From the studio that built Epic Seven into a global phenomenon, Smilegate arrives at Tokyo Game Show 2025 carrying two untested visions — one asking whether roguelite chance and long-term character devotion can truly coexist, the other wagering that art and narrative ambition can cut through a market dense with competitors. The September showcase in Chiba, Japan will mark the first moment either game meets the hands of ordinary players, a threshold that separates promise from proof. In an industry where creative ambition is common but execution is rare, these two RPGs represent a studio testin
Smilegate to Debut Two RPGs at Tokyo Game Show 2025
Roguelite mechanics coexist with long-term character investment
Mark
Why does Smilegate need a dedicated website just to announce two games at a trade show? Isn't that what press releases are for?
Mimi
Because this is the global debut. These games haven't been shown outside Korea yet. The website becomes a hub—it's where people find booth details, watch trailers, sign up for events, and stay updated as the show approaches. It's a signal that Smilegate is treating this seriously, not just showing up with a booth.
Mark
So Chaos Zero Nightmare is from the creator of Epic Seven. Does that mean it's going to be another gacha game that people will spend thousands on?
Mimi
It has the collection mechanics of a gacha game, yes. But the roguelite card battle system is the interesting part—that's the variable, the thing that changes run to run. It's trying to solve a problem: how do you keep people engaged long-term without making them feel like they're just grinding the same content forever.
Mark
And MIRESI is different because it's focusing on story and art?
Mimi
Partly. Both are collectible RPGs, so the core loop is similar. But MIRESI seems to be betting that if the visuals are striking enough and the narrative is ambitious enough, that becomes the draw instead of just the mechanics. Bringing in Hyulla as Art Director signals they're serious about that bet.
Mark
When will people actually be able to play these?
Mimi
Chaos Zero Nightmare launches in Q4 2025—so within the next few months. MIRESI is 2026. The Tokyo Game Show is the first chance for anyone outside the studio to actually put their hands on them and see if the concepts work in practice.
Mark
Is Smilegate taking a risk by showing unfinished games to a global audience?
Mimi
Every developer does this at trade shows. The risk is real—if the games feel clunky or the mechanics don't click, word spreads fast. But the upside is you get honest feedback from thousands of players at once, and you build a community before launch. For a studio trying to establish new IPs, that's worth the exposure.
Der Puls
- Smilegate is staking its next creative chapter on two RPGs that have never been played publicly — the pressure of a global debut at one of gaming's most-watched events is real.
- Chaos Zero Nightmare fuses gacha character-collection with roguelite card battles, a combination the market has not yet validated and that its own genre history suggests is genuinely difficult to balance.
- MIRESI: Invisible Future is still a year from launch, meaning its Tokyo Game Show appearance is as much a listening exercise as a reveal — the studio needs international feedback before committing to its final form.
- Both games are running social media giveaways and building dedicated web presences to manufacture momentum before September, racing to convert curiosity into anticipation.
- In four weeks, real players — not developers, not press — will sit down with both titles, and the response will set the tone for everything that follows.
From the studio that built Epic Seven into a global phenomenon, Smilegate arrives at Tokyo Game Show 2025 carrying two untested visions — one asking whether roguelite chance and long-term character devotion can truly coexist, the other wagering that art and narrative ambition can cut through a market dense with competitors. The September showcase in Chiba, Japan will mark the first moment either game meets the hands of ordinary players, a threshold that separates promise from proof. In an industry where creative ambition is common but execution is rare, these two RPGs represent a studio testing the edges of what it knows how to do.
Smilegate, the South Korean studio behind Epic Seven, is bringing two unannounced RPGs to Tokyo Game Show 2025 for their first public hands-on experience. The event runs September 25-28 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, and the company has already built a dedicated website to anchor its presence there.
