Hello Kitty Party Land, the first title from Sanrio Games, launches October 29 for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Images shown are from a work-in-progress build and may differ from the final product. (© 2026 SANRIO CO., LTD)
For more than six decades, Sanrio has built one of the world's most famous character portfolios. From Hello Kitty and My Melody to Cinnamoroll, its characters have become beloved around the world through merchandise, theme parks, animation, and countless collaborations.
Now, Sanrio is opening a new chapter.
On October 29, the company will launch Hello Kitty Party Land for Nintendo Switch/Nintendo Switch 2 through its first in-house game label, Sanrio Games.
Rather than simply adding another business line, Sanrio sees games as a new way for fans to spend quality time with its characters and experience their worlds.
Quality Time With Sanrio Characters
"Games allow people to spend more time with our characters than many other forms of entertainment," said Kosuke Hamasaki, managing executive officer and head of Sanrio's Digital Business Division, who leads the Sanrio Games initiative.
"Because games are interactive, players can build a deeper connection with the characters and their world."
With plans to develop 10 titles over the next three years, Sanrio aims to create games that are accessible to players of all experience levels and available in multiple languages.
Games can also shine a spotlight on characters that previously had limited merchandising opportunities.
"When you're making products, there are practical limitations," Hamasaki explains. "You can't feature every character because of production and inventory constraints. But in a digital world, those limitations disappear."
One such character is Granny Ume, who first appeared in 1986. She runs a general goods store and owns a cat.
Sanrio characters have appeared in video games before, but by creating its own game brand, the company is taking a more active role in development, revealing new sides of familiar characters while remaining faithful to the worlds fans already know and love.
"Because Sanrio takes the lead in planning and developing the games, they reflect the standard of expression and quality we want our fans to experience," Hamasaki said.
Making Games for Everyone
Designed for one to four players, Hello Kitty Party Land features more than 145 Sanrio characters, across more than 45 mini-games.
From the beginning, accessibility became a guiding principle for Hello Kitty Party Land.
"Our development team showed us that you can create an incredible variety of gameplay using just a few buttons," Hamasaki explained. "We wanted to create a game that even first-time gamers could enjoy."
Japan Forward had the opportunity to try a hands-on preview of the game. Picking up a controller for the first time in over a decade, I braced myself for a steep learning curve.
Instead, I found myself moving eagerly from one game to the next, surprised by the variety of gameplay and the many characters I got to meet.
Some I had never encountered before, while others I had not seen in years, rendered in 3D with their unique personalities on display. Some took me back to my childhood, highlighting the depth of Sanrio's characters' universes.
The broader cast makes the game enjoyable across generations, giving families characters to discover together. For example, players can discover HANAMARUOBAKE. Debuting in 2023, HANAMARUOBAKE are friendly ghosts who quietly support you, cheering you on from the shadows and gently giving you a hanamaru mark for your efforts.
Cooperation at the Heart
One of the defining features of Hello Kitty Party Land is its focus on cooperation.
There was one particular game where my team kept getting a "bronze" ranking. But even then, everyone laughed, applauded, and quickly jumped back in for another try.
"While many party games are about competition, and those are certainly fun, it's often the people who are already good at games who enjoy them the most," Hamasaki explained. "That's why cooperation became such an important concept for us."
Rather than focusing on winners and losers, Hello Kitty Party Land encourages communication, teamwork, and shared experiences, reflecting Sanrio's long-standing philosophy of Minna Nakayoku, or "Getting Along Together."
Capturing Each Character's World
The game's visuals also stand out for the way they capture Sanrio's world and characters.
The colorful 3D environments, expressive animations, and movements create a world that feels familiar to longtime fans while offering a fresh way to experience the characters.
I had to laugh while playing the Gudetama mini-game. In essence, Gudetama is a world-weary egg with a cute butt and an indifferent attitude toward life's responsibilities.
Players work together to keep Gudetama from being snatched up by chopsticks, but while the other characters cooperate to complete the challenge, the famously lazy egg simply goes along for the ride, leaving everyone else to do the work.
These small details appear throughout the game, with each character's movements, reactions, and interactions reflecting their unique personalities.
Beyond the mini-games, Hello Kitty Party Land offers many other features to explore. Players can customize their avatars, from hairstyles to outfits, explore the charming town area where they can interact with characters, play Board Game mode, and collect stickers for a virtual sticker book.
More Games on the Horizon
Hello Kitty Party Land is only the beginning of Sanrio's gaming strategy.
The company's second announced title, Sanrio Kawaii Me Live!, is scheduled for release in 2027 as a smartphone dance and rhythm game.
Hamasaki said the two games were designed to provide different experiences. "With consoles, Sanrio characters are a natural fit for families and friends gathering together in the living room. Mobile games, on the other hand, allow players to immerse themselves more deeply in the world of a particular character."
Hamasaki said music has become an increasingly important part of the company's broader entertainment strategy, extending beyond games themselves.
"When people think of their favorite games, there's often a song or melody that immediately comes to mind," he said. "We want to create more music that expresses each character's unique world."
Together, the two titles reflect Sanrio's ambition to expand beyond merchandise into richer forms of storytelling.
Designed for a Global Audience
From the beginning, Sanrio Games has been developed with international audiences in mind. Hello Kitty Party Land is available in nine languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Korean.
"We have put a lot of effort into localization so that fans around the world—not only English-speaking audiences—can enjoy these games," Hamasaki said. "I hope players both in Japan and abroad will find the games truly kawaii [cute]."
Whether players are longtime Sanrio fans or are discovering many of the characters for the first time, Hamasaki hopes the games will become a place where families and friends can spend meaningful time together, regardless of age, language, or gaming experience.
With Hello Kitty Party Land, success is measured not by who wins, but by the smiles players share along the way.
This article is published in cooperation with Sanrio Company Ltd. All Sanrio characters and character images: © 2026 SANRIO CO., LTD.
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Author: Miruka Adachi
