Weekly Anime & Game in Asia 2026-W38 (2026-09-08~2026-09-14)

Nexon said it will open Mabinogi Mobile to player-supplied AI tools while keeping them out of trading and growth automation, Level-5 apologized for generative AI in promotional videos, and HoYoverse committed to an annual free limited 5-star character in Genshin Impact.

This Week’s Events

An AI Connector and an AI Apology

Nexon, the Tokyo-listed, Korean-founded publisher, announced the Mabinogi Mobile AI Connector (Beta), which allows PC players to link third-party AI tools for information retrieval and task delegation. The system supports tools like Claude Code and Cursor but keeps them out of marketplace trading, growth-related auto-play, payments, and item dismantling. By requiring players to pay for AI usage fees separately to the AI provider, Nexon offloads the computational cost of AI processing while positioning the technology as a productivity utility for quality-of-life tasks.

Level-5, a Japanese studio behind the Professor Layton and Yo-kai Watch franchises, issued an apology regarding the use of generative AI in promotional videos for its recent showcase. CEO Akihiro Hino clarified that the company utilizes AI only for efficiency-driven technical tasks, such as polygon conversion, rather than core creative work like scenario writing or character design. The studio aims to reduce the development cycle for large-scale titles from five years to two years. This distinction between creative and technical AI application highlights the reputational tension studios face as they attempt to compress production schedules. By separating these functions, Level-5 is attempting to define an acceptable boundary for AI integration, ensuring that efficiency gains do not compromise the artistic consistency of its established franchises.

Live-Service Changes at HoYoverse and Blizzard

HoYoverse, the Chinese studio behind Genshin Impact, announced that starting with Ver. 7.1, the studio will provide an annual free limited 5-star character selection event. The annual event grants one standard and one limited 5-star character, and this year’s limited pick comes with its growth materials.

Blizzard Entertainment, the American publisher behind the World of Warcraft franchise, announced World of Warcraft: Forever, a project that uses the 2004 Azeroth foundation to develop an independent timeline. The project features fixed-size raids of 10 and 20 players without the current game’s flexible scaling, and its developers say they want players to form groups themselves rather than through one-button automatic matchmaking. Instead of following the existing expansion path, the project expands horizontally from the 2004 world into new regions and stories.

Legacy IP and Platform Consolidation

XL Games, a Korean studio behind the ArcheAge franchise, is transferring the ArcheAge IP and the ArcheAge S development project to Align Studio, a Kakao Games-funded entity, for approximately KRW 39.2 billion. XL Games will retain the ArcheAge Chronicles project. The disclosure does not specify through what rights arrangement XL Games will develop and service ArcheAge Chronicles once the source IP has been transferred.

NEXUS, a Korean platform company, is raising approximately KRW 3.8 billion through a third-party capital increase whose investors include KT and LG Uplus. The deal increases the stake held by NEXUS in the app store operator One Store to 95.88% and formalizes strategic partnerships with the telecom carriers. The increased ownership stake provides NEXUS with near-total control over the platform’s direction.

New IP and Cross-Media Strategies

GungHo Online Entertainment, a Japanese company best known for the mobile hit Puzzle & Dragons, announced B.L.U.E. NOVA, a free-to-play co-op PvE shooter launching on Steam in 2027. The game integrates the VTuber group SNIVPA as playable heroes, utilizing a cross-media strategy to drive engagement. By revealing that the members of the VTuber group are the game’s playable heroes, the studio is attempting to convert an existing audience of VTuber fans into a player base prior to the 2027 release.

Bandai Namco Entertainment, Japan’s character-merchandise giant, announced the first console game for The Idolmaster SideM franchise, targeting Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The title is an idol production and scheduling adventure game featuring 49 idols across 16 units.

NCSOFT, the Korean studio behind Lineage, is developing Cinder City, an open-world sci-fi shooter set in a dystopian Seoul. The title will be sold as a paid purchase rather than served free-to-play, with an in-game cosmetic store and a battle pass after launch, and it launches first on PC with a console version to follow.

In Brief

Capcom, the Osaka publisher behind Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, said Onimusha: Way of the Sword sold more than 1 million units on its launch day, pushing cumulative sales of the Onimusha series past 10 million. The company said that, alongside its regular major releases, it is focusing on bringing back IPs that have not seen a new entry recently; it did not say which ones.

Playism, the publisher of The Exit 8, announced that the horror game by Japanese solo indie developer KOTAKE CREATE has surpassed 3 million cumulative global sales. It is marking the milestone with a discount sale, currently 30% off on Steam.

The Godot Foundation, a non-profit entity managing the Godot Engine, is collaborating with CRI Middleware, a Japanese game-middleware company, to support the engine’s expansion in Japan. The foundation recently revised its contribution policy to restrict AI-generated pull requests, saying autonomous agents were flooding the project with submissions no person could explain or take responsibility for.

Roblox, the American platform where games are built by its own users, unveiled ‘Roblox Everywhere,’ allowing creators to distribute games as standalone applications. By late 2026, games will be playable directly in Chrome browsers without client installation, reducing user acquisition friction.

A Shanghai court ordered an AI service provider to pay 750,000 CNY to HoYoverse in a case over what HoYoverse says was the unauthorized replication of 63 Genshin Impact character voices. The provider argued that the service was built on AI model training; the court found that the character voices identify the game to consumers and that imitating them in a way that could pass for an official product is unfair competition.

Company in Focus

Nexon — the publisher that pioneered free-to-play games paid for through item sales, behind MapleStory, Dungeon & Fighter, and The Finals. Although the company was founded in South Korea, its shares are listed in Tokyo.