Creator sooncha announced on Friday that they have withdrawn the copyright for Yang Can't Live Alone from Square Enix. The manga ended on Manga UP! on August 13. sooncha will move the series to an unnamed company, with a new revised edition to be published in Japan physically and digitally. Square Enix will stop digital distribution on August 31. Translated versions remain available until their agreements end.
Toei Games will exhibit for the first time at Tokyo Game Show 2026, held at Makuhari Messe from September 17 to 21. The booth will feature special trial versions of HINO, KILLA, and DEBUG NEPHEMEE. DEBUG NEPHEMEE hits Steam on September 10, HINO on September 17, while KILLA is available only at the venue. A crane game offers TGS-exclusive mugs, and a forum lecture with Sanrio and PARCO is scheduled.
GAME Watch rounds up Switch eShop and Steam sales ending soon, with the Nintendo eShop discounting games like Dead by Daylight, ENDER LILIES, and Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. Dead by Daylight is 65 percent off at 1,610 yen, while other titles drop by up to 80 percent.
Animate begins selling Hololive Production merchandise on August 29, featuring newly drawn illustrations and self-portraits of nine talents. The lineup includes acrylic stands, badge collections, keychains, and mini canvas boards. A fair runs through September 27 with purchase bonuses and events at select stores.
Masahiro Motoki appeared at a stage greeting for the film The Man Who Carries the Voice of August in Tokyo on August 22. He spoke about his eldest son UTA, who made his acting debut as the Gas Man in the Netflix series Gas Man. Motoki said he left UTA's education to his mother, Yayako Uchida, but hopes UTA learns about history and humanity through his roles.
Sega released Version 4.8 of Persona 5: The Phantom X on August 28, 2026. The update adds the sports festival event "Sparkling Youth! All-Out Sprint Sports Festival," the new 5-star character Katayama Kumi, and the second half of her synergy story. A synergy story for Matsukata Yui also debuts.
Undead Labs showed State of Decay 3 in playable form at gamescom 2026. The open world, built with Unreal Engine 5, is about four times the size of a single State of Decay 2 map. Plague Nests expand if ignored, and up to three bases with 36 survivors can run in parallel. A closed beta starts within the year, ahead of a 2027 launch.
Sega and Colorful Palette released the full-size 2D music video for "Pentatonic" (SEKAI ver.) on the official Project Sekai YouTube channel on August 28, 2026. The song, written and composed by syudou and Balloon, is sung by Hatsune Miku and five other characters. Players can receive it from the Gift menu in the game.
At gamescom 2026, Ocean Drive Studio showed a playable demo of God Save Birmingham, a zombie survival game set in 14th-century Birmingham. The demo emphasizes physics-based combat, life simulation elements, and co-op play. An early access release is planned soon, with Japanese support not yet confirmed.
TAKARATOMY President and CEO Akio Tomiyama discussed the company's Anime Expo exhibition, which featured BEYBLADE X, Licca-chan, and Gacha. He explained that the guiding concept behind all their products is "Asobi," the spirit of play. Tomiyama highlighted plans to bring Licca-chan's Japanese "kawaii" culture to North America, including collaborations with Hatsune Miku and adult-oriented designs.
Softgarage will release the Bunny Garden 2 Life-Size TANIMARU Cushion Rin on November 28 for 9,900 yen. The bust-up cushion reproduces Rin's bust area in 3D on the front and her buttocks on the back. Reservations run from September 4 to October 4, with shipping from late November.
At gamescom 2026, MBC Game Studio revealed its debut work, an action adventure based on One Thousand and One Nights. It supports solo play up to 3-player co-op and features seamless switching between magic carpet flight and ground combat. A demo was shown to media at the studio's closed booth.
Kalypso Media announced Rise of the Spellbaker for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on August 26, 2026, with a release scheduled for 2027. The action adventure comes from Realmforge Studios, known for the Dungeons series. Set in the world of Khemia, the game follows a witch who uses baking and magic to fight a plague called The Rot.
