Netflix just released a free app called Playground for smartphones and tablets. This is a gaming app for kids, aged eight and under. It's available to all Netflix members on any tier, and the company promises it doesn't have ads or in-app purchases. It also works without a mobile or Wi-Fi connection. Netflix says this makes it the "perfect companion for long airplane rides or grocery trips." Kids do love their screens. The company promises an "ever-growing library of games" for children. The platform launches with titles based on some massively popular franchises. There's something called Playtime with Peppa Pig, which is a collection of minigames starring the titular Peppa and friends. There's also a game set on Sesame Street, in which kids get to "hang out with Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar and more beloved puppet pals." This is another minigame collection, with a memory card game, a connect-the-dots game and more. The catalog also includes a couple of games based on Dr. Seuss properties and a racing title based on the show Bad Dinosaurs. There are other things on the platform, like a sticker book collection and jigsaw puzzles. Again, every title here is intended for young children. Netflix Playground is available now in the US and many other parts of the world. It launches globally on April 28. The regular Netflix app still offers access to traditional video games, though the streamer's interactive division has been struggling lately. It closed its AAA gaming studio back in 2024 and has since removed many titles from the platform.

Pinball video games have been around for years — I cut my teeth on Space Cadet 3D Pinball, which was pre-loaded on Windows 95. They range from realistic recreations of pinball tables you’ll find at arcades to games that could never exist in real life like 2019’s Demon’s Tilt or older ones like Metroid Prime Pinball for the Nintendo DS or Pokémon Pinball for the Game Boy Color. I didn’t expect to find a detailed pinball game for the humble and delightful Playdate, but a pair of developers working under the name Amano pulled it off with Devils on the Moon Pinball, which arrived last week. It’s the developer’s third game for the Playdate, and Mario and JP (who make up Amano) pointed directly to Pokemon Pinball as the inspiration for this game. “I think one of my most-played games is Pokemon Pinball,” JP said. “But the idea to make a pinball game came from Mario… he came to me and say ‘JP, I want to make a custom engine for Playdate and we should make a pinball game.’” I love playing pinball in real life, but owning a full-size table is extremely expensive and takes up a ton of room. But Devils on the Moon completely scratches the itch. The controls are extremely simple: pressing left on the d-pad flips the left fipper, A flips the right flipper, and pressing down on the d-pad launches the ball. Amano also included tilt controls; pressing right or up on the d-pad or the B button shakes the table in a particular direction so you can try and save the ball. Sadly, the crank doesn’t come into play, but I can’t say I have a good idea for how it would be used. I was impressed with both the physics and table design of Devils on the Moon after playing for just a few minutes. Despite not having analog control, the way the ball reacted when I hit the flippers felt consistent and smooth, and while I was often surprised at some of the bounces it took, it never felt unfair. When I drained a ball, it was almost always something I could have avoided if I knew the game better or had faster reflexes — just like a good, real-life pinball table. JP and Mario described the game as using “stylized physics” rather than it being fully realistic. “It may not necessarily be accurate to real life,” JP said. “But since the screen is wider than it is tall unlike actual pinball, we needed the ball to feel a little bit floaty and not fall as fast because then it would just zoom straight down the screen.” The table design feels both grounded in reality while also taking advantage of its virtual nature. There are three vertical “levels,” each with its own set of flippers. The 2D nature of the game means there aren’t any true ramps like you’ll on most pinball tables, but having three separate sections of the game to get used to makes up for that. And provided you complete various modes in the game, you can reach boss battles where you’re tasked with whacking a giant enemy repeatedly to drain away their health bar. Physical pinball tables often have similar encounters, but they have to be worked into the design of the game — in this case, your ball essentially ports to an entirely different space when you battle a boss. “It's kind of playing like the old pinball machines where the rules are really simple,” Mario said.". "You just have a few things to do. In our case, it ended up going beyond our original scope, but it’s still quite simple compared to an actual pinball machine in terms of rules.” He said the design intent was to make the game friendlier to people who might try it out without a lot of pinball experience while still putting enough challenge into it. The audio and visual presentation is top-notch for a Playdate game, too. Perhaps most crucially for a pinball game, there’s no lag or stuttering. The game also has a distinct visual identity, something that’s always important for pinball to draw you into the world of the playfield as much as possible. The game’s page cheekily promises “ at least (1) songs” and it delivers on that with a solid theme for the main game that serves well as background music that doesn’t get old if you’re playing for a while, and the beeps and boops the table makes as you play feel well-suited to the game. It doesn’t “sound” like a real pinball table — but it isn’t one, so that’s okay. I haven’t played a video pinball game in a long time, but the Playdate feels like an ideal platform for this. I can bring it with me anywhere and play a round or two (provided there’s decent light) or settle in for a longer play session. The game is challenging enough that you’ll need to practice a lot to get the hang of it, but there’s enough variety to the three-tiered table to keep players interested for the long haul. After all, the fun of pinball isn’t necessarily playing a table for the first time — it’s learning it inside out so you can maximize your score. I’m looking forward to getting to that point with Devils on the Moon.

Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. As ever, we've got a whole bunch of new games for you to dive into this weekend, along with announcements and updates on several others that are coming down the pike. I love how spoiled we are for game showcases these days, and I'm really looking forward to the latest installment of the indie-focused Triple-i Initiative at noon ET on April 9 as the first two editions were really strong. The trailer for this one features the likes of Cairn, Warhammer Survivors (the Warhammer-themed Vampire Survivors spinoff), the excellent CloverPit, Final Sentence and Far Far West. The organizers are promising to share release dates and gameplay reveals. Expect to see eight game announcements here too. Summer Game Fest is fast approaching. That means the mid-year edition of Day of the Devs, one of the biggest indie game showcases around, isn't too far away. Developers still have a chance to be featured in the show. Submissions for Day of the Devs: Summer Game Fest Digital Showcase are open, but you'll need to hurry if you're ready to shoot your shot at being included. The deadline for submissions is this Monday, April 6. Meanwhile, I’d normally write about notable ports in the new releases section of this roundup, but there was no trailer for this, so I'll mention it here. Before its success with Peak last year, Landfall also scored a hit with Content Warning on PC (making it free for the first 24 hours didn't hurt!). Now, this friendslop game is out on PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox on PC, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 for $10. Landfall added cross-play to the Steam version as well. A sequel to an all-time indie classic dropped this week, and it took the squishy protagonist of the series to another dimension. Like its predecessors, Super Meat Boy 3D is a tough precision platformer. You'll need to guide the titular meat cube past saws, shredders, burning forests, laser-guided rockets, enemies and other obstacles. There are boss fights too. A mistake spells a quick trip back to the beginning of the level. Meat Boy does have an air dash this time around, though. I played through the first world and Sluggerfly and Team Meat haven't changed the base formula too much. The additional dimension and fixed perspective make platforming a little trickier. When there's a gap while I'm running across a wall, for instance, I might forget to stop pressing up while I'm crossing the hole, causing Meat Boy to disappear into the void. I found it easier to control him with the D-pad than a thumbstick, for what it's worth. You can try it for yourself right now as Super Meat Boy 3D, from publisher Headup, is available on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch 2 for $25. There's a 10 percent launch discount on PC, and it's on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC Game Pass. I really enjoyed the Raccoin demo, so I'm bummed that I haven't had much of a chance to jump into the full game yet. I have some other things on my plate at the minute (more on some of those next week!). When I do have time to properly sit down with Raccoin, though, I may just lose the rest of the month to it. Raccoin is a roguelike deckbuilder in the vein of games like Balatro and CloverPit. Instead of racking up giant scores in spins on poker or one-armed bandits, the action here takes place in a coin pusher. The aim, as ever, is to find wild synergies between special coins and items to break the rules and earn enough points to keep moving forward. I'm excited to experiment with a much larger box of tools in the full game. Raccoin, from Doraccoon and Balatro publisher Playstack, is out now on Steam. It'll usually cost $12, but there's an 18 percent discount until April 7. I've only played around an hour of Tombwater, but I'm really digging this game from Moth Atlas and Midwest Games. It's a 2D, eldritch horror Western Soulslike. It feels like Bloodborne meets The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (there's even a hookshot), by way of Red Dead Redemption. After a brief prologue, you'll pick a character class and jump right into the action as you search for a former train-robbing partner who has somehow become a sheriff. Enemies are quite varied, and you'll use a mix of melee attacks, firearms and magic to battle them. Resource management is vital. You restore ammo by dishing out melee damage. The magic meter has an interesting twist too. Using spells too often can send your character spiraling into madness, which can cause hallucinations. There are lots of hallmarks of the Soulslike genre here. When (not if) you die, you'll leave behind a totem that has all your cash and unused leveling experience. You can destroy this to regain your lost loot, or wait until you've dispatched nearby enemies to do so, as the totem can heal you (helpful in a tough boss battle). You can level up and restore health flasks at campfires. There's a wonderfully gloomy tone to Tombwater. The lovely pixel art and atmospheric music are spot on so far. However, I got lost quite a few times — the map didn't help much — and I don't love the way aiming works with a controller or on Steam Deck. You aim by holding the left trigger and fire with the right. But you can only point your weapon in the four cardinal directions, and you need to let go of the left trigger before you can change your aim. That's not a problem with a mouse, as you can aim freely. I hope Moth Atlas improves controller aiming, since Tombwater is very promising so far. I'm looking forward to playing more when I can. Tombwater is out now on Steam. It'll typically run you $25, but if you pick it up before April 14, it can be yours for $20. Corgis in mechs. That's the first thing you need to know about Animalkind, a co-op village-building game. You and your friends can play as corgis (or tuxedo cats or raccoons) in mechs. You'll