Tokyo Game Show 2026 celebrated its 30th anniversary and cancelled its final day

The rest of the broadcast showed gameplay: Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, Raji: Kaliyuga, Netmarble's Bloomwalker, now linked to the Ni No Kuni universe, an update for Fallout 76 and the Japanese destination of Crazy Taxi: World Tour.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 showed its campaign

Vidéo · 2:32

Activision showed the campaign trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 during the broadcast. It follows John Price's operations, the invasion of South Korea and the threat of a weapon capable of overturning the world order. The actor Mads Mikkelsen plays an antagonist.

The game releases on 23 October 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch 2 and PC. Pre-orders of the standard digital edition and the Vault edition give access to the campaign from 16 October.

We covered the PS5 and Xbox Series pre-orders when they opened.

Hideo Kojima confirmed Bill Skarsgård in PHYSINT

The broadcast ended with an appearance by Hideo Kojima. The Japanese creator confirmed that the Swedish actor Bill Skarsgård will play the lead role in PHYSINT, his action and espionage game, and revealed a poster showing him alongside Charlee Fraser. Don Lee and Minami Hamabe are also part of the cast announced by Kojima Productions.

At the same time, the studio confirmed that Xbox will publish the game. PHYSINT was announced in 2024 with the backing of Sony Interactive Entertainment, which withdrew from the project this year. Kojima describes the game as the culmination of his forty-year career.

Kojima also gave an update on OD - KNOCK, the other project he is developing with Xbox, whose performance capture sessions have resumed with Sophia Lillis and Hunter Schafer. No release date was given for either game.

Capcom detailed its Switch 2 schedule and the Monster Hunter Wilds expansion

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Capcom broadcast its Capcom Spotlight on 17 September, lasting about an hour. The publisher mainly gave details on releases already known, with a focus on Switch 2.

Monster Hunter Wilds arrives on Nintendo's console on 4 December 2026, with local play and cross-platform multiplayer. The Ascendance expansion, due in 2027, showed new mechanics for the game's fourteen weapons and the return of the elder dragon Teostra. A new mobile instalment, Monster Hunter Outlanders, has opened pre-registration.

The rest of the programme came down to three dates. Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen releases on Switch 2 on 9 October 2026 with twelve additional dungeons, Street Fighter 6 adds the fighter Arjun on 13 October 2026, and Mega Man: Dual Override is planned for spring 2027, with Proto Man playable alongside Mega Man and more than fifty upgrade chips.

The licence is well represented in POP figures at partner shops, with four figures released in 2026: Arkveld, Doshaguma, Olivia and Athos.

Konami showed Silent Hill Townfall and Castlevania

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Konami devoted its 19 September stage show to Silent Hill: Townfall, with a talk led by Motoi Okamoto, the series producer, followed by a live commentated playthrough. A playable demo was available at the booth.

The game releases on 24 September 2026 on PlayStation 5 and PC, three days after the show closed. We covered the opening of its pre-orders earlier in the month.

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The publisher's other stage show was for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, played in public for the first time by Ryotaro Okiayu, the Japanese voice of Trevor Belmont, and Satoshi Tsuruoka, who voices Death. The game, developed by Evil Empire, releases on 15 October 2026 on Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC. Here too, pre-orders are open.

Konami also showed Suikoden Star Leap, with a broadcast bringing together the series producer Rui Naito, the producer Shinya Fujimatsu and the director Yoshiki Takeyama to discuss the party battles and the story's links with the first Suikoden.

SEGA and Atlus: Stranger Than Heaven and Persona 4 Revival

Vidéo · 2:56

On 18 September, SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio released a Stranger Than Heaven trailer made with Toei. Its music, editing and presentation follow those of Battles Without Honor and Humanity, the 1973 film series whose actor Bunta Sugawara appears in the game. Stranger Than Heaven releases on 15 January 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC.

During the show, Atlus released the trailer for Naoto Shirogane, the eighth and final introduction of the Investigation Team in Persona 4 Revival. The character is voiced by Amber Lee Connors in English and Romi Park in Japanese. The remake releases on 18 February 2027 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC, then on 20 May 2027 on Switch 2, and joins Game Pass on day one.