The first title, Chaos Zero Nightmare, carries the lineage of Epic Seven directly — it was designed by Hyung-seok Kim, the creator of that game. Developed by Super Creative, it attempts to marry the character-collection mechanics that made Epic Seven successful with a roguelite card battle system, a combination that sounds intuitive but has proven difficult for others to execute. The studio is betting heavily on hand-drawn 2D art to distinguish it from the 3D-heavy competition. It is scheduled to launch globally on PC and mobile in the final quarter of 2025.
The second title, MIRESI: Invisible Future, comes from studio Control 9 and takes a different path. It is also a collectible RPG, but its identity is built around narrative ambition and visual distinctiveness. Smilegate brought in illustrator Hyulla — whose following exists well beyond any single game — to serve as Art Director. MIRESI is not expected until 2026, making its Tokyo Game Show appearance as much about gathering international feedback as building awareness.
Smilegate's CEO Paek Young Hoon called the showcase a significant moment for both titles, promising memorable on-site programs and events. The company is already running social media contests through the official Japanese accounts for each game, offering admission tickets to selected participants as a way to build momentum before September.
What gives this announcement its weight is not the mere existence of two new RPGs in an already crowded market, but the specific bets each one is making — that procedural roguelite design can coexist with the long-term investment gacha games demand, and that art and storytelling can still feel fresh when so much else does not. Both questions will get their first real answers from ordinary players in just four weeks.
Smilegate, the South Korean game developer behind the hit RPG Epic Seven, is bringing two unreleased titles to Tokyo Game Show 2025 for their first public hands-on experience. The company announced Friday that it has built a dedicated website for the September 25-28 event at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, featuring Chaos Zero Nightmare and MIRESI: Invisible Future—both ambitious RPGs that represent different visions of where the studio's creative ambitions are headed.
Chaos Zero Nightmare carries particular weight because it comes from Hyung-seok Kim, the designer who created Epic Seven. The game attempts something that sounds simple on paper but is notoriously difficult in execution: it merges the character-collection mechanics that made Epic Seven successful with a roguelite card battle system, the kind of run-based, procedurally-varied gameplay that has become its own genre over the past five years. Super Creative, the studio developing it, has poured resources into the visual presentation—specifically into 2D character art and backgrounds, betting that hand-drawn quality can compete with the glossier 3D alternatives flooding the market. The game is scheduled to launch globally in the final quarter of 2025 on both PC and mobile platforms.
MIRESI: Invisible Future, developed by Control 9, takes a different approach. It is also a collectible RPG, but the studio is leaning heavily into narrative and visual identity. The game's story moves across time and space in ways the studio has not yet fully detailed, and the character designs carry enough weight that Smilegate brought in Hyung-seop Kim—known professionally as Hyulla—to serve as Art Director. Hyulla is an acclaimed illustrator whose work has built a following independent of any single game. MIRESI is not coming until 2026, which means the Tokyo Game Show appearance is partly about building awareness and partly about gathering feedback from an international audience before the final push to launch.
Smilegate's CEO Paek Young Hoon framed the Tokyo Game Show presence as a significant moment for both titles. "This marks the global debut of CZN and MIRESI," he said, "so we are preparing a range of programs and on-site events to provide attendees with a truly memorable experience." The company has already launched a special website with official visuals and is planning to announce booth locations and specific player programs as the event draws closer. To build momentum ahead of September, Smilegate is running social media contests through the official Japanese X accounts for both games, offering Tokyo Game Show admission tickets to selected participants.
What makes this announcement worth attention is not just that two new RPGs are coming—the market is flooded with them—but that Smilegate is positioning both as serious departures from what came before. Chaos Zero Nightmare is trying to prove that roguelite mechanics can coexist with the long-term character investment that keeps players engaged in gacha games. MIRESI is betting that visual artistry and cross-dimensional storytelling can create something that feels fresh in a crowded space. Both games will get their first real test with players who are not developers or press in just four weeks.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
This marks the global debut of CZN and MIRESI, so we are preparing a range of programs and on-site events to provide attendees with a truly memorable experience.— Paek Young Hoon, CEO of Smilegate Megaport
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