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Tokyo Game Show celebrated its 30th anniversary at Makuhari Messe, with an edition announced over five days from 17 to 21 September 2026, a first in its history. It ended after four: typhoon number 25 led the organisers to cancel the day of the 21st. The show welcomed 257,642 visitors and 759 exhibitors.
An Xbox broadcast on opening day, Hideo Kojima's return with the cast of PHYSINT, a detailed Switch 2 schedule from Capcom, Silent Hill and Castlevania at Konami, Ace Combat 8 at Bandai Namco: here is what was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2026, along with what the platform holders absent from Makuhari Messe had to say.
Tokyo Game Show 2026 was due to last five days for the first time, under the official theme of the five longest days of non-stop gaming. 17 and 18 September were reserved for industry professionals, and the public was admitted from the 19th.
On 20 September, CESA announced the cancellation of the day of the 21st. Typhoon number 25 was approaching the Kanto region, with strong winds and heavy rain expected from the afternoon, and a risk of disruption to public transport that would have prevented visitors from getting home safely. Tickets bought for 21 September are refunded by the sellers, and some of the stage programmes planned for that day were streamed online, without an audience on site.
The show was therefore open for four days, with 257,642 visitors. This edition brought together 759 exhibitors, 484 from Japan and 275 from abroad, across 3,946 booths. The next edition is set for 16 to 20 September 2027.
Microsoft had no booth at Makuhari Messe, but the publisher opened the event with a broadcast on 17 September. Xbox counted seventeen gameplay segments and announcements, one shadow drop and one world premiere, Faraday Blues from the studio Serenity Forge.
The shadow drop was Shape of Dreams, released the same day on Xbox Series and Game Pass. Three other games received release dates: Edge of Memories on 5 November 2026, Hope in the City on 10 November 2026 and Wo Long 2: Wings of Ember on 4 March 2027, the latter with a free alpha demo available until 30 September.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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Arnaud Bruckler
