MONOPHOBIA Adds Teren Mikami and Wata as Shochiku Games Brings Chapter 1 Demo to TGS 2026

MONOPHOBIA is entering a major new phase ahead of Tokyo Game Show 2026. Shochiku Games has announced its involvement in publishing the title developed by Dendrobium, while Steam now lists both Candidum Games and Shochiku as publishers. A new story demo featuring Chapter 1 in development will also be playable at TGS 2026.

The September 8 announcement additionally reveals two major creators shaping the game's story and visual identity. Teren Mikami, known for There's No Freaking Way I'll be Your Lover! Unless... and his work on Link! Like! Love Live!, is writing the game scenario, while illustrator Wata (緜)—the character designer behind Hyakumantenbara Salome—is responsible for character design and the main visual.

Quick Summary

• Title: MONOPHOBIA
• Official genre: 2.5D urban legend suspense adventure
• Gameplay format: side-scrolling adventure
• Developer: Dendrobium
• Publisher: Candidum Games
• Additional publisher: Shochiku
• Platform: PC / Steam
• Release status: Coming Soon
• Specific release date: unannounced
• Price: unannounced
• Players: 1
• Latest announcement: September 8, 2026
• Event: Tokyo Game Show 2026
• TGS dates: September 17–21, 2026
• TGS venue: Makuhari Messe
• Demo booth: Shochiku Games
• Demo content: Chapter 1 / opening story
• Demo build status: still in development
• Demo reveal status: first public playable showing
• Game scenario: Teren Mikami
• Japanese name: みかみてれん
• Character design: Wata
• Japanese illustrator name: 緜
• Main visual: Wata
• Development team: Dendrobium
• Dendrobium founded: 2022
• Project significance: Dendrobium's first independently developed title
• Main protagonist: Konoka Kirihara
• Japanese name: 切原古乃華
• Main protagonist: Shino Nakano
• Japanese name: 中野篠
• Konoka: a mysterious girl with no “past”
• Shino: a gyaru classmate with spiritual sensitivity
• Premise: two girls investigate supernatural phenomena across a modern city
• Investigation mechanic: logic
• Investigation mechanic: special abilities
• Clue system: Journal
• Visual style: 2.5D side-scrolling
• Visual inspiration: 32-bit / fifth-generation adventure games
• Visual technology: modern lighting
• Gameplay element: puzzle solving
• Gameplay element: detective work
• Story element: urban legends
• Horror element: light psychological horror
• Japanese character voices: planned
• Voice cast: unannounced
• Planned language: Japanese
• Planned language: English
• Planned language: Simplified Chinese
• Planned language: Traditional Chinese
• Planned language: Korean
• Indonesian: not supported
• Steam status: available to wishlist

MONOPHOBIA at TGS 2026 and on Steam

Shochiku Games Joins the Publishing Side

The biggest development in the latest announcement is Shochiku Games' involvement in publishing MONOPHOBIA.

When the Steam page was first introduced in March 2026, Candidum Games was the listed publisher. Following the September 8 announcement, Steam has been updated to show Candidum Games and Shochiku together.

Shochiku Games has also opened an official MONOPHOBIA product page and will exhibit the title at its Tokyo Game Show 2026 booth.

For Dendrobium, the partnership comes during what the team describes as its first attempt at independently developing a game. The studio was founded in 2022 and includes creators from several countries, including members with extensive industry experience.

The additional publisher has not changed the currently announced launch window. MONOPHOBIA remains listed as Coming Soon, with neither a specific release date nor a price announced.

Chapter 1 Will Be Playable at Tokyo Game Show 2026

MONOPHOBIA will be exhibited throughout Tokyo Game Show 2026, which runs for five days from September 17 through September 21 at Makuhari Messe.

September 17–18 are Business Days, while the event opens to the general public from September 19 through September 21.

According to the game's official post, the showcased build contains Chapter 1, currently still in development. Shochiku describes it as a story demo allowing players to experience the game's opening.

