When Netmarble’s adventure-crafting sport Bloomwalker was first shown off at Gamescom in 2025, it was fairly clear that the devs had been taking a number of inspiration from Studio Ghibli films like Howl’s Shifting Fortress. As of at this time, that inspiration is now semi-official, as the most recent trailer for Bloomwalker at Tokyo Sport Present 2026 confirms that Netmarble’s sport shall be a part of the identical universe as Degree-5’s Ni no Kuni RPG franchise.
Should you missed the first trailer for Bloomwalker final yr, when it was often known as Mission Bloomwalker, simply remember that the similarities between the sport and Studio Ghibli’s animation model can’t be overstated.
Past simply its look, the sport additionally lifts loads of parts from Ghibli’s movies. A dwelling, transferring home and a tiny sentient fireplace that helps prepare dinner your meals? Howl’s Shifting Fortress. An enormous magic cat with a giant creepy grin? My Neighbor Totoro. An anti-pollution story about cleaning a forest? Princess Mononoke.
Whereas the artwork model is especially evocative of Degree-5’s Ni no Kuni video games, the primary two of which Ghibli collaborated on, there’s an excellent clarification for that. Netmarble developed and produced the controversial cell spin-off Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds again in 2021.
Earlier at this time at TGS 2026, we obtained our first new take a look at Bloomwalker because it was first revealed, and a tiny piece of information hidden proper on the finish of the brand new trailer pointed to an sudden crossover: the copyright data for each Ni no Kuni and Degree-5.
To make clear, that is the primary time we’ve heard of Bloomwalker being in any approach formally associated to Ni no Kuni, with the final mainline sport within the franchise being 2018’s Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. It’s additionally unclear precisely how Bloomwalker is expounded to the sequence, or how a lot involvement Degree-5 has in its growth.
Contemplating that Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds was developed totally with out Degree-5’s assist, it might come as no shock if Degree-5 merely licensed the Ni no Kuni IP to Netmarble for Bloomwalker.
This is likely to be excellent news for followers of the Ni no Kuni sequence, since Degree-5’s repute has taken a large hit not too long ago following the backlash to a genAI-laden presentation that aired on September 10. Netmarble may have lots to show itself, nevertheless. Its earlier Ni no Kuni sport used blockchain junk that wasn’t stripped out until just this year.