On January 9, 2026, Cygames announced that it established Cygames AI Studio, a subsidiary that will develop and provide generative AI-based tools and services. The website for Cygames AI Studio is available in both English and Japanese.

The announcement on Cygames's official website provided background on why it set up the subsidiary. The company statement claimed generative AI is an important technology that has the power to use accumulated ideas to power the creation of new ones. Cygames AI Studio will use the company's game development experience to build generative AI tools that "creators" could use "safely and securely." It also said that it will research and develop its own model, as well as provide generative AI services and tools for game developers. The announcement also claimed a goal is to "build a unique creative cycle to expand on the creators' creativity."

Cygames is currently recruiting for its AI Studio. Openings include engineers for language models and picture generation. These are full-time jobs that would require the person to live in or move to Japan.

Reactions to the announcement on Twitter have been largely negative. English replies and QRTs call Cygames out of touch, as well as point out established issues with generative AI like art theft. Japanese users are also against this. There has been more and more backlash against generative AI since 2025. In December 2025, the Indie Game Awards stripped Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 of its GOTY wins after it came out that the studio had used generative AI in development and launched with those genAI assets until they were patched out.

Cygames had a good reputation in 2025 with the global release of Umamusume: Pretty Derby, which also won Best Mobile Game at the Game Awards 2025.

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McDonald’s Japan is advertising its new Three-Cheese Beef Stew Pie with a parody of the song "Cirno’s Perfect Math Class" by IOSYS from Touhou Project. You can watch the McDonald’s video via its official X (formerly Twitter) account and YouTube.

Like previous parody songs, the lyrics have been changed to reflect the menu item in question. Cirno advertises the three types of cheese that are in the pie (cheddar, gouda, and Camembert). Instead of yelling “baka, baka” (“idiot, idiot”) during the chorus, the lyrics go “burger, burger,” which sounds very similar in Japanese. Other Touhou Project characters who make appearances in the video include Yakumo and Marisa.

You can watch the video below via the McDonald’s Japan YouTube channel:

The original Cirno’s Perfect Math Class music video, which IOSYS uploaded 15 years ago, has accumulated 13 million views on YouTube. It is an arrangement of her boss theme from Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. You can watch that below to compare the two.

This is not the first time that McDonald’s has used an arrangement of a Touhou Project track for an advertising campaign. In 2024, it released a version of "Marisa Stole The Precious Thing" to promote its Samurai Mac Triple Thick Beef Burger.

The Three-Cheese Beef Stew Pie is available at McDonald’s Japan for a limited time. The pie itself (without a combo or anything) costs 240 JPY ($1.55).

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Cling to Darkness was about an hour and a half of dread and emotional twists, only for one's last impression of it to be a frenetic rock track as the credits play. Though odd, it matches the peculiar (used both positively and negatively) experience that I just had. Though I can appreciate Lizardry’s innovation in the over-saturated market of indie horror adventure, its somewhat counter-intuitive gameplay drowns out the potential.

In Cling to Darkness, you play as Satsuki, a young girl undergoing a ritual. This ritual requires her to put on a blindfold and collect five talismans while relying solely on her sense of hearing. A mysterious monster known as Ashioto-san stalks her the entire time, and she absolutely cannot let Ashioto-san touch her.

When reading the description for Cling to Darkness, I expected something like Death Forest or Aka Manto—a horror game with an implacable monster stalker and a bare-bones narrative to justify your presence in whatever haunted locale you’re in. But I was surprised when Cling to Darkness actually had a story. Satsuki comes off as an unreliable narrator, which makes you doubt her story and have to piece together her past from dialogue.

Contrary to the game's instructions when you first boot this up, I highly recommend playing with visual aides off and not blindfolding yourself. As mentioned earlier, the story wants to be deeper than the run-of-the-mill horror, but the game doesn’t mute or lower the volume of the sound effects during conversations. Many times, they distracted me at key points of dialogue, causing me to miss something since I couldn't read the subtitle before clicking for the next line.

It’s also funny that I had to do that. Again, you're meant to play it blindfolded, but the game doesn't have an auto option for the story. I often didn't know when a character had finished speaking and so needed me to click to proceed. How did the playtesters not complain aabout this? This was way more stressful than the actual horror bit. The game wasn't that scary since Ashioto-san sounds like a kid running at the pool, and it's easy enough to beat.

The story also doesn't match the game's length. It's only 90 minutes long, which isn't enough time to know or care about Satsuki. That's even with Anya Floris, who voices Satsuki in the English version, acting her heart out. My first impression when I finished the game was that the ending was similar to the Death Note American live-action's. It ends on a confusing note ("Wait, did Satsuki pee herself?") and the last impression is a complete tonal shift from what you had just gone through that it only leaves you with more questions.

I would have liked more time with Satsuki to care about her and her plight. In saying that, though, more of the repetitive gameplay would have further dragged down the experience. Cling to Darkness is a game with a good idea, but its execution (from basic QoL to the story and gameplay) just needed some more forethought.

Cling to Darkness is readily available on the Windows PC via Steam.

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An upcoming Bring Arts figure of Aerith will use her design from the original Final Fantasy VII game. This figure is also available for pre-order via the North American Square Enix site.

On the Japanese Square Enix store, the Final Fantasy VII Aerith Bring Arts figure costs 13,200 JPY. It’ll come out on March 28, 2026. Meanwhile, the North American version of the store lists it for $129.99, and it’ll come out in June 2026. Another version of the original Aerith Bring Arts figure already came out and is available for purchase on the store. This one costs cheaper at $119.99, but unlike the new one that Square Enix announced, she’s not wielding her Mythril Rod.

Like the previous Final Fantasy VII Bring Arts figures, this one will come with two face plates and multiple hand parts. While it comes with the Mythril Rod, you don’t have to pose Aerith with it if you don’t want to, and it counts as yet another optional part. Since it’s fully-articulated, you can customize how Aerith is displayed based on your preferences or current set-up.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is available on the PS4, PS5, and Windows PC. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is on the PS5. The original game came out on the PlayStation, but it’s also available on the PS4, Switch, Xbox One, Windows PC, and mobile devices.

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