''Project Awakening'' is an upcoming

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...

in a fantasy setting being developed by

Cygames is a Japanese video game development studio established in 2011 by CyberAgent. Mobile and e-commerce company DeNA acquired a 24% stake in the studio in 2012, and Nintendo acquired another 5% stake in 2018, leaving CyberAgent with 69% of the sha ...

, and initially announced for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

in September 2018.

History

Development of ''Project Awakening'' as a 'high-end console game' was announced at Cygames Next event (Tokyo) in August 2016, under development at Cygames Osaka studio. A short gameplay video was shown in a closed session at

E3 2018 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2018 (E3 2018) was the 24th E3, during which hardware manufacturers, software developers, and publishers from the video game industry presented new and upcoming products to the attendees, primarily retailers a ...

. The game was described as showing some influences from games such as ''

Monster Hunter is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fantasy-themed action role-playing video games, beginning with first installment '' Monster Hunter'' for the PlayStation 2, released in 2004. Titles have been released across a variety of pl ...

'' and ''

Dragon's Dogma is a 2012 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom. First released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, an enhanced version subtitled ''Dark Arisen'' was later released for the same consoles in 2013, with ports being released for Wi ...

''. The game was officially announced as an action fantasy RPG in September 2018 for the

system, with Junji Tago as the director, and Ryosuke Aiba as the art director. Producer

Kenichiro Takaki Kenichiro Takaki (高木謙一郎) is a Japanese video game producer known for his work on the ''Senran Kagura'' franchise. Career Kenichiro Takaki worked at Marvelous for 17 years, becoming head of subsidiary Honey Parade Games in 2017. In ea ...

described the game as an

open-world game In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda'' (1986), ''Grand ...

, containing some

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

elements, with a focus on combat, including co-op multiplayer aspects - the game has a traditional

high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

setting. The game was intended by Cygames as an attempt to break into the western console market - the name was also confirmed as only a working title. Takaki also discussed the possibility of the game becoming a

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

title if development extended into the next generation of consoles. In August 2019 a potential demo version was registered (16+) with the European ratings board

PEGI PEGI ( ), short for Pan-European Game Information, is a European video game content rating system established to help European consumers make informed decisions when buying video games or apps through the use of age recommendations and content ...

. In November 2021, new footage of ''Project Awakening'' was shown at a Cygames Tech Conference session. In April 2024,

CyberAgent is a Japanese digital advertising company, which was founded in 1998 by Susumu Fujita and headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is owned by Susumu Fujita with 20.50% interest; Fujita is the representative director, while Yusuke Hidaka is the execut ...

(Cygames' parent company) released financial documents that listed ''Project Awakening'' under its future plans for upcoming games beyond FY2024, with a TBD release date.

References

External links

* {{Cygames Upcoming video games PlayStation 4 games Action role-playing video games Video games about dragons Fantasy video games Open-world video games Video games developed in Japan Cygames franchises