first need to find the parts to assemble your ancient mech before you can actually pilot the machine, though. Exploring the open world, gathering resources, crafting and recruiting NPCs are all elements of this charming-looking game. Animalkind is available on Steam for $20, with 10 percent off until April 6. Developer Uncommon Games expects it to remain in early access until 2027. Once again, corgis in mechs. Hozy is another lovely-looking game — perhaps the title is a portmanteau of "home" and "cozy." The idea behind this home renovation title is that you'll be restoring a neighborhood of abandoned abodes. There are nine locations for you to clean up and decorate. There are so many nice touches in the trailer, from the robot mop cleaning floors to pulling a new table out a box filled with packing peanuts (on that note, Unpacking hit Apple Arcade this week). The animations for things like laying down floorboards, changing the height of a chair and unfurling a roll of wallpaper are all delightful. The lighting looks great too. Hozy, from Come On Studio and publisher TinyBuild, is out now on Steam for PC and Mac. It will normally run you $15, but you can save 10 percent if you snap it up by April 6. "You stay in the warmth of your friends," reads a narrative subtitle as three characters stand on a rooftop, looking out at a cityscape and a multicolored sky. By itself, that shot from the launch trailer was enough to sell me on Fishbowl, a coming-of-age adventure from the two-person team at imissmyfriends.studio and co-publisher Wholesome Games Presents. I then looked back at a previous trailer, which included the prompt "hydrate?" with the options of "yes, hydrate and live" and "no, dehydrate and die." Shortly afterward, Fishbowl became the latest addition to my Steam library. Funny how that happens. You'll play as Alo, taking care of her and her home and trying to give her a fulfilling life even as she remains isolated. You'll meet Alo's loved ones and co-workers on video calls, edit video in her work-from-home job and rearrange items in boxes to discover her childhood memories. Learning about Alo's past (with the help of a magical talking fish from her youth) can help you shape Alo's future through you narrative choices. There's a surrealist aspect to this game too. Fishbowl is out now on Steam for PC and Mac, as well as PS5. It costs $10, though there's a 10 percent discount on Steam until April 16. There's a demo available on both platforms. Here's a deep dive into gameplay from Nightholme, a survival extraction game from Studio Ellipsis, which is led by Assassin's Creed Revelations and Assassin's Creed Unity creative director Alexandre Amancio. It's coming to Steam and consoles, with a closed beta lined up for this summer. Each match will have 12 monster hunters. You can run solo or group up with other players. At the start of each match, you load into a camp on the edge of a town full of horrors. Here, you'll drink a potion that turns your character into a monster — three archetypes will be available at the outset. There are a number of things you can opt to do in each match, from carrying out quests tied to factions, scavenging, defeating enemies and taking out other players to snag their loot. Each match also has a boss that's protecting a high-value item. The horror aspect makes me more interested in this than many other survival extraction games out there. I'm definitely looking forward to checking this one out. We've seen a bunch of interesting climbing games over the last few years. You can add another one to the list. Ascenders: Beyond the Peak is a turn-based roguelite in which you'll go exploring with a team of climbers. It seems that you'll encounter Lovecraftian horrors on these mountain, along with dangers like avalanches, blizzards and rockfalls. You'll have nine character classes to choose from and you can level up your climbers and their gear and skills between runs. While the levels are short, you'll need to be mindful as there's a permadeath element to this game. You might even end up having to sacrifice a member of the party in order to save the rest. Brutal. Ascenders: Beyond the Peak, from Ludogram Games and publisher Twin Sails Interactive, is coming to PC and consoles. It'll debut in early access on Steam later this year for $20. Puzzling Places has been a hit on PlayStation and Meta virtual reality platforms, as it has racked up 400,000 players. The 3D jigsaw game will soon be playable without a VR headset for the first time, as it's going to hit Steam on April 9 — it will run on Steam Deck and SteamVR as well. A Steam demo is available now. There are a wide range of puzzles for you to solve, ranging from 25-piece quick hits to gargantuan 1,000-piece endeavors. Each features animations, including of figures going about their lives. It seems very relaxing! It's only 86 seconds long, but I felt a lump in my throat as I watched this trailer for The Day I Became a Bird. The visuals, music and story beats got me caught up in my feelings. It's a narrative adventure about a first love. You play as a young lad named Frank who tries to grab the attention of a classmate, bird-lover Sylvia. Designing and wearing a bird costume just might help him do that. Developer Hyper Luminal Games is based in my hometown, which is yet another reason for me to get on board. I'm not familiar with the children's book — by Ingrid Chabbert and illustrator Guridi — that the game is based on. I kind of want to buy it for my partner's kid... and maybe myself. The Day I Became a Bird is coming to Steam, PS5 and Nintendo Switch on April 16. The base game costs $20. On Steam and PS5, that version includes a short animated film from Passion Games, which found out about the book and teamed up with Hyper Luminal and publisher Numbskull to make the game. A $25 Feathered Adventurer edition includes the film, a digital artbook and the soundtrack.

