Nekonome's Shogi Game KIOU Passes 10 Million Matches
Ten million matches in about three months puts KIOU's player activity, not its launch, as the number Nekonome chose to lead with, which says the shogi app is being used as a recurring habit rather than sampled once.
Reporting from 1 source: ASCII.jp.
KIOU, the competitive shogi game from Nekonome Inc., has passed 10 million cumulative matches, roughly three months after the game went live. The iOS and Android versions launched on Friday, June 12, 2026, with the PC version on Steam following on June 14. The game runs on KIOU AI, built by professional player Hiroki Taniai, 5-dan, and supports ranked, CPU, and friend matches.
The total counts matches played across the iOS, Android, and Steam versions, so it measures activity rather than downloads. Nekonome credits KIOU AI, the engine built by professional shogi player Hiroki Taniai, 5-dan, which suggests the next-move support for beginners and dan-level players is doing the work of keeping weaker players in the pool.
The game ships with ranked matches, CPU matches, and friend matches, plus time controls that include the Fischer rule used in the ABEMA Tournament, 3-minute sudden death, and 10-second shogi. Voice performances, a character affinity system, and effects that trigger on completed strategies and formations round out the package.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- ASCII.jp 対戦型将棋ゲーム『棋桜（KIOU）』、累計対局数1000万局を突破