Kyoto time-leap murder mystery visual novel Dusk Index: Gion announced for January 2026. Steam demo out now 

DUSK INDEX: GION is a "complex murder mystery" visual novel that takes place across two diverging timelines.

Game developer Cherrymochi (the studio behind Square Enix’s Tokyo Dark) and publisher Bushiroad have announced DUSK INDEX: GION, set to launch on January 29, 2026 for PC (Steam), PS5, Switch and Xbox. A free demo is available on Steam

Named after Japan’s most famous Geisha district, Dusk Index: Gion is a suspense murder mystery visual novel that spans two timelines – modern-day Kyoto and Meiji-era Kyoto (1868 to 1912). The story follows two pairs of investigators from the different eras as they pursue two chains of murders committed in a strikingly similar pattern. 

In the present-day timeline, old-school detective Daiki Katsuki joins forces with Rio Quinn, a prodigious engineer known for designing “Echoes of Kyoto,” immersive AR technology that can simulate the city as it existed a century earlier. To investigate the case, they step into the artificial world created by the technology, but find the boundary between virtual and real beginning to blur. 

DUSK INDEX: GION,
DUSK INDEX: GION,

Meanwhile, in Meiji-era Kyoto, the cool-headed Masayoshi Nagahama investigates a chain of brutal murders alongside Saki, a renowned geisha with hidden ties to the case. As the mystery unravels, you’re tasked with finding out whether the repeating murders are simply the work of a copycat criminal, or if the past has really started “invading” the present. 

DUSK INDEX: GION releases on January 29, 2026 for PC (Steam), PS5, Nintendo Switch and Xbox. A free demo is available on the Steam store page

©DUSK INDEX: GION 

Amber V
Amber V

Editor-in-Chief since October 2023.

She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.

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