Unicorn Overlord Director's New Action RPG DAWNGAZER Hits 2028

Remember how good Unicorn Overlord felt? Well, the guy who directed it is back with something completely different. Takashi Noma has teamed up with figure giant Good Smile Company and art studio MONOCHRO to launch a brand-new original IP called IGNISPHERE, and its first game is an action RPG called DAWNGAZER. It's aiming for a 2028 launch.

So what exactly is IGNISPHERE? It's both a fantasy world and the name of Noma's development studio. The world is described as one woven together from multiple nations and races. If you know Noma's work, you know he doesn't just sit in one chair. On Unicorn Overlord he handled directing, scripting, and character design all at once, so expect him to be hands-on here too.

On the development side, things are split up pretty clearly. IGNISPHERE Studio, led by Noma, is handling development. MONOCHRO is in charge of planning and development. Good Smile Company is publishing and promoting. That's a neat little triangle of talent, and it means the figure maker isn't just slapping its logo on a box.

The music side is stacked too. Yoshikazu Kudo, who composed for Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Dragon's Crown, and Unicorn Overlord, is on the soundtrack. The teaser trailer's song features KOCHO on vocals and vocal coordination. You might know KOCHO from the Japanese drama Unnatural, so there's some serious pedigree in the audio department.

And IGNISPHERE isn't just a game brand. It's going multimedia. Good Smile Company will obviously push physical merch like figures, and Kadokawa's Fujimi Fantasia Bunko is already working on a novelization. Multiple light novel projects are apparently in the pipeline too. So this world is getting built out in several directions at once.

As for where you'll actually play DAWNGAZER, it's coming to PC via Steam, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2. That's right, Switch 2. The game will support Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese. No word yet on a specific release date beyond 2028, so we're in for a bit of a wait.

Still, a new action RPG from the Unicorn Overlord director, backed by Good Smile Company and a stacked composer, is worth keeping an eye on. The teaser alone should give us a better feel for the combat and world. Until then, we'll be here speculating about what kind of action game Noma wants to make.

What do you think? Does an action RPG from the Unicorn Overlord director sound like your kind of thing, or are you more curious about the light novels and figures? Let us know in the comments.