Cthulhu mythos, is participating in Steam Next Fest in June 2026 with a demo now available. Players investigate supernatural incidents in a rural town as paranormal investigators, using a TRPG-based system with dice rolls, skill checks, and dialogue choices. The demo includes the first chapter, set during the Ghost Festival.
Manami Iwami and Masaya Fukunishi have joined the cast of Magilumiere Co. Ltd. Season 2, playing Sakae Tōnomori and Hibiki Yami Mori respectively. A 30-second promo video was released featuring the opening theme "Late Magic" by syudou × Yusei Yagi. The first season will stream free on Jump+ YouTube from June 20. Season 2 premieres Summer 2026.
JETRO and Games London have launched the Indie Game Studio / Startup Growth Programme for Europe, a new initiative to support Japanese indie game studios seeking publishing contracts or investment in the European market. The program provides mentoring, pitching preparation, and access to major European game events.
Bandai's Card Division announced the new trading card game "NARUTO Card Game" on June 18, 2026, during the "BANDAI CARD GAMES Next Plan Presentation 2026.06" event. The game is based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga "NARUTO" and is scheduled for a worldwide simultaneous release in 2027. The official website launched with a message and a newly drawn illustration from Kishimoto, depicting Naruto and Sasuke holding cards. The earliest trial event will take place at GenCon in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, from July 30 to August 2, 2026. Bandai's announcement positions the Naruto card game alongside its existing card game lines for One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Gundam. Product details, including rules and further information, are set to be revealed on July 29, 2026. The announcement was made via the official X account and the game's website.
Square Enix announced a collaboration event between the mobile RPG "Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent" and "Final Fantasy X," running from June 18 to August 13. The event brings Tidus, Yuna, and Auron as playable 5-star characters, with job classes set to Thief, Cleric, and Warrior respectively. Players can obtain one of the three characters guaranteed through a free "Seal Box" distributed at the Web Ruby Shop. The event story, supervised by Motomu Toriyama with character supervision by Tetsuya Nomura, unfolds in three parts. Collaboration weapons including Ultima Weapon, Nirvana, and Masamune are obtainable by defeating specific enemies in the "Record of Archfiends" mode. A Cactuar companion is available as an event reward, and a quiz campaign during the collaboration livestream will grant all players 800 Rubies. The collaboration coincides with campaigns celebrating 20 million downloads of the mobile title.
The official website for the television anime of Towa's light novel series The World's Strongest Rearguard - Labyrinth Country's Novice Seeker streamed a second promotional video on Thursday, revealing the opening theme song "license" by Redhair Rosy and the ending theme song "Owaranai Yoru no Mamori-kata" by Inner Journey. The anime premieres on Tokyo MX on July 5 at 10:00 p.m. JST, with additional broadcasts on BS11 and Sun TV. Crunchyroll will stream the series as it airs.