There was a time in the 1990s when FMV games dominated new-release shelves, with some of the biggest titles using the technology in some way. But it seems Izanagi Games is bringing the concept back at the Tokyo Game Show 2025 with AKIBA LOST. The game promises an ambitious live-action experience that aims to revive the full-motion video format with modern technology and storytelling.
Set for release in 2026 across PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2 and PC via Steam, the project pairs the publisher with Nippon Television and drama production company AX-ON in what might be gaming’s most elaborate FMV attempt in years, and while at TGS, I got to sit in on a round table interview to see what AKIBA LOST was all about.
The game stars Hiromitsu Kitayama, as Daiki Shinjo, a once-celebrated game creator trying to reclaim past glory. AKIBA LOST centres on an unsolved mystery known as “Akiba’s Spirited Away,” the disappearance of six girls in Akihabara 13 years earlier. When Shinjo announces a game based on the incident at an annual game show, the vanishings begin again. Players switch between Shinjo and six women representing different facets of Akihabara’s subculture: a maid, an underground idol, a food writer, a shrine maiden, a cosplayer and a game streamer.
The scope of production sets AKIBA LOST apart from typical full-motion video games. Director and producer Shinsuke Umeda revealed at the Tokyo Game Show that the team captured roughly 100,000 still images and more than 20 hours of filmed footage. From the sounds of it, this is a massive project, especially given its slate of popular actors all working to bring the game’s world to life. The team is collaborating with Nippon Television, giving them a different development pipeline than a standard adventure game.
Hearing (田辺桃子 / Momoko Tanabe) talking about it, it sounds like a very complex process, but one that looks to deliver an experience that is truly unique. “In the game scenes, we were told not to move much. We had to express emotion through fixed poses, like in still photos.”
This is a project that blends many elements, and from the way director Shinsuke Umeda discussed player choice, AKIBA LOST will offer multiple paths to tackle challenges and shape the story. “There are possibilities that some choices you make with one character affect their timeline,” he said. “But there is also a possibility that a choice you made with another character has an influence on somebody else. So you could end up stopping a timeline because of a choice that wasn’t that character’s fault at all.”
This is a project that blends many elements, and from the way director Shinsuke Umeda discussed player choice, AKIBA LOST will offer multiple paths to tackle challenges and shape the story. “There are possibilities that some choices you make with one character affect their timeline,” he said. “But there is also a possibility that a choice you made with another character has an influence on somebody else. So you could end up stopping a timeline because of a choice that wasn’t that character’s fault at all.”
Full-motion video games had a brief heyday in the 1990s when CD-ROM technology made live-action footage possible. Titles like Night Trap and The 7th Guest pushed boundaries but often suffered from clunky interfaces and limited interactivity. Modern attempts have been rare, with Izanagi Games’ own Death Come True from 2020 being a notable exception.
AKIBA LOST takes a different approach. The game uses a “zapping” system that lets players freely switch between characters to experience events from multiple angles. A 360-degree camera view allows players to look around each scene from the character’s perspective. This creates what director Takumi Umeda described as a “multi-angle ensemble suspense game,” where one character’s choice can ripple through the entire narrative.
Even so, AKIBA LOST aims to deliver something unique and potentially very special. Umeda appears to be drawing from what he loved about games in this style, saying, “We want to include technology and systems that have never been seen in an FMV before. I used to make games with Kodaka-san from Danganronpa. I want to aim for something new in the context of adventure games. So, I’m going to make a new FMV in this era.”
Looking at the room full of actors, all meshing so well, I would have thought they had worked together on many projects before. But hearing Hiromitsu Kitayama talk about working on this one, that wasn’t the case.
“In drama productions, it’s actually uncommon for everyone to already know each other,” Kitayama said. “Most of the time, everyone is meeting for the first time. But in this project, since the story focuses deeply on the seven central characters, we didn’t have many scenes where everyone was together. Because of that, the first-time meeting energy — a little nervous, a bit unsure — ended up helping the relationships in the story, I think.”
Perhaps the most unexpected reveal came when Umeda announced a companion television drama. “We decided to make a drama to maximize the game,” he said at a stage presentation at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. The series will air on Nippon Television and stream on Hulu starting in January 2026, just ahead of the game’s release. When I sat at the round table, I didn’t know about the series, but it makes perfect sense. With such acclaimed actors involved, expanding the project into another medium feels like a natural way to reach a wider audience.
The simultaneous development of both formats created scheduling challenges for the cast, who filmed scenes that appear in both the game and the drama. But it also led to deeper character development across both mediums, with each exploring different angles of the same story. Even after hearing about the game and sitting in on the interview, I had no idea it was such a large, complex project. The more I learn, the more I want to experience it for myself.
Even with such a diverse cast of actors, each had their own reasons for joining AKIBA LOST, bringing unique energy to the project and their characters.
“For me, I grew up with games — Pokémon, Puyo Puyo, Zelda — so the idea of actually stepping into a game world was exciting,” said (宇垣美里 / Misato Ugaki). “The chance to be part of something like that made me really happy, so I jumped at it.”
While (松村沙友理 / Sayuri Matsumura) brought a completely different set of experiences to her reasons for joining, she said: “I’ve worked across many areas of Japanese entertainment — live events, modelling, variety TV and social media — but I’d never worked in games before. I thought that without an opportunity like this, I might never get the chance in my life, so I wanted to try it.”
Despite its complexity, it seems director Shinsuke Umeda is creating a game that’s deeply personal to him. “One hundred percent. Compared to other games as well, this one is truly one hundred percent,” he said. “The main character is a game creator, and it’s also filmed in live action. As a game director, I’ve never worked on a project where I could connect so directly with the protagonist. So yes — one hundred percent.”
AKIBA LOST launches in 2026, with pre-orders for a Special Collection Box — which includes a 200-page photo art book and a making-of DVD — opening on September 24. If you’re interested, head over and take a look.
