Cygames announced it will serve as a premium partner for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, making it the first Japanese company in that role. The Group 1 race runs October 4 at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. Life-size Uma Musume figures of Orfevre and Gold Ship will be on display, and the Cygames logo will appear on race programs and track boards.
The Australian government led by Anthony Albanese is preparing legislation requiring social media platforms to let users disable personalized recommendation algorithms. The bill, part of a digital duty of care initiative, also sets minimum standards for protecting under-18s from harmful content, with fines up to 109.2 million dollars.
VIVANT season 2 episode 17 made a talking point of the local field agent Tashiro, played by Leyla Mada, whose hijab-covered appearance and fluent Azerbaijani drew praise. Tashiro first appeared in episode 15 photographing public security officer Nozaki, played by Hiroshi Abe, during his undercover work against the Chinese intelligence organization Xinxi. In episode 17 she investigated a cafeteria owner near Shaki Castle in the Gorbad Republic. Mada has worked as a singer since 2013, with live shows in Taiwan, China and Macau.
Dynamis One is developing Astraea Oratio, a new legend magic RPG that combines magic and administration. The setting is a nostalgic 89 Tokyo, with art director Kim In aiming for hand-drawn warmth rather than clean digital polish. The protagonist is a lone bureaucrat who cannot use magic, assigned to an unidentified government office where he handles problems caused by magic users. Stars appear throughout key visuals, character screens, and battle effects, tied to lore that defines magic as people's wishes turned into stars.
Episode 7 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity has Uryu take on Yhwach with one hand, a fight that lacks the punch of Ichigo's battles. The episode ends Gerard Valkyrie's fight abruptly, with Yhwach killing him as collateral damage. The animation remains the season's best, but the episode feels half-baked.
Premium Bandai opens reservations September 8 at 11:00 for three Gunpla kits tied to the MS IGLOO OVAs, all shipping in March 2027. The Zaku Ground Combat Set and Ground Combat Gundam Ground Combat Set, both from MS IGLOO 2: Gravity Front, cost 3,080 yen each. The EX Model Hildolfr from MS IGLOO: The Hidden One Year War returns at 8,580 yen.
PlayWay S.A. announced Thief Simulator 3: First Loot, a free prologue to the latest series entry, developed by Noble Muffins for PC (Steam) with Japanese display and subtitles. It covers the first mission and adds up to 4-player co-op, a feature new to the series. The prologue confirms the co-op support listed among improvements when the May demo was pulled. Noble Muffins, developer of the first Thief Simulator, returns after CookieDev handled the sequel.
Apple TV's September slate opens with the Apple Original Films buddy action Mayday, starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, streaming from September 4. The Cold War-set story pairs a US Navy pilot with a former KGB agent. The month also brings the drama Missing Girl on September 9, Slow Horses season 6 on September 16, and the comedy Brothers on September 23. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley direct Mayday, produced by Skydance Media.
Episode 47 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, titled THE END 2, aired September 5. Uryu Ishida takes a central role, joining Nelliel and Tier Harribel to fight Yhwach. The episode also features the deceased Jushiro Ukitake appearing before Shunsui Kyoraku, drawing an emotional response from viewers.
MERCURYDUO launched a special collection inspired by the Disney animated film Beauty and the Beast, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary since release. Pre-orders began Friday, September 4, 2026, and the items go on sale at stores nationwide starting Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The lineup includes three items, led by a fur cape knit one-piece dress embroidered with the Magic Rose on the back.
NIS America will release The Grimm Reapress and the Drearytale Monster for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam in 2027. The picture book style side-scrolling adventure launched in Japan on Switch, Switch 2, and PS5 on April 30. The story follows Mono, an opera house child seeking to reverse her sister's Paper Mortis disease.
Tenku will release ONE-NETBOOK's OneXFly APEX Air portable gaming PC in Japan on September 11. The variation model of the OneXFly APEX carries Intel's Arc G3 Extreme SoC, 32GB of memory, and 1TB of storage for 298,000 yen. The 8-inch 120Hz LCD unit weighs about 639g without the battery, down from roughly 699g. Reservations are open, and the unit will appear at the ONE-NETBOOK booth at Tokyo Game Show 2026.
