{"id":55752,"date":"2026-01-14T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=55752"},"modified":"2026-01-14T16:32:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T07:32:05","slug":"shueisha-games-to-release-anthem9-on-february-5-the-award-winning-debut-work-of-a-japanese-office-worker-turned-game-dev","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/shueisha-games-to-release-anthem9-on-february-5-the-award-winning-debut-work-of-a-japanese-office-worker-turned-game-dev\/","title":{"rendered":"Shueisha Games to release ANTHEM#9 on February 5. The award-winning debut work of a Japanese office worker turned game dev"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Japanese game publisher Shueisha Games announced that their upcoming roguelite deckbuilder ANTHEM#9 will release on February 5 on Steam. The title, which won the grand prize in&nbsp;Shueisha Game Creators Camp Game BBQ vol.2 No Demo Division, is the debut work of indie developer koeda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the game\u2019s Steam Store page, koeda has no previous experience in the industry and isn\u2019t a programmer. However, entering his 30s, he realized that he didn\u2019t want to give up on his dreams of becoming a game creator. So, he picked up a beginner\u2019s guide and started learning about game development from scratch. \u201cThis is the first time that I\u2019ve ever taken part in game development. Originally, I was only just a huge fan of games, but when I entered my 30s, I realized I actually wanted to make them. So I studied hard, night and day, and began developing,\u201d koeda said in one of his <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/articles\/interviewsjp\/anthem9-20250813-353213\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">previous interviews<\/a> with AUTOMATON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"ANTHEM#9 Gameplay Trailer\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3uO_l7aCR9I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>ANTHEM#9 is a strategic puzzle roguelite in which you have to match three-color gems in order to activate skills, chain combos and take down your opponents. As an agent of ANTHEM#9, \u201can international secret organization that seeks to maintain global stability,\u201d you\u2019ll have to face (and destroy) everyone who stands in the way of the world\u2019s balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the start of each turn, you are dealt random gems, and each of your skills requires a specific sequence of gems in order to be activated. So, for example, if you have a skill that\u2019s triggered when you arrange gems in a red-blue sequence, a skill that\u2019s triggered when you arrange gems in a blue-green sequence, and a skill that\u2019s triggered when you arrange gems in a green-red sequence, arranging the gems as red-blue-green will set off all three of the skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Successfully connecting combos increases damage dealt, and the game also introduces an enemy stamina system which lets you cancel attacks that come your way when depleted. Of course, as per the conventions of the roguelite genre, while combating enemies, you\u2019ll be making your way through randomly generated dungeons and collecting Attack Skills and Blessings. Building your skill deck and fine-tuning your gem-matching strategy accordingly will be essential to churning out big combos and emerging victorious. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ANTHEM #9 will release on February 5, 2026 on <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2656490\/ANTHEM9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>. A demo version is currently available<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Related articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japanese-streamer-who-spent-160k-to-make-his-dream-game-thinking-i-dont-care-if-it-doesnt-sell-hits-60000-copies-in-under-ten-days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Japanese streamer who\u00a0spent\u00a0$160k\u00a0to make\u00a0his dream game\u00a0thinking \u201cI don\u2019t care if it doesn\u2019t sell\u201d hits 60,000 copies in under ten days\u00a0<br><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/how-to-make-a-hit-visual-novel-getting-intimate-with-your-fans-is-the-key-say-urban-myth-dissolution-center-and-gnosia-devs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to make a hit visual novel? Getting intimate with your fans is the key, say Urban Myth Dissolution Center and Gnosia devs\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<br><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The &#8220;gem-matching&#8221; roguelite ANTHEM#9 is set to release on February 5, 2026 on Steam. A demo version is currently available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":55755,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-55752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Shueisha Games to release ANTHEM#9 on February 5. The award-winning debut work of a Japanese office worker turned game dev - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The &quot;gem-matching&quot; roguelite ANTHEM#9 is set to release on February 5, 2026 on Steam. A demo version is currently available.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/shueisha-games-to-release-anthem9-on-february-5-the-award-winning-debut-work-of-a-japanese-office-worker-turned-game-dev\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Shueisha Games to release ANTHEM#9 on February 5. 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