This will be the first opportunity to directly play the opening story and its 2.5D pixel-art world after MONOPHOBIA had previously been presented primarily through Steam information and screenshots.

The same announcement also confirms plans to implement Japanese character voices. Steam currently lists Japanese full audio support, but the actual voice actors for Konoka, Shino and the rest of the cast have not yet been announced.

Teren Mikami Writes a Story Built Around “Big Feelings”

The narrative side of MONOPHOBIA now has a confirmed major creator: Teren Mikami is responsible for the game scenario.

Mikami is known for There's No Freaking Way I'll be Your Lover! Unless... and for writing main-scenario material for Link! Like! Love Live!.

In his message accompanying the announcement, Mikami describes himself as someone who mainly makes a living writing about the “huge emotions of girls.” He also says he was specifically approached to write MONOPHOBIA's scenario.

That background aligns closely with the game's emphasis on the relationship between its two female protagonists.

MONOPHOBIA is not designed around urban-legend investigations alone. The developers repeatedly emphasize the girls' deepening emotional connection and an “irreversible bond,” positioning their human drama as equally important to the supernatural mystery.

Wata Designs Konoka and Shino

The game's character identity is being shaped by illustrator Wata (緜).

Wata's work spans light-novel illustrations, game character design, social-media artwork and VTuber design. One of the artist's best-known works is the character design for NIJISANJI's Hyakumantenbara Salome.

For MONOPHOBIA, Wata is responsible for both character design and the main visual.

The two primary characters introduced so far are Konoka Kirihara and Shino Nakano.

Konoka is presented as a mysterious girl who somehow has no “past.” Shino is a cheerful gyaru classmate with spiritual sensitivity.

That contrast establishes the game's buddy dynamic: one protagonist carries a mystery surrounding her own identity, while the other's unusual ability naturally becomes valuable once the pair begins investigating supernatural incidents around the city.

Logic, Abilities and the Journal Drive the Investigation

MONOPHOBIA is not intended to be an adventure that simply moves forward through dialogue.

Steam and Shochiku's official page describe its investigative structure as being built around logic and special abilities.

Players explore side-scrolling environments, gather clues and then use the Journal to connect information logically.

Each character's abilities also factor into the investigation, meaning the two protagonists are not merely visual alternatives to the same gameplay role.

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Puzzle solving and detective work form the core loop. Supernatural incidents require players to examine evidence, understand relationships between pieces of information and use the protagonists' different abilities to reach conclusions.

The “buddy” concept therefore reaches directly into the investigative design rather than existing only in the narrative.

A 32-Bit-Inspired World Rebuilt With Modern Lighting

MONOPHOBIA intentionally draws from classic 32-bit and fifth-generation adventure games.

Dendrobium is not simply reproducing those older visuals, however.

Retro-inspired pixel imagery is combined with modern lighting and rendering to create side-scrolling 2.5D spaces with added depth.

The result is a modern city that feels nostalgic while remaining subtly uncomfortable. Ordinary urban locations become the setting for supernatural phenomena, with perspective and lighting allowing familiar spaces to gradually feel wrong.

That presentation also supports the game's psychological-horror elements.

Steam specifically warns of disturbing imagery, scenes of violence and murder, although the game continues to describe itself as featuring “light psychological horror” rather than being a conventional survival-horror title.

The Biggest Mystery May Not Be the Urban Legends

Dendrobium has suggested that MONOPHOBIA's central question may reach beyond simply identifying the truth behind a supernatural case.

In its creator message, the team reflects on how people can lose sight of what they truly want while trying to obtain something they believe they desire.

The characters repeatedly ask themselves: what do I actually want?

Dendrobium wants players to pay attention not only to the characters' final decisions but also to the uncertainty and emotional changes that lead them there.

That suggests the supernatural investigation will run alongside a more personal mystery—particularly the question of Konoka's missing past and the relationship developing between her and Shino.