Jason Blundell, a former creative lead on Activision Blizzard's Call of Duty: Black Ops series, has announced that he's formed a new development studio called Magic Fractal Studios. Blundell announced the studio on a livestream with former Dark Outlaw Games coworker JC Farmer, a little over a week after the previous studio was closed by Sony. Little is known about Magic Fractal beyond its logo and social media accounts. Dark Outlaw Games was similarly mysterious, and closed before it could even announce its first project. All that's known is what Blundell has shared after the studio was shut down: Dark Outlaw wasn't working on a live-service game. The distinction is notable, if only because live-service games have been connected to at least two notable studio closures in the past. Sony shut down Firewalk Studios in October 2024, not long after its live-service shooter Concord was released, and in February 2026, closed Bluepoint Games after its live-service game based on the God of War series was reportedly cancelled. Magic Fractal is Blundell's third studio after leaving Activision Blizzard in 2020. He formed Dark Outlaw Games with Sony's backing in March 2025. Before that, he led Deviation Games, which was closed in 2024 and was reportedly also working on a game for PlayStation.

Take-Two, the owner of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games, has seemingly laid off the head of its AI division, Luke Dicken, and several staff members working under him. "​​It’s truly disappointing that I have to share with you that my time with T2 — and that of my team — has come to an end," Dicken shared in a LinkedIn post spotted by Game Developer. When asked to confirm the layoffs in its AI division, Take-Two declined to comment. Dicken writes that his team was "developing cutting edge technology to support game development" and his post specifically notes that he's trying to find roles for staff with experience in things like "procedural content for games" and "machine learning." It's unclear how many people other than Dicken have been impacted by these layoffs, but the timing does seem a bit unusual for Take-Two. Like some other large game publishers, Take-Two has "actively embraced" generative AI tools to "drive efficiencies" and "reduce costs." Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has even framed AI as having a positive effect on employment, noting that generative AI "will not reduce employment, it will increase employment," because "technology always increases productivity, which in turn increases GDP, which in turn increases employment." It's too early to characterize these layoffs as some sort of tide turning against AI — like other big game companies, Take-Two also just does a lot of layoffs — but it's interesting they're happening now, while the company is speeding towards the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. The sequel is expected to be a big hit, one that should give Take-Two plenty of financial wiggle-room to experiment with new technology.

