The legendary creator of Danganronpa, Kazutaka Kodaka, has set his sights on a whole new series, building his very own multimedia franchise titled Tribe Nine. So far, we’ve gotten a solid glimpse into the world via the anime series, but Kodaka’s studio, Too Kyo Games, is working towards a Tribe Nine release date that will allow us to explore this dystopian world in the palm of our hands.
If you’re a fan of the Danganronpa games and Kodaka’s other works, be sure to check out our Master Detective Archives: Rain Code review and our Kazutaka Kodaka interview, in which we discuss his inspirations, goals, and plans for the future.
Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Tribe Nine game.
When is the Tribe Nine release date?
Unfortunately, we currently don’t have a Tribe Nine game release date. However, we do have some intriguing information that suggests we should find out more soon.
On February 20, 2020, Too Kyo Games and Akatsuki Games Inc launched a teaser site to announce their collaboration on the Tribe Nine project.
Too Kyo Games is, of course, a Japanese game developer founded in 2017 by ex-employees of Spike Chunsoft, including Danganronpa’s creator, Kazutaka Kodaka. To date, its works include World’s End Club and Master Detective Archives: Rain Code – on a personal note, the latter was easily one of my favorite games of 2023, and even made our Switch games of the year list as our editor Ruby’s pick.
On the other hand, Akatsuki Games Inc is a mobile game publisher best known for its work on Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle, Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy and the Polar Night Liberator, and Romancing DaGa Re;univerSe.
Following this, on August 18, 2023, Akatsuki Games held an online presentation titled ‘Akatsuki Games Now’, discussing its upcoming projects. During the presentation, Akatsuki revealed a new key visual and teaser trailer for Tribe Nine, revealing that it’s a 3D action RPG and will be released on iOS, Android, and PC via Steam. Sadly, we didn’t get a release date or even a release window during this presentation.
However, in April 2024, Kazuka Kodaka posted a tweet hinting that a new game is coming soon – and, considering it’s been in development since 2020, our money’s on it being Tribe Nine. But, of course, we’ll be sure to update this page as soon as we learn more.
Is there a Tribe Nine trailer?
As we mentioned previously, the Akatasuki Games Now presentation revealed a shiny new Tribe Nine teaser trailer, which you can check out above. The trailer gives us a sneak peek at the neon-noir, cyber vibes of Neo-Tokyo, showcasing some high-octane action and character art that perfectly aligns with Kodaka’s iconic signature style. I can 100% see Mondo Owada hanging out with the characters that pop up at timestamp 0:26, can’t you?
During the presentation, Akatsuki confirmed that the characters that appear in the video are the real models used in the game, which is pretty darn impressive if you ask us. On top of that, Akatsuki revealed two demo videos of actual game footage running on Unity and iPhone entitled the ‘Presentation Trailer’ and the ‘Emotional Trailer’. Despite the odd names, they certainly got us even more hyped up for the game’s release.
What is Tribe Nine?
Tribe Nine is set in a dystopian future and revolves around a group of disaffected youths who have formed their own tribes. But, of course, these tribes don’t play happy families for long – they soon turn violent and run rampant across the city of Neo-Tokyo, prompting the government to implement the new ‘SB Law’ which states that all future conflicts between Tribes will be settled through extreme baseball. Yes, baseball, but of the extreme variety.
These extreme baseball games are overseen by robotic umpires, and follow similar rules to regular baseball only with far less restrictions on equipment and field size. The only way to get an ‘out’ is to strike out the batter or tag out a baserunner while holding the ball – though games can also end if one of the teams is unable to continue… For whatever reason (as Danganronpa fans, we have a few guesses).
The 12-episode anime series aired from January to March 2022, but plans for the series certainly don’t end there, as Kodaka and Too Kyo Games have announced that, in addition to the videogame, a “webnovel and stage” are set to come in the future.
What is the Tribe Nine gameplay like?
Tribe Nine is set to be a 3D ARPG. From the aforementioned demo videos, the game looks to be a fast-paced affair, with brawler-style combat and a variety of special skills and ultimates that remind us of Zenless Zone Zero. Beyond that, we don’t know much – though, if we were to hazard a guess, we’d predict that it’s going to be a gacha game, with banners featuring iconic Tribe members from the series.
That’s all we’ve got on the Tribe Nine release date for now. If you want to revisit Kodaka’s other iconic works while you wait, be sure to check out our Danganronpa characters, Danganronpa 2 characters, and Danganronpa V3 characters guides. Or, if you fancy diving right into cyberspace today, grab a ticket to the Astral Express with our Honkai Star Rail codes and Honkai Star Rail tier list.