Why This Matters

1) The creative staff fits the story MONOPHOBIA wants to tell

Teren Mikami is strongly associated with emotionally intense relationships between girls, while Wata brings a distinct approach to character design. Both are working on a game centered on a two-girl buddy drama.

2) TGS offers the first chance to play the opening

Most information so far has come through Steam and screenshots. The Chapter 1 demo will finally show how dialogue, puzzles, abilities and investigation work together in practice.

3) The retro style is more than a direct imitation

Fifth-generation aesthetics serve as a foundation, while modern lighting and 2.5D spaces turn that inspiration into a reinterpretation rather than simple nostalgia.

4) Mystery and character relationships are designed as one story

MONOPHOBIA does not separate supernatural cases from the protagonists' drama. Investigating urban legends becomes one of the mechanisms through which their bond and personal mysteries develop.

Game Information

For now, the additional important information currently known includes:

• MONOPHOBIA is developed by Dendrobium
• Dendrobium was established in 2022
• its members include creators from several countries
• some members have extensive game-industry experience
• MONOPHOBIA is Dendrobium's first independently developed project
• Candidum Games has been attached as publisher since the Steam page reveal
• Shochiku is now also listed as publisher
• Shochiku Games announced its involvement on September 8, 2026
• the announcement also confirmed a TGS 2026 exhibition
• the TGS demo contains Chapter 1 in development
• Shochiku describes it as an opening story demo
• the first main character is Konoka Kirihara
• her Japanese name is 切原古乃華
• the second main character is Shino Nakano
• her Japanese name is 中野篠
• Konoka has no clear record of a “past”
• Shino is a classmate with spiritual sensitivity
• the two have sharply contrasting personalities
• their relationship is one of the narrative's central elements
• urban legends form a major part of the mystery
• investigation uses logic and special abilities
• clues can be connected through the Journal
• exploration uses a side-scrolling 2.5D perspective
• the visuals are inspired by fifth-generation adventure games
• modern lighting is combined with pixel-style visuals
• the game contains psychological-horror elements
• Steam mentions disturbing imagery
• Steam mentions scenes of violence
• Steam mentions murder
• single-player is supported
• Steam Achievements are listed
• Steam Cloud is listed
• Steam Stats are listed
• Family Sharing is listed
• Japanese interface is supported
• Japanese subtitles are supported
• Japanese full audio is currently listed on Steam
• English interface and subtitles are supported
• Korean interface and subtitles are supported
• Simplified Chinese interface and subtitles are supported
• Traditional Chinese interface and subtitles are supported
• Indonesian is not listed
• the minimum OS is Windows 10 64-bit
• minimum RAM is 8 GB
• the minimum GPU requirement calls for DirectX 12 support
• listed storage requirement is 16 GB
• recommended RAM is 16 GB
• the listed recommended GPU is GeForce RTX 2060
• recommended CPUs include Intel Core i5-14600KF or AMD Ryzen 7 7700
• a specific release date remains unannounced
• pricing remains unannounced
• the Japanese voice cast remains unannounced
• platforms beyond Steam remain unannounced
• official information is available through the MONOPHOBIA Official Website
• official updates are available through MONOPHOBIA Official X
• the TGS announcement is available through the MONOPHOBIA Official X Post
• the PC version can be wishlisted through MONOPHOBIA on Steam
• event scheduling is available through the Tokyo Game Show 2026 Official Website

Closing

MONOPHOBIA is entering a new stage with Shochiku Games joining the publishing effort and Chapter 1 heading to Tokyo Game Show 2026. Teren Mikami's involvement in the scenario and Wata's work on character design also make it increasingly clear that Konoka and Shino's relationship will be as important as the urban legends they investigate.

The game remains listed as Coming Soon on Steam. Its specific release date, price, Japanese voice cast and any additional platforms have yet to be announced, while the newest story build will be playable first at Shochiku Games' TGS 2026 booth.