BODY: Pitching a monster-collecting RPG to Japanese players is a bit like opening a sushi bar in Tokyo โ the local competition is legendary. Tencent did it anyway this week, unveiling the Japanese version of Roco Kingdom at a Tokyo press event that paired a formal announcement with hands-on demos and a surprise voice cast reveal.
Developed by Morefun Studios and published by Tencent, Roco Kingdom casts players as Rocos โ magic users exploring the open-world continent of Carosia and bonding with creatures called Genies. More than 400 Genies are planned, and the headline detail for a Japanese audience is what the game leaves out: there is no gacha. Creatures are found through exploration rather than pulled from a paid banner, and both PvE and PvP are built around skill and team composition rather than spending. Farming, co-op play and slow-life activities round out the loop.
The cast announcement was the event's centerpiece. KENN voices Iris and Aina Aiba voices Yessie, with additional roles going to Yusuke Kobayashi, Akari Kito, Aoi Koga, Yoko Hikasa, Maki Kawase and Genki Okawa. KENN and Aiba then played live on stage, with KENN capturing and riding a unicorn-type Genie that evolves into Grace Horn.
Morefun's narrative team framed the design around three ideas โ meeting, companionship and shared journeys โ stressing that Genies are meant to read as independent beings with their own personalities. Dynamic weather shifts creature behavior, and the team said creature vocalizations were built to mirror how real animals actually sound. The game is planned for PC (Steam and Epic), PS5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS and Android, with Japan's first closed beta opening October 27, 2026.
The insider take
Roco Kingdom is not a new IP โ it launched in China as a browser game in 2010 and grew into a childhood staple there, complete with animated films. What's new is the ambition: a full console-and-PC reboot aimed squarely at overseas markets, and Japan is the hardest possible proving ground. Tencent's play here is transparent and smart. Booking voice actors of this caliber signals real budget to a market that reads casting as a proxy for seriousness, and leading with "no gacha" is a direct appeal to Japanese players who have grown weary of monetization-first mobile RPGs. Whether that holds after launch is the question everyone in the room was quietly asking.
Originally reported by AUTOMATON (Japanese).