Cygames and Tokyo Institute of Science had a joint research paper accepted at ECCV2026, the computer vision conference held September 8-12 in Malmo, Sweden. The paper, "Motion Style Slider: Endpoint-Supervised Continuous Style Control for Human Motion Diffusion," proposes a technique that adjusts acting intensity continuously like a slider, using data from Cygames' Osaka motion capture studio. The acceptance rate was 27.5 percent. The paper is registered as a poster presentation for September 11.
Season 3 of As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraisal Skill debuts September 27 with a new animation studio, GeyeG Pictures, replacing Studio Mother. Sumire Morohoshi and Hinata Tadokoro join the cast. Rico Sasaki performs the opening theme "Still Water," and Akuruyo no Hitsuji performs the ending theme "Hibi o Koete." Director Takao Kato returns.
PlayWay S.A. announced on September 3 that Digital Melody's Zombie Wrap Simulator: Grill the Dead is in development. The first-person shop management sim is planned for PC via Steam with a 2027 release and Japanese language support. Players run the last kebab shop in a fallen world, collecting zombies to process into meat for kebabs, delivering meals by day, and defending the shop from Zomboners at night with barricades and stationary guns.
BANDAI SPIRITS revealed the full lineup for Ichiban Kuji Disney Princess Enchanted Glow, a no-loser lottery. The A and B prizes are Beauty and the Beast figures recreating the ballroom scene where Belle and Beast's gazes meet. C prize is a Charm Collection BOX with a rose metal charm. D through F are goblet-style glasses for Belle, Rapunzel, and Ariel. G through K cover mini figures, mini canvas boards, can mirrors, rubber and sticker collections. The Last One prize is a stained-glass light. Release is September 5 at 781 yen.
Maze Theory is developing Project Hail Mary: Journey Among the Stars, a mixed reality game based on Andy Weir's novel. Weir wrote a new chapter for the game that appears in neither the book nor the film. Players take the role of Ryland Grace and work with the alien Rocky to repair the Hail Mary. The studio demoed the game at gamescom in Cologne, which ran August 26-30.
Cygames announced a new game label, CygamesEdge, during Sony's State of Play livestream on September 3. The label's debut title, Where the Seeds Fall (Hōraku no Kuni), launches November 5 for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam as a digital-only release, with the price still undecided. Where the Seeds Fall is a dramatic collapse action-adventure set in a world where people fled a defiled land to build a nation atop the World Tree. The protagonist, a soldier who lost his daughter, meets a Fell Child bearing her likeness and turns against the nation to descend to the lower layers. The core gameplay is controlling descent: reading the wind, choosing footholds, and using a Flower Dive system that blooms flowers from thrown buds to survive falls. The main story takes about three hours on a first playthrough, with high-difficulty maps and time attack modes available after clearing. CygamesEdge is built around small and mid-sized teams under the keyword 'Stay on the edge.' The game is developed with ZEREO.
Koei Tecmo released Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition for the Nintendo Switch 2 on September 3. The package includes the main game, all three DLC packs, and content from free updates, with a limited-time Black Tortoise Battle Armor Set for Switch 2 owners. The series has surpassed 8 million cumulative players worldwide, counting downloads, packaged sales, and subscription play. The sequel, Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember, is scheduled for early 2027.
The Kirby Air Ride amiibo Cook Kawasaki & Hop Star launched on September 3 at Nintendo Store and other retailers for 6,600 yen. A limited in-game event, Super Spicy! Cook Kawasaki Army, runs September 10-15, featuring City Trial team battles where players and CPU opponents are all Cook Kawasaki.
Theater Anime Seminar 2026 will host a lecture and screening with loundraw and Yoneyama Mai on September 26 at Theater Shinjuku. Yoneyama Mai's three video works, 'THE STORY ARC,' '00:00:00:00,' and 'YOKU - Eve Music Video,' will screen on a theater screen for the first time, alongside loundraw's 2021 film 'Summer Ghost.'
Reissad Studio released the 'Locked and Loaded' major update for the PC multiplayer FPS Bodycam, currently in Early Access on Steam. The update overhauls weapon customization with roughly 400 attachments, adds the Trenches map, FPV drones and reconnaissance RC cars, revamps audio with Organic Reverb, and introduces a new competitive mode.
At CEDEC 2026, Cygames developer support staff member Hiroshi Tadefuku presented four AI tools built to assist scenario writers. The tools detect contradictions between scenarios and character settings, suggest unique dialogue phrasing, check dialects, and catch typos. The tools were assembled using Dify and GPT-4o, with some already in active use.