11 bit studios showed a playable demo of Trainwatch, a new PC psychological horror from solo developer Harvester Games, at gamescom 2026. The game casts players as Troy, a new attendant at a fog-covered railroad crossing who manually lowers and raises gates for about six trains a day. The monotony gives way to horror, with the train speaking to the player and a mysterious underground facility to uncover. Time management and a Sanity level constrain exploration. Japanese localization is planned, with release set for 2027.
The stage adaptation of the mobile game 18TRIP, titled Omotenashi Stage '18TRIP' -R1ze & Ev3ns-, opened August 25, 2026, at KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre. The production splits into two acts: Act 1 follows morning team R1ze, Act 2 follows prisoner idol group Ev3ns. The dress rehearsal report details character movements, songs like Dawn, and the Monkey Cage prison setting.
Toplitz Productions will publish Prospera, a construction simulation game developed by Active Fungus Studios. The game was shown in a live demo at gamescom 2026 in Cologne. Players cut forests, build sawmills and railroads, and turn wild land into a late-19th-century industrial city. It targets a release in the second quarter of 2027 on PC.
Bandai Spirits' Collectors Division opened preorders on August 27, 2026 for the METAL STRUCTURE Kaitai Shouki RX-178 Gundam Mk-II (AEUG Specification), a top-tier finished robot figure priced at 137,500 yen including tax. The model stands approximately 310mm tall and is composed of over 2,500 parts. It reproduces the Gundam Mk-II's standard silhouette while adding original Kaitai Shouki setting gimmicks, most notably the High Mobility Combat Form, where the backpack thruster layout changes and armor panels deploy for heat dissipation imagery. The figure includes opening armor sections and a chest jack-up mechanism that exposes a spherical cockpit. A dedicated base with parts reminiscent of a catapult allows display in the launch scene pose from the series, and the set includes work arms, worker figures, and various beam effect parts. Standard equipment such as a beam rifle, hyper bazooka, vulcan pod system, and shield are included, with original arrangement options like attaching a launcher to the beam rifle or converting it to a short-barrel specification. The product uses ABS, PVC, and die-cast materials, and features light-up gimmicks in the body and base. Release is scheduled for January 2027 as a general retail product.
Sega and Colorful Palette are holding the anniversary event HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Hatsune Miku 2026 in Project Sekai Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku for iOS and Android. Players can gather Festival Amatsuyu, craft anniversary furniture, and hold birthday parties. On August 31, an in-game live runs 24 sessions with participation rewards, and two anniversary gacha banners are available.
Sega and Colorful Palette added syudou's newly written song 'Anti-Sainou' to Project Sekai Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku on August 27, 2026. The track is performed by MEIKO, Airi Momoi, Akito Shinonome, Nene Kusanagi, and Ena Shinonome. Players can receive it from the in-game Gift, and a 2D MV is on YouTube.
At gamescom 2026, 4Gamer went hands-on with Playground Games' Fable reboot, an open-world action RPG set for February 23, 2027, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with day-one Xbox Game Pass availability. The presentation, led by associate game directors Will Kennedy and Craig Littler, detailed the Style Weaving Combat system that combines Strength, Skill, and Will. The hands-on quest, "Mud and Death," featured skeletal Hollow Folk and Wraiths in a haunted mine, with enemies whose armor and weaknesses encourage switching between melee, ranged, and magic.
WOLCEN Studio announced Wolcen 2, a direct sequel to Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem, during gamescom 2026. The game shifts from CryEngine to Unreal Engine 5, adds the Shadow Form transformation mechanic, and revises the classless build system so skills come from equipped weapons. Endgame content is rebuilt around The Conquest faction mode and The Tower of Wonders dungeon.
Wrong Organ, the Swedish studio behind the cult psychological horror Mouthwashing, publicly showed its new PC game Carcass Clad for the first time at gamescom 2026. Set in the collapsed city of Volgorod, it puts three crew members inside the cramped tank Yuxia as commander, driver, and gunner, each seeing limited, different information. A single session runs about 2 to 3 hours.
