Five years after its October 2016 release as a free-to-play game on PS4 and subsequent shutdown 13 months later, The Tomorrow Children is set to return. Q-Games, the Kyoto-based indie developer behind the game, has acquired the rights from publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment, returning the Tomorrow Children IP to creator Dylan Cuthbert and his team.

During a rare private server gameplay video in September 2021, Q-Games CEO and founder Cuthbert told IGN Japan that he hoped to acquire the rights and re-release The Tomorrow Children if Sony would allow it. A small-but-vocal audience has called for its return since public servers were closed in November 2017, rendering the game unplayable, and Cuthbert says it was this dedication from fans that convinced him to pursue negotiations with Sony over the rights.

“I’d like to thank first and foremost the fans of The Tomorrow Children, without whom I would never have had the confidence to keep pursuing this deal,” Cuthbert said in an announcement today. “Our fans are some of the most amazing gamers out there, and every day for the past four years they have kept the dream alive. I think the happiest thing about this decision is imagining the enjoyment those fans will feel as they re-enter the crazy post-apocalyptic neo-soviet world of The Tomorrow Children.

“Secondly I’d like to thank Sony Interactive Entertainment for also working with me to have the IP returned to Q-Games. It has taken a concerted effort by all of us to get to this ultimate step, and I’m full of gratitude to everyone involved in the process.”

The Tomorrow Children was an online-only multiplayer experience in which players collaborated to build towns, farm resources, and protect the world from attackers – all set in a surreal, Soviet-inflected post-apocalypse. The game received a mixed reception upon launch and its servers were closed just over a year later, but it built up a cult following.

Although no release date or platforms were announced, it appears The Tomorrow Children will return in an evolved form, as Cuthbert promised that he is “now tweaking and re-working parts of the game every week”. The Tomorrow Children was already a pioneering title, having been developed in partnership with Sony from early in the PS4’s life cycle. Its advanced Voxel Cone Tracing graphics engine resulted in a Pixar-like visual presentation that still looks impressive today, while elements of its loose online co-op system would later be reflected in games such as Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding. Together with planned updates, we can hope the new version of The Tomorrow Children will look at home alongside modern games when it is finally released.

In the meantime, Q-Games will be publishing a newsletter with behind-the-scenes updates so that fans can see how development is progressing. Registration for the newsletter is available here.

“I hope everyone follows along and gets involved in this process,” commented Cuthbert. “We plan to make quite a few changes for the better, and give The Tomorrow Children the re-launch it deserves! Come watch the fun!”

Cuthbert has a close relationship with Sony, having worked there for a spell around the turn of the millennium, and he has had a hand in backend aspects of several PlayStation consoles since the PS2, most famously including the PS2’s rubber duck tech demo and the PS3’s XrossMediaBar interface. Q-Games’ flagship PixelJunk series was closely associated with PlayStation platforms for many years and helped to raise player interest in indie games on Sony consoles. The Tomorrow Children was developed by Q-Games and published by SIE, with production support from Sony’s Japan Studio.

The specific details of the deal between Q-Games and SIE were not announced.

Sony has occasionally collaborated with the creators of its classic IP on reissues, such as working with Parappa The Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura on a PS4 remaster, but in general it has held on to the rights to the vast majority of its second-party franchises. This makes Q-Games’ achievement in acquiring the rights to The Tomorrow Children all the more impressive. It’s exciting to see what this development will mean not only for The Tomorrow Children, but for other dormant Sony titles as well.

Daniel Robson is Chief Editor at IGN Japan. For full disclosure, he worked at SIE Japan Studio while The Tomorrow Children was under development, but didn't work directly on creating the project. He is also a fan of the game. Follow him on Twitter here.

Now that the holiday season is upon us, the time has come to start hunting and gathering those gifts. If you're looking for the perfect pressie for a PlayStation fan, we've got you well sorted.

PlayStation has kicked some serious goals in 2021, despite its new arrival, the PS5, being incredibly difficult to secure for purchase. That being said, highly desirable releases for the system like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Deathloop, and Returnal, mean there's never been a better time to join the PlayStation ecosystem.

We've brought our considerable knowledge to bear by rounding up some of the most popular PlayStation gifts that are sure to be on many lists this season. There's not a single lump of coal to be found in this essentials guide!

Top Must-Have PlayStation Gifts

Let's face it – the PS5 is hen's teeth right now, but if you're able to score one, it will surely make a next-level gift.

Best PS4 & PS5 Games Gifts

These are the top games to show off the considerable grunt of PS5, with some games also available on PS4.

Best Digital PlayStation Gifts

If you're not sure what to get, digital subscriptions, online memberships, and gift cards are always appreciated.

Best PS5 Accessories Gifts

For those who like to accessorise, there are two new PS5 DualSense colours, headsets, charging solutions, and more.

PlayStation Collectibles Gifts

When you're a true collector, it's often about achieveing a certain level of "game cave" ambiance.

Adam Mathew is a deals finder for IGN AU. He has never once tasted eggnog. Or any other nog.

