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Q-Games
Q-Games is developing PixelJunk Monsters 3 for Steam with no release date announced, and in October published Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch for Switch 2 in Japan and other Asian regions. The studio also handled cloud rendering research for Ace Combat 8's Cloudly technology.
Synthesized from 3
Yomimono stories · updated
4d ago
Q-Games' own slate is led by PixelJunk Monsters 3, announced on August 27, 2026 during the Future Game Show at Gamescom 2026. The tower defense series began with the 2007 PS3 original and has sold over one million copies across platforms including PSP, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The new numbered entry returns to the hand-drawn art style of the original, rendered in 4K, keeps the Tikiman tower-building loop, and adds roguelike systems plus new towers, enemies, and boss battles. It supports online and local co-op for up to two players. A free PC playtest ran from September 4 at 10:00 AM to September 9 at 10:00 AM for members of the official Q-Games Discord server QGamesForever. The game is scheduled for release on Steam with no release date announced.
Two October stories put the Kyoto studio in other roles. On October 4, Q-Games said it was in charge of research and development for Cloudly, the rendering technology behind the sky and clouds in Ace Combat 8, which launched on October 2 for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. On October 16, Q-Games announced it would publish Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch in Japan and other Asian regions for Nintendo Switch 2, a game developed by Atlantis Studio of Avignon, France. It releases October 22 at 2,480 yen including tax, with the Nintendo Store page going live the same day. The two-player asymmetric co-op horror game casts one player as the Explorer and the other as the Watcher, who must communicate to escape the Grome. Multiplayer covers local play, local communication, online play, and GameShare, which lets a second console, either a Switch 2 or a Switch, join with one copy.
Key facts
- Publishing role for Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch
- Q-Games will publish the game in Japan and other Asian regions for Nintendo Switch 2. ↗
- Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch release
- Releases October 22 at 2,480 yen including tax, with the Nintendo Store page going live the same day. ↗
- Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch developer
- Atlantis Studio, an indie team based in Avignon, France. ↗
- Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch multiplayer
- Local play, local communication, online play, and GameShare, which lets a second console, either a Switch 2 or a Switch, join with one copy. ↗
- Cloudly research
- Q-Games was in charge of research and development for Cloudly, the rendering technology supporting the sky and clouds in Ace Combat 8, which renders a sky spanning 10,000 square kilometers. ↗
- Ace Combat 8 platforms and launch
- The game launched on October 2 for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a PS5 copy listed at 8,667 yen. ↗
- PixelJunk Monsters 3 announcement
- Announced August 27, 2026 during the Future Game Show at Gamescom 2026, returning to the series' hand-drawn art style rendered in 4K and adding roguelike systems. ↗
- PixelJunk Monsters series sales
- The series began with the 2007 PS3 original and has sold over one million copies across platforms including PSP, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, and PC. ↗
- PixelJunk Monsters 3 playtest
- A free PC playtest ran from September 4 at 10:00 AM to September 9 at 10:00 AM, open only to members of the official Q-Games Discord server QGamesForever. ↗
- PixelJunk Monsters 3 release status
- Scheduled for release on Steam with no release date announced. ↗
Timeline
Synthesized by Yomimono from the cited Yomimono stories below, each itself
sourced, then editorially reviewed. Every
fact links the story it came from.
Facts
- Announced
- will publish Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch in Japan and other Asian regions for Nintendo Switch 2 (October 16 announcement) · 2026-10-16
Connections
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/q-games.
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All coverage
2d ago
Q-Games released Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch for Nintendo Switch 2 on October 22, 2026, priced at 2,480 yen including tax. The game is a two-player-only asymmetrical co-op horror title developed by Atlantis Studio, the Avignon-based French indie team co-founded by Nico Augusto and Ru Weerasuriya. One player takes the Explorer role, moving through a creepy mansion in first person to search for clues and solve puzzles while avoiding a mysterious entity called Grome. The other player is the Watcher, who stays on the cameras and uses surveillance systems, documents, and tactical tools to guide the Explorer. Neither player holds all the information, and wrong directions, missed clues, or loud noises can put the pair in danger. The game supports same-room play on separate screens, GameShare, local communication, and online play. A launch tournament, the Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch World Championship, runs from October 22 to November 2.
Oct 16
Q-Games announced on October 16 that it will publish Beyond the Dark: Nightwatch in Japan and other Asian regions for Nintendo Switch 2. The game releases on October 22 at 2,480 yen including tax, with the Nintendo Store page going live the same day. Atlantis Studio, an indie team based in Avignon, France, developed the title. It is a two-player-only asymmetric co-op horror game. One player is the Explorer, moving through a claustrophobic mansion in first person, searching for clues and solving puzzles. The other is the Watcher, staying on the surveillance cameras and using tools and documents to guide the partner. Neither player holds all the information, and both must talk constantly to escape the entity called the Grome, which is drawn to loud noise. Multiplayer support covers local play, local communication, online play, and GameShare, which lets a second console, either a Switch 2 or a Switch, join with one copy.
Oct 4
Q-Games announced it was in charge of research and development for Cloudly, the rendering technology that supports the sky and clouds in ACE COMBAT 8: WINGS OF THEVE. The Kyoto studio said Cloudly renders a sky spanning 10,000 square kilometers. It produces light streaming through gaps in clouds, shadows cast on clouds by aircraft, multi-layered cloud structures, and contrails. Sunlight bouncing off the canopy is part of the same system. Those elements also work as in-game signs, which Q-Games says feed into dogfight gameplay by giving pilots clues about the situation around them. The game launched on October 2. It is on sale for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a PS5 copy listed at 8,667 yen. Q-Games is known for the PixelJunk series and Dreams of Another. CEO and founder Dylan Cuthbert worked on the Game Boy title X and the Super Famicom title Star Fox at Nintendo, and later on Star Fox Command and Star Fox 64 3D.
Aug 27
Q-Games announced PixelJunk Monsters 3 on August 27, 2026, during the Future Game Show at Gamescom 2026. The game is a new numbered entry in the tower defense series that began with the 2007 PS3 original and has sold over one million copies across platforms including PSP, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, and PC. PixelJunk Monsters 3 returns to the hand-drawn art style of the original, now rendered in 4K resolution. It keeps the series' signature gameplay, where players control the forest guardian Tikiman, run around the field, build towers while dancing, and defend the base from waves of monsters. New to this installment are roguelike elements, which the developer says add strategic depth and replayability. The game also introduces new towers, enemies, and boss battles, and supports online and local co-op for up to two players. A free playtest runs from September 4 at 10:00 AM to September 9 at 10:00 AM, open only to members of the official Q-Games Discord server QGamesForever. The playtest is for the PC version, and the game is scheduled for release on Steam with no release date yet announced. The announcement trailer was shown at the Future Game Show at Gamescom 2026.