Dark Auction is an upcoming visual novel, developed by Izanagi Games and published by Good Smile Company, set to release on January 28th, 2026 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC.
The game is the first original visual novel written by Rika Suzuki (Another Code, Hotel Dusk, Glass Rose), with character designs by Kohske (GANSTA) and a soundtrack composed by Monster Hunter's Yuko Komiyama.Currently a demo is available for fans to try out on Steam, but ahead of the title's full release we here at Netto's Game Room were given an opportunity to speak with the producer and director Shinsuke Umeda to learn a bit more.
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to speak with me! My name is Ben, and I'm one of the co-founders of our gaming site Netto's Game Room, a western website dedicated to covering the gaming industry through news, reviews, and interviews since 2011. To start things off, could you tell me a little about yourselves?
My name is Umeda and I am one of the directors of Dark Auction. Thank you for your interest in our game!
So Dark Auction is your recently announced adventure game, and I have to say it is quite an honor to have been given this chance to speak to you. I have been a fan of Rika Suzuki's work since I was a kid in high school, and I always look forward to seeing what she does next. That being said, how does Dark Auction compare to her previous stories?
Many of Ms. Suzuki’s works feature a refined sense of suspense and gritty atmosphere. In Dark Auction, those qualities remain intact, but the story expands a bit more and focuses on the conflicts and struggles faced by young people as they learn more about some of the harsher realities of the world.
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| (Screenshot of Another Code: Recollection) |
Every great game has a foundational spark, if you will. What were the core influences—whether from other games, films, books, or real-world events—that most significantly shaped the design and tone of Dark Auction?
During the initial stages of development, we sat down and talked with Ms. Suzuki about various artworks that have been lost to wars and natural disasters throughout history. There are a wide range of artifacts and works of art have been lost that have a long history or certain legends about them that can really add an extra element to storytelling. We decided to incorporate that idea into the thematic core of the game.
The game is directed and produced by none other than you, Shinsuke Umeda, who previously worked on games such as Death Comes True and World's End Club. How does Dark Auction compare to these titles?
Death Come True was a new challenge in live-action interactive storytelling, while World’s End Club was built around a new world created by Kodaka and Uchikoshi.
This time, however, Dark Auction is Ms. Suzuki’s first original console title in 15 years, and we aimed for a more realistic adventure game that carries her signature sense of suspense and gritty style. We hope the players will be able to enjoy Ms. Suzuki’s style to the fullest.
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| (Screenshot of World's End Club) |
Dark Auction features a 3D world to explore, and during these sections players will learn key facts that are stored in the "Word Cloud." These words are then used by protagonist Noah to help solve mysteries, and restore the memories of those attending the auction. Could you tell us a little more about how this system works?
The game is largely divided into two parts: exploration and the auction.
Words obtained during the exploration phase can be used in the auction phase to alter memories and progress the story. Therefore, it will be very important for players to pay close attention to details in the exploration phase and how the words are connected to the characters and items in game.
Were there any challenges the development team faced while trying to incorporate these mechanics?
A significant amount of time was spent ensuring that the original story and the game’s structural design fit together naturally. This was especially challenging for Ms. Suzuki. Translating that structure into gameplay was difficult for the entire team as we wanted to make sure that the players could feel the same sensation as if they were reading or living the story. We believe the final result turned out very well and hope the players will feel the same.
What can you tell us about the characters who are featured in the game? Their designs were handled by Kohske, who is well known for GANGSTA. — which is a series known for its unique characters and dark plot. In GANSTA. you couldn't always judge a character by their looks alone, with some truly surprising plot developments throughout the story. Can we expect something similar out of the cast in Dark Auction? Is there more to them than what meets the eye?
We were so excited to work together with Kohske on the project. His wonderful character designs and the dynamic still illustrations created for the game lend themselves greatly to building the atmosphere of Dark Auction and really elevate it to the next level. While I don’t want to spoil anything here, you can expect plenty of characters full of surprises. After playing through the full release, please let us know what characters really struck a chord with you!
The soundtrack was handled by Yuko Komiyama. Most fans may be familiar with her work on Megaman X (Rockman X) and the Monster Hunter series, but she was also involved with the promotion material for Glass Rose, another game Rika Suzuki wrote the story for. In what specific ways does her score for Dark Auction enhance the game's atmosphere and narrative?
We were honestly so lucky to have so many great people like Ms. Komiyama contribute to Dark Auction. Regarding the music, we know that for storytelling to really pull in the audience, the music plays an integral role. The soundtrack for Dark Auction is primarily jazz-based, with many tracks recorded through live performances by a jazz band. The talented band produced some amazing tracks which play a very important role in shaping the game’s overall atmosphere.
In recent years adventure games and visual novels have really exploded in popularity in the West. In the early 2000s only select titles saw a release outside of Japan, making it difficult for us fans to experience these stories. In 2025 however, most titles do get translated, so it isn’t as much of an issue for us anymore! Is this change something developers in Japan are aware of? And are Western countries ever considered when developing new visual novel titles?
Thanks to the overwhelming enthusiasm from players in the west, the overseas market for Japanese adventure games has grown much larger than the domestic one! From a publishing standpoint, it is very important for our titles to perform well internationally, but at the same time it’s been very humbling to see fans from around the world enjoy works from Japan. This interest has allowed us to expand more and add languages so we hope players can enjoy more stories in their own languages. Our fundamental commitment, however, remains the same: to deliver high-quality games.
As for Dark Auction itself, is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
First of all, we hope that you will enjoy the storytelling and variety of characters in Dark Auction. This is Rika Suzuki’s first original console title in 15 years, so it’s a big moment for her, as well. Dark Auction is something our entire team has poured their hearts into, so we are excited for players to dive in and explore its world and thank everyone for their support.
And just for fun, what are some of your own personal favorite adventure games and visual novels? For me, it is a toss up between the Science Adventure Series (Steins;Gate and Chaos;Head), and Zero Escape—though Hotel Dusk and The Last Window will always hold a special place in my heart.
Those are some great titles you mentioned! From our team, titles such as The Portopia Serial Murder Case, Detective Story in the Sea of Okhotsk, Hotel Dusk, Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, and Zero Escape as well are among our favorites. We hope fans of those can also enjoy Dark Auction. Thank you!
Thank you again for taking the time to speak with me, it has been an honor.
For more on Dark Auction, you can check out our previous article covering the game's announcement here.
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