Takara Tomy Arts is releasing a capsule gacha line of BEYBLADE X mini shooters in six designs: Dransword, Hells Scythe, Wizard Arrow, Knight Shield, Phoenix Wing, and Cobalt Dragoon. Each capsule is an all-in-one set with the bey, a shooter, and a winder, so it can be played immediately. Five beys pair with right-spin shooters; Cobalt Dragoon comes with a left-spin shooter and winder. Each capsule costs 300 yen including tax, with release set for early September 2026.
Episode 6 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity earns a 5-star review. The episode pulls a Breaking Dawn Part 2 style fake-out, showing a vision of a potential but unrealized future that subverts expectations while staying true to the story. The Uryu vs Jugram fight finally gets substantial screen time after weeks of being background material, and Orihime gets time in the spotlight. The community score sits at 4.3.
Cygames subsidiary Citetail dissolved effective August 31, according to a dissolution notice published in the official gazette on September 1. The company was known for co-developing the smartphone action game WORLD FLIPPER with Cygames, and also worked on titles including Rabi tobi and Kirubeji. WORLD FLIPPER launched in November 2019 with a pinball-inspired game system, and its online service ended on February 20, 2024. An offline version with limited features remains available. The dissolution notice appeared in the September 1 edition of the gazette, the standard public record for corporate closures in Japan. Citetail's work on WORLD FLIPPER spanned the game's full service period, from its November 2019 launch through the February 2024 shutdown of online operations. The company's other titles, Rabi tobi and Kirubeji, were also developed under the Citetail name.
Reissad Studio announced on August 31 that Bodycam, its multiplayer FPS played from a bodycam perspective, has passed 3 million Steam wishlists. The count kept rising while the studio worked on a commemorative video and reached 3,111,000 at the time of the announcement. The game has been in early access since June 8, 2024, and sells for 3,900 yen including tax. The largest free update so far, Locked and Loaded, is scheduled for September 2, with a launch trailer planned for the same day. The update adds dozens of reload animations that play based on stress level, a gunshot system that recognizes the air volume of a space in real time, and a new map called Trench. It also introduces host migration, the most requested feature: when the host disconnects, a new host is selected automatically based on connection quality and the match state is restored. Previously a host disconnect ended the match. The final video in a four-part developer diary series, released August 29, has surpassed 1.4 million views in two days. It covers interface reconstruction, game settings, controller support, server list improvements, and a fix for performance degradation over long play sessions.
Koei Tecmo opened pre-orders on September 1 for the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Dynasty Warriors 2 with Xtreme Legends Remastered, a remaster that combines the original Dynasty Warriors 2, the series' first million-seller, with its Xtreme Legends expansion. The game launches October 1, 2026 at 7,480 yen. It runs on Unreal Engine 5, with more than 40 officers from the original rendered in updated detail, and Shiran, the protagonist of Dynasty Warriors ORIGINS, joins the roster. New actions include a dodge that can trigger a just-dodge counter and a just power guard that deflects enemy attacks and stuns the target. Musou mode gains new scenarios, and the game keeps free mode, challenge mode, and an offline two-player split-screen option for Musou, free, and VS modes. VS mode offers eight stages from the original, including a 3v3 battle at Hulao Gate and a 1v1 contest to defeat 20 enemy soldiers first. A new weapon synthesis system lets players consume unwanted weapons to transfer attributes and skills. Players can switch new elements on or off with normal or classic settings.
Valve opened the Steam PvE Survival Craft Fest on September 1, 2026, a themed sale running until September 8 at 2:00. The event gathers survival and crafting games whose challenge comes from the environment and in-game enemies rather than other players; multiplayer works qualify when they fight the world instead of each other. The official trailer spotlights 15 titles, among them Medieval Dynasty, Project Zomboid, The Alters, Subnautica, and Abiotic Factor, with the full lineup also including The Long Dark, The Forest, Raft, Sunkenland, Terraria, No Man's Sky, The Planet Crafter, ASTRONEER, The Riftbreaker, and SCUM. The special page carries discounts on eligible titles, upcoming releases, and playable demos. Game Spark separately flagged several titles at their lowest recorded prices, including Smalland: Survive the Wilds, VEIN, Romestead, Cubic Odyssey, PixARK, and Everwind. Most of the trailer lineup supports Japanese; Terraria and SCUM do not.