Amid Microsoft's hacking and slashing of its Xbox division, you wouldn't be crazy for thinking State of Decay 3 was dead. After all, the title was announced nearly six years ago, and, well, we haven't heard much since. But the survival game is still in the pipeline, and developer Undead Labs will hold a series of playtests beginning in May. In the announcement, franchise co-creator Brant Fitzgerald emphasized the role of community input in the game's continued development. "We've read your feedback on Discord, we've watched your gameplay clips and livestreams on YouTube," he said. "It became clear that community is survival — and that we need your help." Assuming it eventually launches, State of Decay 3 will be available for Xbox and PC. You can sign up for the playtest on the game's website. Undead Labs warned that not everyone will be selected for the first round, but they'll keep your names on the list for future opportunities later this year.

For April Fools' Day, the developer of Look Outside released an update that added a new option to your interactions with NPCs: kissing. Instead of just fighting or talking to enemies and surviving neighbors in the cursed apartment building, you could give 'em a smooch. Their dialogue and sprites were updated accordingly, too. Cue stammering eldritch horrors with bright red blushing cheeks. April Fools' Day is (thankfully) over now, but there's good news for anyone who has been enjoying the lovefest or didn't get a chance to try it. Developer Francis Coulombe has built in a way for players to access "smooch mode" going forward. "If you started a game on April 1st and kissed the wounded neighbor, that save file is now permanently in smooch mode!" Coulombe posted on social media. "You can also activate smooch mode on a new save file by naming Sam 'Casanova'." I immediately started a new save to confirm and, yes, doing this does indeed allow you to go on a kissing spree. While you can't smooch every single person/abomination you'll run into, you sure can kiss a lot of them. Want to kiss the Rat King? Go wild. Pierre? Yup. That weird bug guy in the basement who eats bandages? Unfortunately yes, he's kissable too. This truly is the game that keeps on giving. We're apparently getting a real, non-silly update in the near-future as well, so Look Outside fans are eatin' good. Now, please excuse me while I get back to my Kiss Everyone (except Lyle) run.

Sony Interactive Entertainment, owner of the PlayStation brand, has acquired Cinemersive Labs, a UK startup developing tools to convert 2D photos and videos into 3D volumes. The startup team will join Sony's Visual Computing Group, a research engineering team focused on graphical technology, including game rendering, video coding and generative AI models. Cinemersive's most recent product is a virtual reality app called Parallax that works as a viewer for parallax photos — three-dimensional images that you can peer around with natural head movements — captured using traditional smartphones and professional cameras with stereo lenses. The startup developed custom AI tools to convert 2D images into 3D volumes to make Parallax possible, and Sony apparently wants to apply that expertise to its own projects. "Following the acquisition, the Cinemersive Labs team will join SIE’s Visual Computing Group (VCG) and contribute to our broader efforts in advancing state of the art visual computing within games," Sony says. "This includes applying machine learning to enhance gameplay visuals, improve rendering techniques, and unlock new levels of visual fidelity for players." Machine learning has been a major focus of Sony's efforts to improve graphical performance on the PlayStation 5 and future hardware. The PlayStation 5 Pro was designed around a new GPU, faster storage and PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), custom AI upscaling tech that let the console run games at a lower resolution and then upscale them to 4K. The company recently squeezed even more performance out of the Pro with an updated version of PSSR it released in March. And with AMD, Sony is working on Project Amethyst, a multi-pronged collaboration to improve ray tracing and upscaling on the future consoles.

Everyone's four favorite anthropomorphic turtles are returning to the world of video games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City will be released on April 30 for the Meta Quest, Steam VR and Pico. It is made by VR game company Cortopia Studios and will retail for $25. Empire City is a first-person action game that you’ll be able to play solo or co-op with up to four people. And yes, that means all four of the turtles are playable. We've seen a lot of the quartet flexing their fighting form in games over the years, but this is their first time appearing in a standalone VR title. In addition to the shelled heroes, the first part of the new game's trailer highlights other familiar figures from the series, such as Karai of the Foot Clan and ripped rhino Rocksteady. And of course April is there providing pizza and intel.

