Spike Chunsoft announced during its panel at Anime Expo on Friday that it will release Steins;Gate: Octet of Shifting Space, an adaptation of the original 2011 Windows XP/Vista/7 PC graphic adventure game, for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam. The company also revealed that its release of MAGES.’ Steins;Gate Re:Boot game will get a Digital Deluxe Edition that includes the game, digital visual book, soundtrack, and footage from the “STEINS;GATE 15th LIVE – ONE WORLD -” live event with English subtitles.
Image courtesy of Spike Chunsoft
© MAGES./Chiyo St. Inc. ©MAGES./NITRO PLUS
The company’s release of Steins;Gate: Octet of Shifting Space marks the first time that it will be available for consoles and on Steam. The company will reveal details on how to obtain the game at a later date. The game is compatible with software keyboards and USB keyboards.
Spike Chunsoft describes the release:
Take on the role of Rintaro Okabe and explore the streets of Akihabara alongside your fellow lab members in pursuit of the IBN 5100, which has once again been stolen. Instead of the choice-based gameplay common to modern visual novels, STEINS;GATE Octet of Shifting Space recreates the text parser gameplay that defined adventure games of the 1980s. Advance the story by freely entering English commands. Use your imagination and deduction skills to discover the right actions and uncover the path forward.
The game recreates the retro process of drawing each line then filling the image with color. Players can skip the drawing animation by pressing a button. The game features 8-color digital RGB graphics to visuals inspired by green monochrome monitors. The sound replicates the FM synthesis and PSG sound chips used by classic PCs. Composer Takeshi Abo is handling the music.
Image courtesy of Spike Chunsoft
© MAGES./Chiyo St. Inc. ©MAGES./NITRO PLUS
Steins;Gate Re:Boot includes a new story route created for the game, the “Gamma Worldline” story.
Spike Chunsoft describes the additional route (the below story summary may contain spoilers):
After enduring countless brutal ordeals, protagonist Rintaro Okabe finds himself cast into a new worldline. In this world, the time machine was never completed, and D-Mails, messages capable of altering the past, do not exist. Vastly diverging from the worldline he knows, Okabe struggles to comprehend the situation. Seeking help, he rushes to the lab, only to be met with hostile stares from the very lab members who should be his friends.
The game will be available digitally on Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam in North America and Europe on August 20. The game will launch for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5 in North America and Europe on October 29.
Image via Steins;Gate Re:Boot game’s website
©MAGES./Chiyo St. Inc. ©MAGES./NITRO PLUS
The game will launch in Japan on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on August 20. The release is listed as being available with text in Japanese, English, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese, with audio in Japanese only.
Physical versions of the game will be available including a standard edition and a Steelbook edition. The Steelbook edition features a new cover art by character designer huke, as well as a sticker as a first-print-run bonus.
The game will use M2’s E-Mote animation system for 2D illustrations, which has also been used in a number of other visual novels. The middleware allows the developers to add detailed expressions to the character sprites.
Steins;Gate Re:Boot was originally announced for release in 2025, but was delayed to 2026.
The game’s characters have been revamped with redesigned clothing and accessories by character designer huke. The game’s background graphics depict the Akihabara scene of 2010, and locations not featured in the original game have been added. The game’s event stills were drawn under the supervision of huke. Scenes not featured in the original game have been added.
The game’s 15th anniversary movie began streaming in October 2024, and it stated, “Steins;Gate will continue.”
The Steins;Gate game shipped in 2009 as the second Science Adventure Series project from MAGES. (then known as 5pb.) and inspired a television anime in 2011. The game also inspired the Steins;Gate – The Movie – Load Region of Déjà Vu sequel film in 2013 and the alternate retelling anime Steins;Gate 0 in 2018. The franchise includes several sequel and spinoff games, and manga adaptations.
A Hollywood live-action television adaptation of the game was announced in 2020.
MAGES. also announced in 2020 that it was developing a Steins;Gate 0 Elite game.
Sources: Email correspondence, Spike Chunsoft’s Anime Expo panel (Alex Mateo)
