Tokyo Game Show marked its 30th anniversary with the slogan "the longest five days of nonstop play," promising a forward‑looking celebration of gaming’s future. In practice, the event at Makuhari Messe – Japan’s largest convention centre for games – wrapped up after just four days, the final day being called off because a typhoon threatened the venue.
Rather than looking ahead, the show seemed preoccupied with revisiting past glories, offering only faint hints of what lies ahead. The broader games market is in a state of transition. The continued success of the Nintendo Switch 2 and the steady expansion of PC gaming have helped mask underlying cracks, especially in Japan where those platforms now account for most of the recent growth.
While last year’s show was awash with free‑to‑play and mobile titles, this year the presence of those segments was muted, and Chinese developers were notably absent amid heightened political tension. Consequently, it was difficult to discern a clear vision for the industry’s next chapter, as the floor was dominated by nostalgic properties rather than bold new concepts. 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 upcoming remake of *Persona 4 Golden*. DJs and cosplay performers kept the energy high, and the demo for the remake drew the biggest crowds.
Square Enix, meanwhile, limited its showcase to two projects: the concluding chapter of the *Final Fantasy VII* remake saga, which featured the meteor and Sephiroth in every visual, and *Final Fantasy Resonance*, a new HD‑2D title that assembled characters from across the franchise’s history. Capcom’s space was largely filled with demo kiosks for the new *Monster Hunter Wilds* expansion, but it also highlighted Switch 2 ports of classic *Resident Evil* entries and 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 surprised attendees with a reimagined *Castlevania* in a radically different art style, plus non‑playable showcases for new IPs *Rhapsody in Scarlet* and *Rev:Noir*, as well as a preview of *Silent Hill Townfall*. Several factors explain this retro‑heavy lineup.
TGS takes place in September, a month traditionally crowded with new releases as many publishers avoid clashing with the November launch of *Grand Theft Auto 6*. Even without playable demos, the event generated buzz with a Netflix showcase presented in an immersive, haptic‑enhanced theatre, prompting long lines on public days. Attendance was further boosted by a free PlayStation T‑shirt featuring a GTA motif handed out to viewers.
While these attractions were effective, they offered little insight into the next three decades of gaming. The one undeniable force shaping the industry’s future is generative AI.
Developers tout AI as a tool that speeds up coding, generates concept art, and reduces production costs. Critics, however, warn that it could lead to layoffs and erode the handcrafted feel that many players cherish. There is also concern that rising hardware prices could turn gaming from a hobby into an exclusive luxury. If any forward‑looking glimpse emerged at TGS, it was in the AI arena.
The Selected Indie 80 – a curated set of indie titles granted free demo space – was once again displaced from the main exhibition hall to a peripheral corridor, making way for an AI technology pavilion showcasing localisation and asset‑creation services. Ironically, the winning indie, *Finding Polka*, which also earned accolades at Gamescom and Bitsummit, relies entirely on hand‑drawn sketches for its visuals, underscoring the tension between AI and traditional artistry.
Japan’s adoption of generative AI appears higher than in many other markets. A preliminary summary of the forthcoming 2026 Computer Entertainment Supplier’s Association (CESA) report, distributed to the press on opening day, indicated that 86 % of surveyed developers reported using AI tools, up sharply from 51 % the previous year. Numerous games on display featured AI‑generated assets, and Level‑5 became a focal point of the conversation. Level‑5 has been openly discussing its AI experiments since 2023, with CEO Akihiro Hino frequently posting about the technology on social media.
A pre‑show showcase of upcoming projects drew intense scrutiny for its heavy AI usage: AI‑generated avatars of Hino appeared in ‘talking‑head’ segments, and trailers for titles such as *Holy Horror Mansion* (part of the *Yokai Watch* franchise) and remakes of *Yokai Watch 2* and *Professor Layton and the Curious Village* featured AI‑crafted imagery. Public backlash was strong enough that Hino issued a personal apology, emphasized the human effort behind the booth’s design, and pledged to revise the company’s AI practices. On the floor, AI’s influence could be seen in demos for *Holy Horror Mansion* and *Decapolice* (which looked markedly different from its 2023 showcase). In most cases, developers removed AI‑generated assets from playable builds, acknowledging player concerns.
The episode illustrates the broader anxiety that AI could fundamentally reshape creative pipelines and job security within the industry. Amid the AI debate, another, more optimistic trend emerged: the growing integration of Japan’s traditional multimedia production‑committee model into gaming.
Originating in the 1970s film sector, this system spreads risk across multiple partners who co‑own rights and collaborate on cross‑media adaptations. Companies from unrelated sectors—such as convenience‑store chain Lawson—have begun investing in media projects to secure promotional opportunities and merchandise sales. Gaming is now being woven into this ecosystem.
The indie hit *Exit 8*—one of Japan’s top‑grossing films of 2025—started as a video game before transitioning to the big screen. Sega recently announced that it is looking to emulate Disney’s cross‑media strategy, expanding its portfolio beyond games to include film adaptations, retail stores in China and Japan, collaborations with fashion houses like Balenciaga, and even Netflix series based on upcoming titles such as *Crazy Taxi* and *Stranger Than Heaven* before those games launch. Indie publishing is also benefitting from this model. Shueisha Games, for example, aims not only to fund distinctive projects but also to leverage its broader media expertise to nurture successful franchises.
The indie title *Urban Myth Dissolution Center* topped sales charts last year and has since spawned manga, novels, merchandise, and an alternate‑reality game created by escape‑room studio SCRAP. Recent partnerships with *Silent Hill* for new merchandise and a free browser spin‑off illustrate how games can extend into multiple entertainment channels. Other newcomers, like Toei Games and Parco Games, are following suit. Toei is moving from film into game development to create IPs that can be expanded across media, while Parco—Japan’s nationwide department‑store chain—has launched a label to back art‑driven indie games and showcase them through clothing lines and gallery displays.
T‑shirts featuring 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 exhibition floor of Makuhari Messe. It will be shaped by how the industry monetises its heritage, adopts AI technologies, and embraces transmedia collaborations that bridge games, movies, fashion, and beyond.
The next edition of TGS hopes to finally deliver a full five‑day programme without weather interruptions, offering a fresh platform to explore what the next thirty years of play might hold. Yet the most decisive signals for that future are already being forged far beyond the convention halls, in boardrooms, AI labs, and creative studios across the country.