Secret Mode released two interview videos for 'Star Wars: Galactic Racer,' the 3D racing game set in the Star Wars universe developed by Fuse Games, during the Future Games Show: gamescom 2026 broadcast on August 27, 2026, and the XBOX @ gamescom Broadcast 2026 Day 2 on the same day. The videos are part of a commentary series called 'Under the Hood with Hibi,' featuring the mechanic Hibi who supports the protagonist. The first video introduced the characteristics of vehicles including landspeeders, speeder bikes, and skim speeders. The second video focused on the speeder bike, explaining that despite its low durability and quirks in cornering after acceleration, it can accelerate strongly via a 'Kinetic Burst' and take shortcuts using its small size. The game is set in the lawless Outer Rim and includes a story-driven campaign and a PvP mode. 'Star Wars: Galactic Racer' is scheduled for release on October 6, 2026, for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
The Last Blossom, the first original feature-length anime from Odd Taxi director Baku Kinoshita, opens in select U.S. theaters this weekend. GKIDS, the film's North American distributor, is releasing it for two nights only, August 30 and 31, in Japanese with English subtitles. The film premiered in competition at the 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival before opening in Japan last October under the title Housenka. The story follows Akutsu, a former yakuza serving a life sentence, who recounts his life to a sarcastic talking flower growing from a tin can. Kinoshita directed and designed the characters, reuniting with Odd Taxi writer Kazuya Konomoto, who wrote the original story and screenplay. Animation was handled by Studio CLAP, known for Pompo the Cinephile. In an interview with Anime Herald, Kinoshita discussed his interest in criminals as people who live in the moment, the Balsam flower as a wiser-than-human philosopher, and why the song Stand By Me appears in the film. He also noted that he currently leans toward television work because it offers more room to develop stories.
Shō Aimoto announced on X/Twitter that her Kemono Jihen manga is going on hiatus after her brother died peacefully on August 15. The manga will not appear in the October issue of Shueisha's Jump SQ. magazine on September 4, but is scheduled to return in the November issue on October 2. The 25th compiled volume, shipped August 4, revealed the series will end in the next volume.
Amazon Prime Video announced that Yugo Aosaki's Jirai Glico novel is getting a live-action adaptation titled Rock Paper Landmine. The series streams worldwide on the service starting November 13. Nana Mori stars as Mato Imoriya, Aju Makita plays Kazahi Koda, and Kazuaki Seki directs. The Seven produces.
Sega announced the V8 Power Pack DLC for Project Motor Racing, releasing September 15, 2026, on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The pack adds nine V8-powered vehicles, including modern Australian touring cars, current American TA2 machines, and 1960s-1970s American road racers, plus the laser-scanned Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta circuit.
COVER Corporation announced a partnership between hololive English -Advent- member Nerissa Ravencroft and global self-photo booth brand PHOTOISM. Starting August 31, 2026, fans can use an exclusive Nerissa photo frame and Snapism photo card at participating PHOTOISM stores worldwide. The event runs through September 30, 2026 (KST).
Bandai will begin accepting reservations for a gashapon mini CD collection based on the TV anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya on August 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM. The collection includes eight miniature CD jackets from the series, each about 4cm by 4.5cm. The lineup features the opening theme 'Bouken Desho Desho?', the iconic ending theme 'Hare Hare Yukai', 'Super Driver', 'Tomare!', 'Haruhi Suzumiya no Tsumiawase', and three character song volumes: Vol.1 Haruhi Suzumiya, Vol.2 Yuki Nagato, and Vol.3 Mikuru Asahina. Each play costs 500 yen including tax. Reservations run until September 27 at 11:59 PM, and delivery is scheduled for around late January 2027. The miniature items include a mini CD case and a CD-style disc, plus a booklet made of paper. The collection may also be sold at capsule vending machines nationwide before delivery. Bandai is the publisher of the product, which is listed on Gashapon Online.
