Sony’s November 2025 State of Play Japan spotlighted a diverse range of titles from Japanese and Asian developers, marking a showcase that leaned heavily into RPGs, horror, and nostalgic revivals. While the event didn’t feature major first-party surprises, it demonstrated the continued strength of Japanese studios across both established franchises and emerging indie projects.
The presentation opened with Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, a full remake of the PlayStation classic that updates its art style and battle system while keeping its original narrative intact. The game launches on February 5, 2026, giving long-time fans another trip back to Estard.
A change of pace came with Inkonbini: One Store. Many Stories, a small-scale narrative sim centered on a convenience store and its customers, set to arrive in April 2026. The quiet storytelling continued with Coffee Talk Tokyo, a follow-up to the cult hit series, now featuring supernatural characters inspired by Japanese folklore. That’s due March 5, 2026.
The night’s middle stretch focused on horror. BrokenLore: UNFOLLOW, a first-person game about escaping a social media nightmare, releases January 16, 2026, followed by BrokenLore: Ascend in summer 2026, which adds a climbing mechanic set around Tokyo Tower. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly also returns in a full remake, arriving March 12, 2026.
From Koei Tecmo, Dynasty Warriors: Origin – Visions of Four Heroes DLC drops January 22, 2026, while Gran Turismo 7 expands with its Power Pack DLC on December 4, 2025, featuring a new 24-hour endurance race. Other Japanese titles included MotionRec, a retro puzzle-action game due next spring, and Wandering Sword Complete Edition, launching May 28, 2026, with all previous DLC included.
Fans of narrative-driven adventures can expect No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files on February 26, 2026, while racing enthusiasts will revisit Tokyo Xtreme Racer the same day. Meanwhile, Once Upon a Katamari and Pac-Man World 2: Re-Pac both receive new content—one with remix tracks, the other through an unlikely Sonic the Hedgehog crossover that’s already live.
Additional updates included Digimon Story: Time Stranger – Episode Pack 1, Super Robot Wars Y DLC 1, and Monster Hunter Wild Free Title Update 4, the latter adding the imposing dragon Gogmazios on December 16, 2025. Crossover chaos continued with the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds SpongeBob SquarePants Pack, launching November 20.
New indie and RPG reveals rounded out the show: Never Grave: The Witch and the Curse (March 5, 2026) offers 2D roguelike action, BlazBlue Entropy Effect X (February 12, 2026) expands the fighting series with roguelite elements, and Kyouran Makaism (January 29, 2026) introduces an RPG mechanic where enemies can become allies or weapons.
For those seeking tactical or fantasy battles, Fate Trigger teased anime-inspired combat, Octopath Traveler 0 revealed a playable demo ahead of its December 4 release, and Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls confirmed its closed beta for December 5–7, featuring heroes like Spider-Man and Ghost Rider.
The event concluded with Elden Ring Nightreign: The Forsaken Hollows DLC, arriving December 4, 2025. The expansion introduces new environments, formidable enemies, and a mysterious spell-sword character, reaffirming FromSoftware’s influence on multiplayer RPG design. Sony closed the show with a smaller hardware reveal—a new gaming monitor featuring a built-in DualSense charging hook, available initially in Japan and the US.
Overall, State of Play Japan offered a steady mix of nostalgia, experimentation, and cross-genre variety. While it lacked the global blockbuster announcements often expected from Sony’s Western showcases, it underscored Japan’s ongoing creativity in game development heading into 2026.
