There are few franchises that have been more influential to anime than Gundam, and with its latest game, Gundam Rogue Orbit, the series is taking a bold new step in where it can go next. First revealed back in June, the game turned heads all over again during gamescom 2026, and we got a solid session behind closed doors to see what it was all about. While it is a leap for the franchise, it is also one of the most fun games I have played at this year’s event.
GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT takes place in a fresh universe, one built as part of the wider RG Project. The game shares that world with an upcoming anime set roughly a century earlier. Humanity is under threat from a mysterious force known only as the Apocalypse. You play as RE-X, an ace pilot in control of the Gundam Helix. He is joined by Vii, a Haro unit built as an intelligent assist system for the Helix itself. It is a solid setup and one that lets the series go in new directions while retaining a lot of what made Gundam so iconic.
Watching the trailer before my session, I got a good sense of what we would be experiencing when I finally sat down with GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT. The latest trailer introduced us to Big Paul, who leads a band of sand pirates that hunt the enemy and raid wealthy transports to feed settlers. Elaine is a knight commander and gifted pilot who leads her forces from the front. Then there is the big tease: a black Mobile Suit with glowing red eyes, clearly being saved for a larger moment.
GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT feels very similar in concept to many mech games I have played before, including Front Mission and Armored Core. For the demo, that concept was streamlined even further, getting you into one of the two missions set up for the session, along with a selection of different Gundams to pilot. The loop we got to experience was simple and got everyone into battle quickly, letting you enjoy what the game has to offer.
You customize your Mobile Suit, deploy on a mission and fight across open battle zones. The story moves ahead as you clear each mission. The demo itself offered two missions and three preset suits to try. Each one is built around a weapon type: the Assault Sword, the Whip Sword and the Sword Lance. Even in that short slice, the three felt meaningfully different in reach and rhythm, but I spent most of my time with the Assault Sword type since it was the most well-rounded of the three. The sessions were limited, so I wanted to make the most of what was on offer.
Jumping into the actual gameplay of GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT, I was amazed at how fast and fluid it all feels. This is a game built to be fast while making sure you always feel in total control of your Mobile Suit and its movements. Battles sprawl across the ground and the air, and you can dash between the two almost at will. Tactical Skills and Tactical Moves let you slip past enemy attacks, and each weapon carries its own actions.
Then there are the Apocalypse Units, or AP-U. Sylphid tracks and fires at nearby foes on its own. Guardian drops a beam shield in front of you. Burn through the fight, and you can trigger it. Over-Rise stops your Boost Gauge from draining and automatically grants a Shift, a brief window of invincibility when you get hit. Top it off with an AP Unit Burst, a heavy wide-area attack that changes based on the unit you have equipped.
“Jumping into the actual gameplay of GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT, I was amazed at how fast and fluid it all feels.”
It is a lot of systems, but they snap together quickly in the hands. I will be honest, there is a lot going on with GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT, but the team has managed to make it all feel incredibly fluid and intuitive. I never had trouble getting a sense of how the game works, and once I got the hang of the controls, I was taking on the many challenges set up in the demo, including bosses with much more complex moves, all without ever feeling like I had lost control of my actions.
You can also get really granular with how your Gundam works and how you take on the many missions the game will throw at you. Weapons, frames, thrusters, and AP-U can all be swapped to fit your style. Colour options are broad, and mod skins can give the Helix a more classic Gundam look. I could see fans of the franchise diving in and being spoiled for choice, with a range of ways to take on each encounter and craft an experience that fits their gameplay style. Even better, the game pushes players to learn all the systems at play, with bosses testing the mettle of what your Mobile Suit can really do.
Now that brings us to the boss battles, and this is where GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT really shines. The bosses bring a sense of scale and difficulty that forces you to use all the moves and weapons at your disposal, with some unique and creative concepts that feel like a mix of organic and machine in a way I have not personally seen from the Gundam universe. Across the two missions I played, each encounter was bombastic, cinematic, and challenging without ever feeling unfair.
Quite the contrary, I really loved how fast my Gundam moved, and taking on these encounters showcased how powerful your mech is, how devastating the bosses are, and how much is being done with the overall gameplay design. To put it simply, GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT is incredibly fun when everything clicks, at least based on what was shown off. The session let me try my hand at two of the bosses, and they each felt different while still fitting within the overall concept the game sets up for the player.
The Drake was a massive dragon-like mech that kept me on my toes with a mix of aerial and ground-based attacks, meaning I was constantly shifting between attack styles to try to take it down. The Giant, meanwhile, was a more land-based mech that was all about scale and power, delivering devastating attacks that could take their toll on your Mobile Suit if you were not careful. These battles were all about strategy, and once you target your attacks, you can work to take out different parts of their bodies, leading to several potential ways to tackle these massive enemies.
GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT feels fun and confident in its concept, and it looks and feels fantastic. The animation is slick, the art direction fits the setting and world the team has built, and the combat has real snap. This feels like a project made with care, not a quick licensed cash-in. The game is also set to be playable at Tokyo Game Show later this month if you want to judge it for yourself, and I am really curious to see how fans of the franchise take to it.
GUNDAM ROGUE ORBIT launches March 5, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC through Steam. It may not be the Gundam game everyone expected, but I am personally excited to see more, and based on my time with the game, this feels like one that is looking to do the franchise proud.
