Paradise Killer studio's next is “world's first (and best) open-world mascot management crime drama”

If you've played Kaizen Game Works' wonderully weird cosmic-horror-tinged vaporware deduction adventure Paradise Killer, you'll know the studio isn't afraid to mix things up, and its newly announced Promise Mascot Agency looks to be an equally wild , genre-bending ride.

Kaizen Game Works describes Promise Mascot Agency as the “world's first (and best) open-world mascot management crime drama”, and it charts the adventures of a disgraced yakuza lieutenant – Michizane “Michi” Sugawara – after he's exiled to a cursed town and forced to turn a bankrupt mascot agency into a profitable business.

And things only get weirder from there. As Michi, players must explore the town of Kaso-Machi in their run-down truck, making friends, striking deals, and recruiting mascots (here “living creatures that have coexisted with mankind since the dawn of history”) by satisfying their dreams and demands – whether that be a rice ball or rather something less benign.

And eleven mascots are on the books, they can be trained and sent out into the world, where they'll bring in cash and renown for every successfully completed job. “Of course, jobs don't always go to plan,” Kaizen Game Works notes. “Wherever it's a narrow doorway, kitchens catching on fire, or dreadful nightmare spirits, danger lurks around every corner.” Luckily, by tactically playing Hero Cards, representing characters from around town, players can help mascots “overcome any challenge and win hearts, minds and a healthy paycheque.”

Promise Mascot Agency is being created in conjunction with Japanese developer Ikumi Nakamura (The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo) and concept artist Mai Mattori, who've both designed and developed the world and characters – “working together to create a unique Yakuza family, a repurposed love hotel and a cast of memorable, occasionally-horrific mascots”. It also features illustrations from UK-based Japanese manga artist Inko Ai Takita, and a soundtrack from Alpha Chrome Yayo and Ryo Koike.

The only downside to all this is that Promise Mascot Agency is still someway off – it'll be launching for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, and PC sometime in 2025.