Saber Interactive announced on August 26 that Turok: Origins, the first full new installment in the Turok series in about 19 years, will launch in spring 2027. The game is set in the Lost Lands, where players join the Order of the Turok to fight dinosaurs and aliens threatening humanity. Gameplay lets players switch between first-person and third-person perspectives, and supports solo or online co-op. Weapons range from bows and shotguns to plasma rifles and alien prototype technology. Defeated enemies and the environment provide DNA that can be used to improve the player's suit, and acquired skills let players build a preferred combat style. The game was first announced at The Game Awards in 2024, originally planned for fall 2026, but the release window has shifted to spring 2027. A story trailer was released with the announcement, showing gameplay and narration. Turok: Origins will be available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, with Japanese display support planned. Saber Interactive, known for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Jurassic Park: Survival, is developing the game, marking its first work on the Turok series.
The Yu-Gi-Oh! WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2026 runs from August 28 to 30 at Tokyo Garden Theater. Four divisions compete: the Official Card Game, Duel Links Speed Duel, Duel Links Rush Duel, and Master Duel. Commentator Daisuke Nagumo, in his tenth year covering the game, discussed match format depth and the shifting card environment ahead of the finals.
Ensemble Stars!! Music announced Spectacle Sphere Live, a new in-app virtual live experience where players control a Mega Fan avatar to move freely inside the venue and choose their own viewpoint. The first performance, HOT BEAT REVOLUTION!!, runs September 12, 2026, featuring five units. A free Ryuseitai dress rehearsal streams September 11.
4Gamer's weekly last-minute sale roundup highlights Steam deals for Dave the Diver at 1,200 yen (50% off, ends August 31) and Darkest Dungeon at 435 yen (85% off, ends September 2). The column also lists 12 additional PC and Switch titles with sale prices and end dates across Steam and My Nintendo stores.
Nas announced the official title and Steam store page for Needle In A Haystack Simulator on August 28, 2026. The game tasks players with finding one needle among 5 million pieces of straw. A teaser posted on August 22 has surpassed 52.58 million impressions. Release is planned for Q4 2026.
Anime News Network reviews episode 8 of Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games, praising a comedic hadoken-spamming match and discussing the portrayal of misogyny in competitive gaming spaces.
Anime News Network published its weekly reader rankings for Summer 2026 episodes airing August 19-25. The Ghost in the Shell took the top spot, climbing from second place last week. Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia and Saga of Tanya the Evil II followed at second and third. The rankings reflect episode ratings, not overall series quality, and cover only legally streaming titles in North America.
4Gamer's Akane column highlights Enter the Chronosphere, a roguelike shooter that fuses bullet hell with turn-based mechanics. The world freezes until the player acts: firing, stepping, or reloading each advances time by one turn. Players read frozen bullet trajectories and enemy positions, choose when to move, and combine quirky alien weapons. The Chronosphere's structure changes per dive, and unlocked characters alter playstyle.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 early access beta ran August 22 to 26 for pre-order customers across PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and ARCADE. An open beta follows August 29 to September 2. The title launches October 23. The play report notes health returns to 100 from Modern Warfare III's 150, restoring faster kill times, while movement continues the MW lineage without the Omnimovement of Black Ops 6 and 7.
NetEase Games showed its urban open-world RPG Infinite ANANTA at gamescom 2026, and the release date was set for January 15, 2027. The game is free to play and headed to PlayStation 5, Android, iOS, and PC. A media hands-on session offered two modes: a stealth-focused story mode and an exploration mode set in Longqi Village, where a character named Wei Yinglong can interact with objects and NPCs, including picking up a smartphone dropped by a fallen villager.
Smilegate and Megaport opened the brand site for Dead Account: Two Blue Flames on August 26, releasing the first promotional video and the official theme song. The game, developed by IAN Games, adapts the manga Dead Account into a team-based roguelite action title. Players form parties of up to five characters, each with unique psychic abilities called den'no, and battle ghost accounts, the revived SNS profiles of the dead. The PV covers protagonist Enjo Aoshi's awakening and his transfer to Yaden Academy. Pre-registration is now live on iOS, Android, and PC via STOVE. Participants receive the SSR character Kie Urushigawa, a profile frame, and a title. Milestone rewards include 10 character recruitment tickets for every 100,000 registrants, up to 50 tickets at 500,000. The game will also be playable at Tokyo Game Show 2026 from September 19 to 21. The theme song is by Haru Igarashi, who also worked on the anime's music.
