Nippon Ichi Software (NIS), the studio behind the Disgaea series, recently announced their new action RPG Kyouran Makaism, set to release on January 29, 2026, in Japan. Disgaea fans may have already noticed, but the upcoming game’s credits feature many names that were also responsible for the studio’s flagship tactical RPG series, including Shunsuke Minowa as the director, Takehito Harada as the character designer and Tenpei Sato as the composer. In a recent interview with Dengeki Online, director Minowa shared insights into how the two series are connected, and what kind of gameplay fans can expect from the upcoming title.
While Kyouran Makaism is set to be its own, independent title, the director confirmed that the upcoming game’s story beats are still rooted in the lore of the beloved Disgaea series. “The Disgaea series features numerous ‘Netherworlds,’ and as a part of the same universe, the story of Kyouran Makaism takes place in one of them,” Minowa explained. “There are also many similarities between Disgaea and Kyouran Makaism when it comes to gameplay. However, the stories pretty much aren’t connected, so even newcomers to the series can enjoy the new game.”
But, despite some similarities in the gameplay, Kyouran Makaism will be fundamentally different from Disgaea, as it takes the worldview of the tactical RPG and adapts it into a full-fledged action game. To further emphasize the new hack-and-slash gameplay, the developers at Nippon Ichi Software prioritized offering players “a high level of freedom,” says Minowa.
“Since you’ll get to experience action in the same kind of worldview as the Disgaea series, our goal was to achieve a high level of freedom and the ability to group your enemies and mow them down in one blow.” To illustrate, Minowa explains that pretty much all actions can be cancelled with stepping, jumping or skill activations, allowing players to time their moves more precisely. Furthermore, the game will be inheriting the signature AoE attacks from the Disgaea series, just adapted for a more action-driven experience.
Kyouran Makaism is set to launch on January 29 in Japan for PS5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.
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