Bandai Namco put Ace Combat 8 forward

Vidéo · 3:11

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve was playable throughout the show, on the publisher's booth and on the PlayStation booth. The aerial combat game releases on 2 October 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC, and follows the reconquest of the Central Usean Federation from the deck of the aircraft carrier Endurance.

Bandai Namco also presented Gundam Rogue Orbit. We covered the opening of Ace Combat 8 pre-orders.

Square Enix focused its booth on Final Fantasy

Vidéo · 4:00

Final Fantasy VII Revelation took centre stage on the Square Enix booth, with a playable section and three photo areas taken from the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy, based on the Scorpion Sentinel, the Forgotten Capital and the Hardy-Daytona. The game releases on 8 April 2027 on PlayStation 5, Switch 2, Xbox Series and PC. Its date was given during the State of Play on 3 September, before the show.

Final Fantasy Resonance received its Tokyo Game Show trailer, four minutes focused on revenge and the bonds between the characters, set to the track INSIDE by WurtS. This turn-based role-playing game, made in the HD-2D style and based on Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, releases on 22 October 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Switch, Switch 2 and PC. A playable demo is available on each of these platforms.

The publisher also showed Kingdom Hearts IV, Romancing SaGa 3: Destinies United and Dragon Quest Monsters.

Sony the only platform holder on site, Nintendo absent from the show

Vidéo · 26:48

This was the other lesson of this edition: Sony Interactive Entertainment was the only platform holder with a booth. Nintendo did not exhibit, as in almost every year, and limited itself to a few banners in the corridors. Microsoft had no booth either and kept to its 17 September broadcast.

Sony took up the space left free. Three games were playable on its booth, all Japanese: Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance and Ace Combat 8. A Marvel's Wolverine statue, custom console covers and a book for PlayStation's 30th anniversary completed the display.

Grand Theft Auto VI was not playable, but it had its own screening room on the PlayStation booth, with a 300-inch screen and a haptic feedback floor synchronised with the sound. The content shown was the An Extended Look presentation released at the end of August, not new footage, and viewers left with a T-shirt. Thursday's places were all taken by 10.30am, half an hour after the doors opened.

Both console editions of Grand Theft Auto VI are listed at partner shops.

The Japan Game Awards recognised ten upcoming games

The Future Division ceremony was held on 20 September in Hall 1 of Makuhari Messe. It rewards unreleased games shown or announced at the show before 4pm on 19 September, based on votes from visitors and the public.

Ten titles were recognised: Romancing SaGa 3: Destinies United and Final Fantasy VII Revelation for Square Enix, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve and Gundam Rogue Orbit for Bandai Namco, Persona 4 Revival for Atlus, Stranger Than Heaven for SEGA, Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance for Capcom, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse for Konami, Super Danganronpa 2x2 for Spike Chunsoft and Magical Girl Taboo Village for Good Smile Company.

The annual grand award was presented beforehand: Pokémon Pokopia was named game of the year on 15 September, two days before the show opened.

What this edition shows

Tokyo Game Show celebrated its 30th anniversary with the most ambitious format in its history and saw it end a day early, for a reason unrelated to the state of the industry. The 759 exhibitors and 3,946 booths remain solid figures for a show said to be facing competition from online broadcasts.

The contrast with the major Western events is clear. Here, the Japanese publishers carry the programme, Capcom, Konami, SEGA, Bandai Namco and Square Enix, while the platform holders keep a low profile: a single booth, Sony's, and a streamed broadcast from Microsoft, which had no space on site.

The other point to note concerns the calendar. Much of what was shown at Makuhari Messe releases in the following weeks, from Silent Hill: Townfall on 24 September to Ace Combat 8 on 2 October, then Final Fantasy Resonance and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 in October. The show was used less to make announcements than to let people play what arrives before the end of the year.

Illustration photo: Syced, CC0 licence, via Wikimedia Commons.