Tokyo Game Show marked its 30th anniversary by branding the event as "the longest five days of nonstop play," promising a forward‑looking celebration of gaming. In practice, the show at Makuhari Messe, Japan’s largest gaming venue, wrapped up after only four days when a looming typhoon forced the cancellation of the final day. Rather than looking ahead, the exhibition seemed preoccupied with revisiting past glories, offering only faint hints of what lies ahead. The industry as a whole is in a state of transition.
While the success of the Nintendo Switch 2 and the continued expansion of PC gaming have helped mask underlying challenges—especially in Japan, where those platforms drive most recent growth—the overall picture remains unsettled. Last year’s TGS was dominated by free‑to‑play and mobile titles; this year, those segments were less visible, partly because Chinese developers were largely absent amid rising diplomatic tensions.
Yet the overall impression was that the show struggled to articulate a clear vision for the future, as the majority of the floor was populated by nostalgic re‑releases and legacy IPs. At Sega’s stand, the most eye‑catching attraction was not the brand‑new IP *Stranger Than Heaven* from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios, but the forthcoming remake of *Persona 4 Golden*. The booth’s demo drew crowds, and the surrounding atmosphere was amplified by DJs and cosplay performers. Square Enix, meanwhile, limited its showcase to two entries: the concluding chapter of the *Final Fantasy VII* remake series, which dominated the space with meteor‑and‑Sephiroth imagery, and *Final Fantasy Resonance*, a new HD‑2D title that stitched together characters from across the franchise’s history.
Capcom’s presence was similarly retrospective, focusing on demo kiosks for the *Monster Hunter Wilds* expansion and Switch 2 ports of classic survival‑horror entries such as *Resident Evil 2, 3* and *4*, alongside a fresh *Mega Man* game. Among the major developers, only Bandai Namco and Konami presented original titles. Bandai Namco unveiled a new *Gundam* game alongside anime tie‑ins and *Ace Combat 8*.
Konami offered a reimagined *Castlevania* with a radically different art style and non‑playable showcases for new IPs *Rhapsody in Scarlet* and *Rev:Noir*, as well as a teaser for *Silent Hill Townfall*. Several factors explain this backward‑leaning line‑up.
TGS takes place in September, a month traditionally crowded with new releases as publishers avoid direct competition with the November launch of *Grand Theft Auto VI*. Even without playable demos, the event attracted large crowds to a Netflix showcase presented in an immersive haptic‑enhanced theater, a draw amplified by the giveaway of a free GTA‑themed PlayStation T‑shirt for attendees. While these attractions provided momentary excitement, they offered little insight into the next three decades of gaming.
The one technological force that repeatedly surfaced was generative AI. Developers tout AI as a productivity booster—automating code, generating concept art, and creating assets quickly, thereby cutting costs. Critics, however, warn that AI could trigger layoffs and erode the handcrafted quality that players cherish. There is also concern that rising hardware prices, possibly accelerated by AI‑driven demands, could turn gaming from a hobby into an exclusive luxury.
If any forward‑looking glimpse appeared on the TGS floor, it was in the AI sphere. The curated indie showcase, Selected Indie 80, was pushed out of the main hall and replaced by an AI technology pavilion featuring companies that provide localization and asset‑creation services.
Ironically, the winning indie title *Finding Polka*—a multiple‑award winner at Gamescom and Bitsummit—relies entirely on hand‑drawn sketches, underscoring the tension between AI hype and traditional artistry. Japan’s adoption of generative AI appears higher than in many other regions.
A preliminary excerpt from the forthcoming 2026 Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) report, released to the press on opening day, indicated that 86 % of Japanese developers reported using some form of AI tool, up sharply from 51 % the previous year. Numerous games on display showcased AI‑generated assets, and Level‑5 emerged as a high‑profile case study. Level‑5 has been outspoken about its AI experiments, openly discussing how it employed AI for concept art and promotional imagery as early as 2023.
CEO Akihiro Hino frequently mentions AI on social media. A pre‑show showcase of upcoming Level‑5 projects drew intense scrutiny for its heavy reliance on AI, including AI‑generated talking‑head segments where a synthetic image of Hino addressed the audience, and AI‑enhanced trailers.
AI‑generated visuals appeared in trailers for *Holy Horror Mansion*—a new entry in the wildly popular *Yokai Watch* franchise—as well as in remakes of *Yokai Watch 2* and *Professor Layton and the Curious Village*. The backlash was strong enough that Hino issued a public apology, emphasizing the human craftsmanship behind the TGS booth (which itself was initially conceptualized with AI assistance) and promising stricter guidelines for future AI usage. On the exhibition floor, AI influence was evident in demos for *Holy Horror Mansion* and *Decapolice* (the latter showing a marked improvement over its 2023 showcase). However, developers generally removed AI‑generated assets from playable builds to avoid controversy.
The public reaction highlights a broader anxiety that AI could fundamentally reshape game creation beyond isolated experiments. A more optimistic trajectory also emerged: the integration of Japan’s long‑standing multimedia production‑committee model into gaming.
Originating in the 1970s film industry, the committee system pools resources from diverse partners—food companies, fashion brands, retailers—to share risk and broaden revenue streams across media. Historically, this model has driven successful anime, movies, and novels, and it is now being applied to video games.
Surprising players in this ecosystem include convenience‑store chain Lawson, which backs film projects to secure exclusive merchandise opportunities. Gaming, once largely insulated, is increasingly woven into these cross‑media collaborations. Sega, for example, cited Disney as an inspiration for expanding into film and television, citing recent ventures such as *Sonic the Hedgehog* movies, *Angry Birds* adaptations, and collaborations with fashion houses like Balenciaga. The company also announced Netflix adaptations of upcoming titles *Crazy Taxi* and *Stranger Than Heaven* before the games have even launched.
Indie publishing is also benefitting from this trend. Shueisha Games aims not only to fund distinctive projects but also to leverage its extensive media experience to amplify successful games into manga, novels, merchandise, and even alternate‑reality games. *Urban Myth Dissolution Center*, a top‑selling indie from last year, has already spawned manga adaptations, novelizations, merchandise, and an ARG created by escape‑room designers SCRAP.
Recent partnerships with *Silent Hill* for new merchandise and a free browser spin‑off illustrate the expanding ecosystem. Similarly, Toei Games is moving from film into interactive media to nurture new IPs, while Parco Games—backed by the national department‑store chain—supports art‑driven indie titles and showcases them in retail spaces through clothing lines and gallery displays. T‑shirts for titles such as *Berlin Apartment* were on display at this year’s show. In summary, the future of Japanese gaming will not be decided solely on the Makuhari Messe floor.
It will be shaped by how the industry monetizes its past, adopts AI technologies from global tech giants, and extends games into movies, fashion, and other media. Next year’s TGS hopes to finally deliver a full five‑day schedule without weather interruptions, but the most decisive developments for the next thirty years are likely to happen far beyond the convention halls, in boardrooms, studios, and collaborative ventures across the entertainment spectrum.