BANDAI SPIRITS has revealed the A prize for Ichiban Kuji BLEACH Stirring Souls vol.5, a MASTERLISE figure of Ichigo Kurosaki in the new Bankai form that appears in the final cour of the TV anime Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict. The image was released early on the official Ichiban Kuji X account. The lottery also includes a B prize Toshiro Hitsugaya figure in his adult form, a C prize Yoruichi Shihouin figure in her Shunko Black Cat Warrior form, and a Last One prize Kenpachi Zaraki figure in his red ogre-like appearance during Bankai. The remaining D through H prizes and the Double Chance Campaign reward are still unannounced. Ichiban Kuji BLEACH Stirring Souls vol.5 will be released sequentially from September 19, 2026, at Seven-Eleven, Ito-Yokado, and Youme Town stores. Each draw costs 850 yen including tax. The series is credited to Tite Kubo, Shueisha, TV Tokyo, dentsu, and Pierrot.
Episode 46 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, titled "THE END," aired on August 29, 2026, and featured anime-original developments that confused manga readers. After Orihime Inoue's self-destruct attack in Episode 45, Yhwach revives, revealing his power alters the future. Rukia Kuchiki and Renji Abarai are tormented in a scene not in the original manga, prompting surprised reactions online.
The week of August 31 to September 6, 2026, brings a heavy slate of new game releases across Japan and North America, led by two major action titles. Capcom's Onimusha: Way of the Sword launches on September 4 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2, priced at 8,990 yen. The sword-fighting action game is set in early Edo-period Kyoto transformed by miasma, with players controlling swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, who bears the Oni Gauntlet and battles the supernatural Genma. Stages recreate real landmarks like Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Yasui Konpira-gu Shrine. A pre-order bonus offers an omamori charm and sword fittings set usable in-game. The Blood of Dawnwalker, a dark fantasy action RPG from Rebel Wolves, arrives on September 3 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S at 9,790 yen. It stars a Dawnwalker who lives as a human by day and a vampire by night, with day and night gameplay duality as a key attraction. Also releasing this week are Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty Complete Edition, My Hero Academia: All's Justice, and Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault.
MegaHouse is releasing a Lucrea figure of Eris Greyrat from Mushoku Tensei III in March 2027. The figure depicts Eris after her training arc, with a toned physique, a confident smile, a sword at her waist, and flowing red hair. It stands about 270mm tall and costs 24,750 yen including tax. The third season has been airing since July 2026.
CS broadcaster Satellite Theater announced the program "Rewind the VHS! Our OVA Special," airing nine OVA works from September and October 2026. September includes the Gosho Aoyama short film collections animated by the Detective Conan staff and cast, plus Magic Knight Rayearth, Vampire Princess Miyu, and Tokyo Vice. October brings LedA, Virgust, Puttun Make Love, and Plastic Little.
A Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War collaboration is now live in Puzzle & Dragons from August 28, 2026. The BLEACH Gacha features new units including Ichigo Kurosaki & Orihime Inoue, Yhwach, and Sternritter "A" Uryu Ishida. Previously released characters like Ichigo and Rukia appear via a bonus gacha. The event runs until September 14 at 9:59 AM.
Bone Nail and 2P Games announced that The Piper of Dawn, a story-focused alchemy workshop management sim set in the sealed Diamond Castle, will launch on Steam on September 23, 2026. The developer is known for Yog-Sothoth's Garden, a bishoujo x Cthulhu Mythos game, and the new title follows a similar style.
Stability AI announced a $76 million Series B round on August 25, bringing total funding under CEO Prem Akkaraju to $232 million. New investors include Electronic Arts, Sony Music Group, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, AMD Ventures, and Pacific Alliance Ventures. Funds will support product development, applied research, and professional services.
Reissad Studio released a development log for the 'Locked and Loaded' update to 'Bodycam', detailing a new 'Organic Reverb' system that analyzes room size, ceiling height, and openings to make gunfire sound authentic rather than cool. The update also rebuilds 38 footstep types and adds wind noise. It arrives September 2, 2026 on Steam.
Dengeki Hobby Web reports that the Neo Dynamite Action line is adding the Daiapolon Anime Color Ver., a painted finished figure of the UFO Warrior Daiapolon. It can separate and combine into three units: Apollo Header, Apollo Trangoo, and Apollo Legger. The figure includes series weapons, optional hand parts, a Space Clear, and mini UFO fighter figures. Pre-orders are open at Rakuten Books.
