Showa American Story
Showa American Story is an upcoming action role-playing game developed by the Chinese studio NEKCOM. The player assumes the role of Chouko Chigusa, a stuntwoman who has been revived from the dead. The story is set in post-apocalyptic Showa America, an alternate history reimagining of the United States that is profoundly shaped by the culture and economy of Japan.
Showa American Story is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 5 and Windows in 2026.
Gameplay
Showa American Story is an action role-playing game. Even though the game does feature action, it is defined simply as a role-playing game by NEKCOM. It is played in single-player mode.The player controls the stuntwoman Chouko Chigusa. She can wield melee and ranged weapons.
The combat is real-time action. One of the enemy bosses is Gokou, the Governor of Texas, who is both an American cowboy and a Japanese samurai.
The game takes place in a semi-open world. It consists of multiple cities, each of which is its own sandbox. A camper, a motorcycle, and other vehicles are drivable. The traversal between cities is done using the camper, either through fast travel or by driving. The base of operations is the camper.
Synopsis
Setting
Showa American Story takes place in post-apocalyptic Showa America. It is set in the 66th year of the Showa era, which corresponds to the year 1991.The setting is presented as an alternate history. In this world, Japan has bought out much of the United States through its strong economic power, while a surge of immigration by its people has led to an amalgamation of the two cultures into a new way of life in the United States. The United States has essentially become an economic and cultural colony of Japan.
Plot
Chouko Chigusa, a 19-year-old stuntwoman, travels with her younger sister to America. In Neo Yokohama, Chouko goes to a movie audition and is killed by a mysterious agent. However, she is revived from the dead and discovers that America has changed into a post-apocalyptic landscape with zombies, monsters, and other human survivors. In search for her missing sister as well as answers and revenge, she embarks on a journey across America.Development
Showa American Story is a game developed by NEKCOM. The studio is based in Wuhan, China. The game was initially built using Unreal Engine 4 and was later built using Unreal Engine 5.NEKCOM started the development of Showa American Story in 2016. The developers worked on the preliminary concept design from 2016 to 2018. During this period, at most five people were involved in the project. The developers began the official phase of the development in late 2018. By early 2022, the project's team comprised approximately 20 people.
Showa American Story was based on American and Japanese popular culture of the 1980s and 1990s, as approached from a Chinese perspective. At the time, these foreign cultures were introduced to China and appeared in distinct ways within its society, which left impressions in the memories of the developers. The developers derived cultural references from their own memories, rather than from research or consultation. Xiangyu Luo commented that "I used Japanese manga, movies, and the like that were popular in China as my base. I thought it would be more interesting to show people a unique take on Showa style as seen by a Chinese person than it would be if we depicted it faithfully. While I was confident that Chinese users who experienced the same timeframe and creative works as me would understand the charm, I never imagined I'd get this big of a reaction from Japan and the West."
The development cost of Showa American Story was about US$20 million, as disclosed by Luo.
Release
Showa American Story is scheduled to be released for PC and PlayStation 5 in 2026.In January 2022, NEKCOM unveiled Showa American Story. At the time, the game was announced for PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Starting a few days before this official reveal, the studio teased the project under the title Project SAS with a daily countdown. In November 2024, the studio revealed that the game would be released for PC and PlayStation 5 in 2025. In November 2025, the studio stated that the game was delayed to 2026.