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Ukiyo
The PC adventure game Ukiyo, a cyberpunk samurai cat story developed by Freekey Design, was canceled by publisher Shueisha Games on June 30, 2026, and the developer has taken over future updates. A separate free visual novel titled Bishoujo Ukiyoe-shi -HOKU, which shares the ukiyo-e theme but is unrelated to the canceled game, launched on unityroom on June 16, 2026.
Synthesized from 2
Yomimono stories · updated
Jun 30
Two different projects share the ukiyo-e theme but have no connection to each other. The first, a PC adventure game called Ukiyo, was being developed by Freekey Design and published by Shueisha Games. On June 30, 2026, Shueisha Games announced it would cancel the release of the game, apologizing to fans who had been waiting for it. The game, described as a cyberpunk samurai cat story, had been shown at events in 2022 but had received no updates since then. Shueisha Games stated that future information about the project would come directly from Freekey Design, handing control of the title back to the small developer.
The second project, Bishoujo Ukiyoe-shi -HOKU, is a free visual novel released on unityroom on June 16, 2026, by developer Asumaro. It reimagines Edo-period artist Katsushika Hokusai as a modern beautiful girl streamer named HOKU who wants to become a god-tier artist. Players act as a publisher commissioning pictures, with branching stories and an encyclopedia of Hokusai's real works. Playtime is about 15 minutes. The two works share the ukiyo-e cultural reference but are otherwise unrelated in development, publisher, or platform.
Key facts
- Publisher cancellation
- Shueisha Games canceled the release of Ukiyo on June 30, 2026. ↗
- Developer
- Ukiyo was developed by Freekey Design. ↗
- Game premise
- Ukiyo is a cyberpunk samurai cat story. ↗
- Future updates
- Shueisha Games stated that future information about Ukiyo will be provided by the developer directly. ↗
- Related free game release
- Bishoujo Ukiyoe-shi -HOKU launched on unityroom on June 16, 2026. ↗
- Developer of free game
- Bishoujo Ukiyoe-shi -HOKU was developed by Asumaro. ↗
- Free game premise
- The game reimagines Katsushika Hokusai as a modern streamer named HOKU. ↗
- Free game playtime
- Playtime is about 15 minutes. ↗
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
- Release
- game · cancelled · 2026-06-30
Connections
Structured graph also available as JSON at /public/entities/ukiyo.
CC BY 4.0.
All coverage
Oct 14
TafayaGames, a Canary Islands team led by Juan Carlos Suarez Camacho, brought a playable demo of its debut 2D Metroidvania Tsukiyo: Battle Doll to SAGA Barcelona Game Fest 2026. The game is set in a Meiji and Taisho-era Japanese-style world with steampunk elements, following a girl named Tsukiyo who wields a katana against yokai and mechanical weapons. Suarez aims for a demo release within half a year while seeking a publisher.
Oct 5
Nexon Games IO Division's RX Studio brought Faledria, its new title announced earlier as Project RX, to Tokyo Game Show 2026 with a playable build. General producer Kim Yong-ha, who also holds that role on Blue Archive, and composer Mitsukiyo, representing STUDIO ALOH, discussed the game's theme of otherworld home stay and its cycle of battles and character interaction from Tasogare Hall.
Oct 3
Ukiyo Studios has opened UKIYO GAME BAR & CAFE in Yurakucho, Tokyo, currently in pre-open during Tokyo Game Show 2026. The bar, operated by the company that supports game developers and publishers in Japan and overseas, occupies the third and fourth floors of 1-3-8 Yurakcho, Chiyoda-ku, about two minutes on foot from Tokyo Metro Hibiya Station Exit A4 and three minutes from Ginza Station Exit C1. It is open from 10:00 to 22:00 with no closing days. The store's PCs run a proprietary launcher with about 20 titles playable at once, and the lineup is planned to rotate roughly every two weeks. In an interview, Ukiyo Studios' Atsushi Takahashi said event exhibitions last only days, so the company wanted a physical venue where games can be played 365 days a year. The upper floor, home to a real-life Buckshot Roulette attraction originally made for Tokyo Game Show 2024, will host seminars and talk events.
Oct 3
NEXON Games IO Division's RX Studio showed Faledoria, its new bishoujo title, at Tokyo Game Show 2026, which ran from September 17. The build let visitors walk a cycle from the Tasogare-kan hall into battle and back for character interaction. Kim Yong-ha, general producer, and Mitsukiyo, who handles music production and heads STUDIO ALOH, answered questions about how the project took shape. Kim said the idea came around 2022 and was made concrete in 2023, with full development starting at the beginning of 2024, roughly two years of production. Faledoria is planned for PC, mobile, and console. Kim also produces Blue Archive, and Mitsukiyo has written music for it since around 2019. Kim said he found Mitsukiyo on the music service SoundCloud before they met in person.
Sep 20
At Tokyo Game Show 2026, Nexon's IO DIVISION showed Fareidolia as a playable demo. Head Kim Yong-ha described it as an "otherworld homestay" where players talk with girls at a base called Tasogare-kan, head into battle, then return to daily life. The game uses voice recognition, letting players call characters by name and pick options aloud. Mitsukiyo returns from Blue Archive to handle sound.
Sep 18
Kadokawa released a teaser for the television anime of Yasukiyo Kotobuki's The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World. Tomokazu Sugita plays protagonist Zelos Merlin, the first cast member announced. The teaser also gives the premiere date: January 2027. Takayuki Inagaki directs at YANCHESTER, with Hiroko Kanasugi on series scripts and Mariko Fujita designing characters.
Jun 30
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.
Jun 16
Developer Asumaro released the free ukiyo-e selection adventure game Bishoujo Ukiyoe-shi -HOKU on unityroom on June 16. The game reimagines Edo-period artist Katsushika Hokusai as a modern beautiful girl streamer named HOKU who seeks to become a god-tier artist. Players act as a publisher commissioning pictures, with branching stories and an encyclopedia of Hokusai's real works. Playtime is about 15 minutes.