Maze Theory released a gameplay trailer for its VR survival adventure game Project Hail Mary: Journey Among the Stars at gamescom 2026. The game is based on Andy Weir's novel and the summer 2026 Amazon MGM Studios film starring Ryan Gosling, but features an original story written by Weir that covers an untold part of the Hail Mary mission. Players take on the role of protagonist Ryland Grace in the cockpit of the spacecraft, where they can interact with objects and operate controls with high physics accuracy. The trailer highlights the alien Rocky, who communicates through a musical language and broken machine translation, and reacts expressively to player actions. The demo lasted under five minutes and included comedic moments, but the full game reportedly includes tense survival elements beyond a simple space walk. The release date is undecided, but the game is planned for Meta Quest, PICO, and Android XR platforms, with a scheduled launch in late 2026. Wishlisting is available on the Meta store page.
Toplitz Productions showed a live demo of Vikings Dynasty at gamescom 2026. The life simulation game has players build a village in 10th-century Scandinavia, hunt, fish, and raid by boat. The open playtest begins September 16, 2026, running on Unreal Engine 5 with Japanese interface and subtitle support planned.
Dynabook announced the dynabook XPZ Series Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. Model XP/ZAE, a laptop with a design inspired by the cyberpunk anime. It meets the Copilot+ PC standard, includes an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V with a 40TOPS NPU, weighs about 958 grams, and offers up to roughly 30 hours of battery life. Dedicated collaboration wallpapers are preinstalled.
SangsangJapan Co., Ltd. will begin selling official licensed TinyTAN products at the SANGSANG JAPAN official online store from 5:00 PM on Friday, August 28, 2026. The lineup covers daily goods and miscellaneous items, with details to be announced sequentially on the store and official social media.
PlayWay S.A. released Fell & Sell, developed by Art Games Studio S.A., on Steam on August 27. The action RPG combines first-person dungeon exploration with shop management. It peaked at 2,578 concurrent players shortly after launch, though Steam reviews sit at 78% positive out of 196, a Mixed status.
Dan Stevens will star as Alex Murphy in the live-action RoboCop drama series on Prime Video. The eight-episode show follows a fallen police officer revived as a cyborg by a tech conglomerate. James Wan executive produces. A release date has not been announced.
Panic, the company behind the crank-equipped handheld console Playdate, is automatically refunding $12.36 to customers as a share of tariff rebates it received from the U.S. government. The rebate follows a Supreme Court ruling against the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, which had led Panic to raise the Playdate's price. The refunds are expected to land in customer accounts within a few days. Panic's Cabel Sasser told Game Developer, "Simply put, this is not money we should keep." The company acknowledged that processing the rebate and building the refund system took significant work, and Neven Mrgan noted on Bluesky that Panic lost sales after the announcement, but everyone agreed refunding customers was right. Panic explained that the Playdate's low hardware profit margins meant it could not absorb the tariff costs itself. The move contrasts with major companies like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, which are keeping similar rebates. Nintendo, for instance, reflected roughly $300 million in tariff rebates in its earnings, and consumers have filed class action lawsuits alleging double-dipping when companies both profit from higher prices and retain the rebates.
Koei Tecmo announced that Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator will end service in Japan on November 25 at 4:00 p.m. JST. The smartphone game launched in Japan in September 2023 and globally in January 2024. The English version already ended service in March 2025.
NC exhibited a visual booth for the new RPG Astraea Oratio at Comiket, where a pre-release teaser art book sold out. Art Director Kim In discussed the visual direction in a written interview, explaining the 1989 Tokyo setting stems from a longing for nostalgia and a move away from common near-future or Western settings. The visuals aim for a lyrical analog feel.
An Ogura's The Margrave's Daughter and the Enemy Prince published its final chapter on July 11 on Cygames' Cycomi platform. Ogura announced a side story focused on the character Iris. Futabasha shipped the 14th compiled volume on July 10, and Tokyopop, which publishes the English edition, shipped the eighth volume on May 12.
Anime News Network's review of episode 5 of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Calamity reports the episode substantially diverges from the manga, with new material centered on Orihime and Ichigo's newest form. The reviewer, an anime-only viewer, praises the spectacle and notes the possibility that Orihime may be dead, raising questions about the series' canon.