Mami Tsumura will launch a new manga titled Tanosuke no Kawazanyō (Tanosuke's Overly Optimistic Estimation) in Shogakukan's Big Comic Superior magazine's 19th issue on September 11, announced the magazine's 18th issue on Friday. Tsumura is the author of Kotaro Lives Alone, which ended in June 2023 after a decade-long run.
Timi Ocean announced the PC incremental game Disco Ball Simulator 2000 and opened its Steam store page. Players spin a disco ball to raise Hype, earn money to repay a $1 million debt, and upgrade equipment like the ball, lights, and fog machine. Release timing is undecided and Japanese is not supported.
Chinese studio YinHu Games opened the Steam store page for its in-development mech action game Iron Grave: Planet 9. The Vampire-Survivors-like title has players pilot mechs, fight hordes, and evolve machines across a future 9th planet. A demo is scheduled for November 1, 2026. Japanese language support is planned.
At gamescom 2026, the indie game Bad Magpie was playable at the Xbox booth. Players control a one-winged magpie separated from its flock, hopping instead of flying, pecking and carrying objects to collect 20 shiny stones. Actions like pecking flint, burning grass, and calling through a megaphone open new paths, teaching the world's rules through trial and reaction.
Paradox Interactive announced during the gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 broadcast on August 26 that Transport Fever 3, developed by Urban Games, will release on September 29, 2026 for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG.com, as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game is the latest entry in the Transport Fever series, in which players build and manage logistics networks spanning railways, roads, and sea routes across four environmental areas: temperate, desert, tropical, and subarctic. It features over 250 types of trains, buses, trams, trucks, ships, and airplanes, with day/night cycles and weather systems. The title was first announced in May 2025 with a budget of $24 million, approximately 3.7 billion yen at the time, funded from internal resources, with 90% allocated to game development. Publishing duties were confirmed in May this year. Alongside the standard edition, a Deluxe Edition includes real vehicles such as the Concorde, London Bus, and TEE, plus landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal, and wild animals including orcas and Komodo dragons. A Collector's Edition with a statue, art book, and card game is also available. Pre-orders began today, with a 10% loyalty discount for Transport Fever 2 owners.
LG Electronics Japan announced the 24.5-inch 25G590B-B monitor under its UltraGear AI brand, launching October 1 with a 1000Hz vertical maximum refresh rate at Full HD resolution. The suggested retail price is around 179,000 yen, with a 10% pre-order coupon available until September 30. The display includes MBR Pro, FreeSync Premium, and G-SYNC Compatible certification.
KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO and Kazuhide Oka's music x indie game project ANMC released the Nintendo Switch version of the SF adventure Platonica Space on August 27, 2026. The regular price of 1200 yen is 996 yen until September 9. A Steam demo covering Episode 1 also launched today.
Sega and Colorful Palette announced that Amala and Satsuki will join Project SEKAI as songwriting creators. Amala will write a new song for Vivid BAD SQUAD, and Satsuki for Wonderlands×Showtime, both to be added as rhythm game songs. The announcement also covered the upcoming The Music Style collaboration, new rhythm game songs, the Connect Live series, and a World Link event finale.
The ODAIBA DRONE SHOW 2026 will run from September 4 to 6 and September 18 to 22 at Odaiba Marine Park in Tokyo, with free admission. One thousand drones will depict Sonic the Hedgehog, Puyo Puyo, Persona, Tokyo Revengers, Hypnosis Mic, and Godzilla-0.0 at up to 125 meters high. Two performances run daily at 19:00 and 21:00, with different programs, and a linked fountain show.
2P Games announced on August 27, 2026 that the full version Ver.1.0 of the action roguelike Reincarnation Insurance Company R.I.P will release on Steam on September 16. The update adds melee agent Lin, unlocks the final stage, and introduces Endless Mode, Headhunt Mode, and the Void Tower.