Publisher and game management platform indie.io just announced the pending launch of something called Indie Pass. This is a subscription service, so it's sort of like Game Pass but for indie titles. It launches on April 13 and will offer over 70 games on that date, with more coming down the line. Not a single person on this planet wants another monthly subscription to manage, but this one costs just $8. That's a pretty good deal, considering Game Pass Ultimate costs a whopping $30 per month. However, these subscription platforms are only as good as their libraries. The company has already confirmed a bunch of nifty titles like the cozy game Echoes of the Plum Grove, the farm-based shooter Air Hares and the tactical RPG Dark Deity. It also promises a "constantly evolving catalog." Indie.io publishes a lot of stuff, so that should make it easier to keep the catalog stacked. The company is also currently courting indie developers and publishers, with a promise to reveal some of these partnerships in the coming weeks. This could be a nice way to drum up interest in new or smaller games, but everything really depends on if people are willing to pony up for another subscription.

Two fantastic indie titles just dropped for Apple Arcade. The platform has received versions of Dredge and Unpacking, both of which have been optimized for mobile devices. Dredge+ is the complete edition of the game, with all released DLC content. This is pretty much a perfect video game that combines fishing with bone-chilling horror. During the day, you sail around and fish, which involves a fishing minigame and a "pack the fish in the bag" minigame. At night, you are hunted by Lovecraftian monsters that may or may not be real. The developers threw in some tricks to make players doubt their own sanity, just like the Gamecube classic Eternal Darkness. Unpacking+ is the original game, but optimized for touchscreen controls. It's basically a block-fitting puzzle game, in which players arrange items in a home as they, well, unpack. Despite this extremely simple premise, the story is quite moving. There's a reason why it has racked up numerous accolades, including one for Cultural Impact at the 2023 App Store Awards. It's also a fantastic title for short bursts of gameplay. The pet sim My Very Hungry Caterpillar+ also arrives for the platform today. Otherwise, pre-existing titles are getting updates throughout the month. The word-based puzzle game Disney SpellStruck just got more Star Wars content and Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop gets a new game mode on April 9.

Resident Evil legend Shinji Mikami's new studio, Unbound Inc., has been acquired by Shift Up, the company behind Stellar Blade and Goddess of Victory: Nikke. Unbound's unannounced games will be fully supported and distributed by South Korean publisher Shift Up, which is led by CEO Hyung-Tae Kim. Mikami is an icon of Japanese horror as the director of Resident Evil, its 2002 remake and Resident Evil 4, as well as a founder of PlatinumGames and Tango Gameworks. Tango was responsible for The Evil Within series, Ghostwire Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush. Shift Up recently developed the hit action game Stellar Blade, with Kim as director. Even with an adorably grotesque introduction video, it's unclear exactly what Unbound is working on at the moment, but the studio is targeting the global PC and console market. Its concepts involve plenty of monsters, as is tradition. Consider even the surface-level possibilities here: The campy horror of Resident Evil blended with the melodramatic beauty of Stellar Blade; the frenzy of Hi-Fi Rush amped up by the anime stylings of Goddess of Victory: Nikke; The Evil Within III, but make it sexy. Those are jokes, but the sentiment remains — this partnership makes a lot of sense and it'll be exciting to see what shakes out. “We believe we can respect each other as creators and make games together,” Mikami said in a Shift Up blog post about the deal. “And I think with Hyung-Tae, we can even enjoy the hard parts.... Seeing my own vision and ideals come into focus like this, and finding someone whose direction aligns so closely is something I’ve rarely experienced before in my career. I hope we keep building together for a long time.” It's also heartening to see stability for Mikami's new studio. His previous team, Tango Gameworks, was acquired by Microsoft in 2021, and Mikami left in 2023 after the release of Hi-Fi Rush. Microsoft shuttered Tango in 2024 during a period of mass game industry layoffs, and its remaining team was eventually sold to Krafton. Mikami has been quietly building up his own studio since 2022.