Nexon's Project RX finally has a real name. The publisher and developer IO DIVISION have confirmed the game is titled Fareidolia, and it will be playable in an in-development build at Tokyo Game Show 2026 — September 17 to 21 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. A new trailer debuts on September 17 to open the show.
It is planned for release on smartphones, PC and console, and Nexon describes it as a “subculture game centred on immersive storytelling that allows players to enjoy interacting with characters.” Which is a lot of words for the thing everybody reading this already recognises: a character-driven, story-heavy title aimed squarely at the audience that keeps Blue Archive, Umamusume and their neighbours at the top of the charts.
Anima City, the Restoration Center, and the Mates
The setup, per Nexon: Fareidolia takes place in Anima City, a town in a world very similar to Earth. You serve as director of the Anima City Restoration Center while also running Tasogare Hall, the Restoration Center's office. In both roles you live alongside girls known as Mates, each with unique abilities, and work through the various problems that crop up around the city.
Director Minseo Cha explained where the name comes from in a press release accompanying the reveal. Fareidolia is set in a world “that resembles our own yet feels subtly different,” and the team wanted to capture “the story of discovering familiarity within that new world while forming bonds along the way.” Cha also said they wanted players to feel “genuinely close to the Mates, sharing a look and a moment together” — and that this is what the team is bringing to life at Tokyo Game Show.
The cast Nexon has named so far
Four characters have been introduced, and the descriptions do a decent job of telegraphing the tone — comfortable, slice-of-life, more hangout than crisis:
- Minieh — cheerful and laid-back until adventure comes up. An explorer living for the “ultimate adventure,” and the most passionate and dependable companion for uncovering Anima City's hidden secrets.
- Ohana — expressionless with a mysterious aura, and a self-proclaimed all-rounder genius. Extraordinarily talented at whatever she does, and wastes most of that potential on mischief and fun.
- Shami — a cat-eared girl who is constantly broke. Prone to misfortune but undaunted, pouring her money into protective charms while never missing her favourite idol shows.
- Elevator Girl — a mysterious character in charge of operating the elevator at Tasogare Hall.
An Elevator Girl as a named, listed character rather than set dressing is a small but telling detail. It suggests Tasogare Hall is a persistent hub you return to rather than a menu, and that the building itself has cast members attached to its rooms.
What the art is telling us
The environment art Nexon has released is doing more work than the text. The interiors are dense, warm and specific — wood panelling, stained glass, a CRT television and separates hi-fi in a tatami-adjacent living room, bookshelves stacked with real-looking clutter. This is not the sci-fi-lite anywhere-city that most character gacha titles default to. It is a deliberately grounded, slightly nostalgic Japan-adjacent setting, and that fits the “resembles our own yet subtly different” brief better than a splash screen of glowing crystals would.
Nexon's second swing at this audience
Worth noting who is behind it. IO DIVISION sits under Nexon Games, the same corporate umbrella as the team behind Blue Archive — the title that proved a Korean studio could win the Japanese character-game market on its own terms and hold it for years. Fareidolia is not a Blue Archive follow-up, but the institutional knowledge is in the building, and the “subculture game” label is Nexon signalling exactly which shelf it wants this on.
What is still missing is everything mechanical. No genre confirmation beyond “immersive storytelling,” no combat system, no monetisation model, no release window, no word on whether the smartphone, PC and console versions share progress. The teaser is old — it went out under the Project RX name — so the September 17 trailer is the first real look at what playing this actually involves.
Tokyo Game Show attendees will be able to answer that question hands-on. Everyone else has three weeks to wait.
Sources: Nexon via press release and official TGS 2026 site; Gematsu.
