Developer Nekonoke released a trial version of the visual novel 'Sign: Broken Crown Chapter' on August 14 for PC via Steam. The game follows high school girl Laira and witch Sinos in a reverse isekai story. It is planned as a series, with this as the first installment. The full release is scheduled for fall.
Singer-songwriter tuki. released the music video for her new song Third Planet on August 3. The video was made by animation and creative studios including Khara, NERD, studio ALBLE, and SIGNIF. It tells an SF story about a stranded aquatic creature and a woman who loses her place at the end of a journey. A short anime is also planned.
Blue Anemoia and publisher Jungle Game Lab will release Blue Sign, a maritime insurance document review game, free on Steam on August 14. Players act as underwriters in the fictional Age of Sail port of Lisebra, checking ship details, voyage plans, and cargo documents to decide whether to accept or reject contracts. The game supports Japanese and other languages.
Sony distributed the August free play games for PlayStation Plus subscribers on August 4, 2026, across all plans. The lineup includes Dying Light 2 Stay Human, a parkour action RPG set in a zombie-infested world; Big Walk, a cooperative puzzle adventure for up to 12 players; and SIGNALIS, an action-adventure with pixel art and low-polygon visuals. The titles are available until August 31, and adding them to the library keeps them playable while the subscription stays active. A Marvel-themed pack follows on August 6.
The second collaboration video between the Netflix film Super Kaguya Hime! and the TV anime Oshi no Ko was released on August 2 on the official YouTube channel for Oshi no Ko. In this installment, Kaguya visits MEMcho's room, reversing the setup from the first video where MEMcho taught Kaguya how to make a stream go viral. With MEMcho's Ichigo Production Fan Appreciation Festival 2026 scheduled for August 16, Kaguya asks for tips on hyping up a live audience. MEMcho replies that idols rely on live performances and call-and-response, and the two attempt the call-and-response for B-Komachi's song Sign wa B. MEMcho passionately explains her dedication, overwhelming Kaguya, who says, "That's intense! MEMcho-chan, your love for call-and-response is amazing!" They perform a synchronized exchange, but Kaguya gets carried away and goes off-script. MEMcho jokes, "If this were a real live show, I'd be attacking the person next to me!" and reflects that she learned from Kaguya the importance of having fun and being free. The video concludes the two-part collaboration project across both works' YouTube channels.
Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the PlayStation Plus free games lineup for August 2026 on July 29. Three titles will be available to subscribers from August 4 through August 31. The headliner is Dying Light 2 Stay Human, an open-world action RPG set in a zombie-infested city, available on PS5 and PS4. The sequel to 2015's Dying Light, it features parkour movement, weapon modification, and up to four-player co-op. Also included is Big Walk, a multiplayer cooperative walking game for two to twelve players, developed by House House, the studio behind Untitled Goose Game. It launches on August 4 for PS5 and joins the free lineup the same day. The third title is SIGNALIS, a survival horror game for PS4 set in a dystopian future where a humanoid android named Elster searches for her missing partner Yang. All three games can be added to a subscriber's library during the distribution period and played while the subscription remains active. The lineup applies to overseas regions, and the Japanese selection may differ. An additional PlayStation Plus Pack for the fighting game MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls will be distributed on August 6.
Manga Mavericks announced at San Diego Comic-Con that it licensed Rin Kawano's Our Insignificant Justice for a March 2027 print and digital release. The company also launched the Independent Manga Alliance, a joint venture with Mahjong Pros to support independent creators and small publishers.
'Forbidden Solitaire', a solitaire puzzle horror game released on PC on May 1, was developed by Grey Alien Games and Night Signal Entertainment. In a recent interview, the developers cited the 1997 film 'Wes Craven's Wishmaster' as a main inspiration. The game frames its horror scenario around a cursed 1995 CD-ROM, with 90s-style graphics and live-action footage.
Game Spark's editorial team highlighted three indie games for the fourth week of June 2026: the co-op paranormal investigation horror 'Give Us A Sign', the dystopian interview simulator 'Thank You for Your Application', and the roguelike action game 'Tears of Metal'. Each title offers distinct gameplay, with 'Give Us A Sign' featuring voice-responsive ghosts and a demo planned for October.
Shueisha Games announced on June 30 that it will cancel the release of the PC adventure game Ukiyo, which was in development by Free Key Design. The game, set in a cyberspace world with a Japanese-style aesthetic, follows a samurai cat named Kai trapped in a virtual space called UKIYO. It had been shown at events like BitSummit and Tokyo Game Show in 2022, but updates on its official X account had stopped. Shueisha Games apologized to those waiting for the release and said future information will come from the developer. According to Game Spark and GameBusiness.jp, the publisher and developer on the Steam store page have been changed to FREAKY DESIGN, which was previously handling the design aspect. The game was originally part of Shueisha's Game Creators CAMP support project. Seaknot Studios, which handled game system production, has not commented on the change.
