Re:Zero Enters the World of Smartphone Games This Year

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- has hit many of the benchmarks and requirements for a successful multi-media franchise. The grim time-looping isekai series started out as a lengthy web novel, before going on to inspire a full-length light novel series, a massively popular anime series, and even plenty of manga to boot. For all of the different forms of storytelling that this series has inhabited, though, it’s yet to tackle the wide world of video games. Thankfully, that’s set to change sometime this year, as Sega has confirmed that an official smartphone game of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- is arriving sometime this year.

Tentatively titled Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu, the mobile game is set to arrive on iOS and Android sometime in 2020. The announcement was made via the official Twitter account for the Re:Zero franchise, but info from the official website and separate Twitter account of the new smartphone game confirm some early details on how the game will work. Players control Subaru, following the events of the original anime. However, certain moments in-game will allow you to make a dialogue choice that can lead down a variety of brand new “what-if” storylines. All of this culminates in a brand new original story for the game.

Like so many other mobile games, Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu will be a free to download and free to play game, offering optional in-game purchases. WHITE FOX, the anime studio behind the official anime series, is also set to produce the opening animation for the game. Kenichi Kawamura, a storyboard artist from the first season of the anime, will be storyboarding and directing animation for the new game. The original light novel author of the series, Tappei Nagatsuki, is also set to supervise the project.

While the second season of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World- was originally set to premiere this April, it was recently delayed to sometime in July as a result of production delays incurred due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In a blog post on the official website for the 2nd season of Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-, the staff explained that “the global issues of the COVID-19 coronavirus illness have had a big effect on the production” of the anime, which is the reason for the delay from April to July. The staff will reveal a new air date, time, and broadcast channels at a later point in time.