Today's a little taste tease of some great savings to come. While Black Friday 2021 kicks off on November 26 and Cyber Monday takes place on November 29, many deals have already kicked off ahead of time. More discounts will pop up from now until Black Friday, and many retailers will lean hard into the deals in the week leading up to the event (Amazon, for example, is kicking off Black Friday week from Nov 22). Basically, get scrolling to start swooping down like an early bird…

Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch

Purchase Cheaply for PC

Exciting Offers for XO/XS

Product Savings for PS4/PS5

Adam's a deals guy who was once beaten by his non-gaming wife at Tekken 3. That was 2002. He still hears about it.

C'mon C'mon debuts in theaters on Nov. 19.

It’s rare for a quote-unquote adult film to genuinely value the perspective of young children, but that’s exactly what Mike Mills’ sensational C’mon C’mon does, even if its premise initially feels just a little too convenient. Joaquin Phoenix plays Johnny, a radio journalist interviewing young people throughout various U.S. cities asking a question most broad: “What do you think the future is going to be like?”

The film, shot entirely in black and white and on location, hops from Detroit to Los Angeles to New York and finally to New Orleans, each time stopping to really make a meal out of each city and the personalities of the young minds living within them. As Johnny puts it, he enters and exits the lives that his subjects keep living, leaving behind their situations as he builds upon his own.

But his situation changes when his estranged sister (Gaby Hoffmann) asks him to take her son, Jesse (Woody Norman), with him while she tries to take care of her drug-addled partner (Scoot McNairy), Jesse’s father. Suddenly, Johnny finds that, while he remains an observer in his work, he is helping create the situation of Jesse’s young life — a situation that is every bit as complex, challenging, and unique as those of his subjects.

The film doesn’t play up the irony of a child imposing on work that involves getting children to say profound things about the world and life to an annoying degree. While one may roll their eyes at the initial thematic obviousness of Mills’ premise, the writer-director’s approach and intent feel completely honest. That said, while Johnny and Jesse’s relationship is rich and utterly human, C’mon C’mon more quietly has the state of the world on its mind.

C’mon C’mon feels specifically targeted at those old enough to listen to and reflect on what Jesse and the other children say throughout the film from a place of melancholic complacency — an inherently adult emotional state of mind. Even as the film harnesses the pure, unfiltered perspective of America’s youth, we’re clearly here to observe what that does to middle-aged Johnny. This is a man who interacts with children for his occupation but doesn’t have any kids himself. To call him a hack would be harsh, but not totally off base. Even if he understands the value of his work, his approach is more transactional than it is empathetic. And that’s where a temperamental 10-year-old gets to double as an unpredictable battering ram into Jesse’s existence.

For the film to work, Phoenix’s and Norman’s chemistry needs to be pitch perfect, and it is. Here, the Joker actor is totally against type, playing a normal, schlubby, awkward figure you could pass on the street and never even notice. Norman, meanwhile, gives a revelatory performance for a child actor. Together they make magic, perfectly exhibiting the terrifying uncharted waters both their characters find themselves in. We see fear in their eyes often, but joy creeps in there more and more as they forcibly get acclimated with their uncomfortable situation.

As Jesse isn’t one of Johnny’s interview subjects, they’re merely part of each other’s every day. Jesse’s occasional tantrums don’t seem to carry the same weight as what the kids Johnny meets just once say into his microphone. What this unlikely pair is experiencing is simply life — the impacts both small and large that we leave on people close to us, enriching, hurting, and loving each other. Saying it, and writing it, is more cliche than the truth of just living it. But for this beautiful exploration of generational perspective, merely living is more than enough.

A pop-up store selling exclusive merchandise themed around the Konami Code has opened at the Akihabara Container in Tokyo’s Akihabara district.

The Konami Code – a combination of button presses that unlocked special goodies in various Konami games from the 1980s onwards – was first used in Gradius in 1986. By entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, players could unlock a more powerful ship to play with. The hidden command went on to be used in Gradius II and other Konami titles.

The pop-up shop sells various exclusive items based on classic Konami titles such as Gradius, Goemon, Snatcher and Tokimeki Memorial. The full lineup can be seen in the gallery below or on the official website.

In addition, the store features a photo spot with a massive wall panel of Chichibinta Rika from the Parodius series, where visitors are invited to pose for selfies.

Konami has even released a theme song based on the Konami Code, produced by Japanese artist TOMOSUKE, sung by meiyo, and illustrated by Kaneko Shake. The video for the song, which features lyrics in Japanese extolling the virtues of the button command in detail, is available on Konami’s Japanese YouTube account.

Konami has come under fire in recent years for moving away from game development following the departure of Hideo Kojima, but that hasn't stopped the publisher from cashing in on its various classic properties. In September, Konami released the Castlevania Advance Collection, which contains several Game Boy Advance games as well as Dracula X for the Super NES.

The Konami Code 35th anniversary celebration began on October 28 and will continue to November 16. If you're able to make it to Japan in that time and you have even a little love for classic games, it's worth a visit for the nostalgia hit alone.

Ryuichi Kataoka is a writer for IGN Japan