Sega has announced that it will be hosting a live stream for Project Sakura Wars next week. As part of this, the developers confirmed that they’ll be showing off the first Project Sakura Wars gameplay footage as part of the stream.
Announced via Twitter, the Project Sakura Wars live stream will take place on Wednesday, June 26 from 7:00 AM ET to 8:30 AM ET over Sega’s official YouTube channel and Periscope. Producer Tetsu Katano will be on the stream alongside a few other guests from the development team.
Set in an alternate steampunk version of the 1920s, the Sakura Wars games feature a mix of turn-based strategy and dating sim elements. While the series, called Sakura Taisen in Japan, has never been as big as Sega’s other franchises outside its home country, they have still managed to garner a cult following in the West.
The games follow the exploits of the Imperial Combat Revue’s “Hanagumi,” or “Flower Division.” This division consists of women who pilot “kohbu,” powered armors, that use steam to move. The players assume control over their commander, the only male member of the division, who directs them in battle against supernatural forces threatening Japan.
After years of dormancy, Sega announced a new game in series with the working title Project Sakura Wars. Prior to this, the last mainline Sakura Wars game was 2005’s Sakura Wars 5: So Long, My Love. The latter also represents the only mainline game to be officially released outside of Japan, at least until Project Sakura Wars arrives in the west next year.
Project Sakura Wars will be a soft reboot of sorts for the series, this time set in the 1940s. As part of this, the game will feature character designs by Tite Kubo of Bleach fame. Kubo is the third artist to work on the series, following Kosuke Fujishima and Hidenori Matsubara.
Project Sakura Wars launches on PlayStation 4 in Japan this winter. North America and Europe will get the game in the spring of 2020.