Demir Games released an announcement trailer for 'Give Us A Sign', a paranormal investigation horror game supporting up to 4 players. Ghosts react to players' voices captured by microphone. Players use specialized equipment at haunted locations to collect evidence and uncover the truth. The game features voice-reactive gameplay, over 20 ghost types, dynamic environments, and is scheduled for PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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.
In an interview at Summer Game Fest Play Days 2026, Fumito Ueda revealed that the player character in genDESIGN's upcoming title 'gen ATLAS' is a machine, not a human. The game is set after humanity's disappearance in a mechanical civilization. Ueda also explained the title's meaning and confirmed the project began with the idea of making a game about giant robots.
Koei Tecmo Games announced the next mainline Atelier title, Atelier Kalia: The Night Kingdom and the Signpost of Memories, during the June 9, 2026 Nintendo Direct broadcast. The game follows a new protagonist named Kalia, who has lost her memory and retraces her past. The announcement trailer showed alchemy and battle sequences. The name of Yumia, the protagonist of the previous game Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories and the Imaginary Land, also appeared in the footage, suggesting a possible connection between the two entries. Atelier Kalia is scheduled for release in early 2027; pricing has not been announced. Separately, Koei Tecmo also confirmed that a Nintendo Switch 2 edition of Atelier Yumia will be available for download after the Nintendo Direct ended. That version supports cooperative play via local wireless communication.
The demo for 'Design & Conjurer: Make Your Own Room' is now available on Steam. Players control witch Dahlia as she cleans and decorates rooms to restore her hometown. The demo has a 98% positive user rating from 73 reviews. A major update added a new chapter and Creative Mode with over 300 items.
Publisher Fellow Traveller announced the new RPG 'Signet City' during the PC Gaming Show 2026 broadcast on June 8. The game is being developed by Jump Over the Age, the solo studio of Gareth Damian Martin, creator of the acclaimed 'Citizen Sleeper' series. 'Signet City' is a first-person 'fungalpunk' RPG set in a monochrome world inspired by 1980s Britain and industrial cities in northern England. Players take on the role of a fungal parasite that infects humans, navigating a city on the brink of collapse due to rising water levels, strange technology, and radical ideas. The game uses a tabletop RPG-inspired system where dice rolls determine action outcomes, and the host's emotions affect success rates. Players can acquire skills and abilities, guide their hosts, and interact with their friends and rivals while managing resources. The Steam store page is live, and the game is scheduled for release on PC via Steam and GOG.com.
Fumito Ueda's studio genDESIGN officially announced its next title, gen ATLAS, during the Summer Game Fest 2026 livestream on June 6. The game is an open-world action-adventure set on a forsaken planet where players awaken without knowing why. The world is dotted with massive structures, abandoned facilities, and a changing sea, all traces of a lost civilization. Players encounter a giant robot whose power opens paths to previously unreachable areas. The trailer showed robot-versus-robot battles and small combatants running across the giant machines to find weak points, a mechanic that multiple sources compared to Shadow of the Colossus. gen ATLAS is in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Epic Games Store, with Epic Games handling publishing. A teaser had appeared as a work-in-progress at The Game Awards 2024 under the working title Project Robot. No release date or price has been announced.
Kodansha and Dai Nippon Printing released the taxi talk RPG 'SOOPER SIGN' on June 4 via the META TAXI YouTube channel. The game has two players converse with a driver played by a game master, using their own life experiences instead of character sheets or dice. The scenario was written by Dism, creator of the TRPG 'Katashiro.' A series of gameplay videos featuring various creators is being released to commemorate the launch.
An essay titled "Learning with DOG SIGNAL: How to Live Happily with Dogs" was released on June 2 by KADOKAWA. The book is a collaboration between Saya Miyauchi, creator of the manga "DOG SIGNAL," and dog trainer Emma Endo, known as Emma Sensei. Miyauchi provided illustrations and manga panels while Endo wrote the text, covering topics from puppy raising to health checks. Characters from the manga appear throughout.
Fukuoka Insider Inc. will open SIGNAL GALLERY, a contemporary culture space in Imaizumi, Fukuoka, on June 4, 2026. The opening exhibition is "VENUS IN FUKUOKA" by contemporary artist Takeru Amano. The gallery aims to connect local and global creative communities through art, music, and visual culture.
Writer Robinson Haruhara and artist Taishi Tsutsui will launch a new manga titled Animal Signal in Weekly Shonen Jump on June 8. The series is a bishojo animal comedy about an organization called the Anima Countermeasures Center. Haruhara wrote 'Tis Time for Torture Princess and Tsutsui created We Never Learn.
Czech studio Amanita Design, known for Machinarium and the Samorost series, released its latest work Phonopolis on May 20, 2026. The game is a point-and-click puzzle adventure set in a cardboard-built surveillance state controlled by a leader who broadcasts commands through speakers. Players control Felix, a garbage worker who uses headphones to resist brainwashing.
Suu Morishita's A Sign of Affection manga has exceeded 7.8 million copies in circulation worldwide, according to the official X account for Kodansha's Dessert magazine. The manga, which launched in July 2019, is heading toward its climax as Morishita stated earlier this year. The 14th compiled volume was released on May 13.