Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) recently announced Kyouran Makaism, their brand-new 3D hack-and-slash RPG that takes place in the familiar Disgaea universe. The upcoming game is set to launch on January 29, 2026, in Japan for the PS5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. While its story is heavily rooted in the lore of the Disgaea series, the game is positioned as its own, independent title. Genre-wise, Kyouran Makaism is full-on action game – a departure from the Disgaea series’ TRPG gameplay and rather unexplored territory for the studio.
In a recent interview with Dengeki Online, lead developer Shunsuke Minowa shared that getting Kyoran Makaism to feel like a true action game was the most difficult part of development, and that the team went through a lot of trial-and-error while learning about the genre. “NIS doesn’t have much experience making action games, so we developed Kyouran Makaism while learning all the know-how on the go. It was only later on in development that we finally figured out what elements of action games should be made adjustable, so we ended up having to remake things,” he explained.
However, despite experiencing some struggles themselves, it seems the development team is determined to deliver a game that’s on the challenging side in terms of difficulty. As Minowa said, the game won’t be that hard for a seasoned gamer, but newcomers to the genre might have trouble progressing (unless they lock in and focus on making their character as strong as possible).
“This goes for the mainline Disgaea series too, but we were aiming for a difficulty level that people who normally play games would easily be able to clear even without paying much attention to leveling their character,” he said. “On the other hand, I believe people who are not good at action games may find it rather difficult to play, so I suggest they take full advantage of the game’s leveling system.”
On a related note, the devs mentioned that, playing Kyouran Makaism, Disgaea fans will finally get to experience all seven main weapon types featured in the series (Fist, Sword, Spear, Bow, Gun, Axe, Staff) in real-time action. Once you master your favorite weapons and figure out a good character build, you’ll be able to achieve hundreds of millions in damage. “Quadrillions in damage are probably not that impossible if you try hard enough,” Minowa added. “Being able to get such insane damage values is quite rare among action games, so I think it will be quite a refreshing experience.” According to Minowa, it takes about 15 to 20 hours to complete the main story, and there’s plenty of end game content and side-stories to enjoy after finishing it.
Kyouran Makaism is set to launch on January 29 in Japan for PS5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.
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