ANTHEM#9, the award-winning debut work of a Japanese office clerk turned game developer, will be released in early February.

ANTHEM#9, the award-winning debut work of a Japanese office clerk turned game developer, will be released in early February Japanese game publisher Shueisha Games has announced the release of its upcoming roguelite game ANTHEM#9 on Steam on February 5. The game, which won the grand prize in the No Demo category at Shueisha Game Creators Camp Game BBQ vol.2, is the debut work of indie developer koeda. According to the game's Steam page, koeda has no industry experience and is not a programmer. However, as he approached 30, he realized that he didn't want to give up on his dream of becoming a game developer. So he picked up a beginner's guide and started learning game development from scratch.

This is my first experience in game development. I was just a big fan of games at first, but when I turned 30, I realized that I really wanted to make them. So I studied hard, day and night, and started developing my project.

ANTHEM#9 is a strategic roguelike puzzle game in which you have to make combinations of three colors of gems to activate skills, create combos, and defeat enemies. As an agent of ANTHEM#9, "an international secret organization dedicated to maintaining global stability," you must fight (and destroy) anyone who stands in the way of world balance.

Successfully executing combos increases the damage you deal, and the game also features an enemy stamina system that allows you to cancel attacks when it is depleted. In keeping with roguelite tradition, you will traverse randomly generated dungeons and collect ability skills and blessings during battles with enemies. Building your own skill deck and honing your gem selection strategy will be crucial to executing powerful combos and winning. ANTHEM #9 will be released on February 5, 2026, on Steam. A demo version is already available.