Shinji Mikami’s New Studio Unbound Games Is Working on a New AAA Multiplatform Fantasy Project, and Unreal Engine May Be Part of the Picture

A new project tied to Shinji Mikami has started to take shape, and while it has not been formally announced yet, a newly surfaced job listing has revealed the first meaningful clues. According to a report from Tech4Gamers, Mikami’s new studio Unbound Games is hiring for a VFX and Effects Designer role that points to a high end consumer title for PS5, Xbox, and PC, while also suggesting the game may lean into fantasy style elements. The same listing identifies Shinji Mikami as the company’s representative director and says the studio was founded on November 30, 2022.

The strongest detail comes from the role description itself. The listing says the job involves designing a wide range of in game visual effects, including both realistic and unrealistic effects such as fire, water, explosions, magic, and hit marks, with responsibility extending from concept proposals to final in game implementation. That wording does not confirm the exact setting or genre, but it does strongly suggest a game with more fantastical combat or supernatural elements rather than a purely grounded modern action title.

What the listing confirms more directly is the project’s platform scope. Unbound says it is developing high end consumer game software for PS5, Xbox, and PC, which makes this a true AAA multiplatform production rather than a mobile, smaller scale, or single platform effort. That alone is enough to make the project one worth watching, especially given Mikami’s track record and the industry attention that usually follows his name.

The Unreal Engine angle is more speculative, but still noteworthy. In the same job posting, Unbound lists experience with game engines such as Unreal Engine and Unity as welcomed qualifications. That does not prove the game is being built in Unreal, and it would be premature to present that as confirmed. Still, because Unreal has become such a dominant choice for large scale multiplatform development, it is understandable why observers are already connecting the dots. At this stage, the safest conclusion is that Unreal Engine is clearly in the studio’s hiring vocabulary, but the exact engine behind the game remains unconfirmed.

There is also extra interest here because this is part of Mikami’s first major post Tango Gameworks chapter. Tango was shut down by Microsoft in May 2024, before later being acquired by Krafton in August 2024, with the transition continuing into 2025. Mikami himself had already moved on earlier, but the timing still gives this new Unbound project added weight, especially for fans who have been wondering what kind of game he would pursue next outside the Tango structure.

That next step is particularly intriguing because Mikami’s creative history has never been limited to one formula. He is best known as a key figure behind Resident Evil and Dino Crisis, but his broader career also includes action driven and highly stylized projects like Vanquish, God Hand, and Shadows of the Damned. The new Unbound listing does not reveal whether this upcoming title is action focused, role playing oriented, horror adjacent, or something harder to classify, but the mention of magic and stylized effects does open the door to a different tone than the survival horror legacy many players still most closely associate with him.

That variety may be exactly what makes this project exciting. A fantasy flavored AAA game from a creator with Mikami’s combat instincts and cinematic sensibilities could go in several interesting directions. It could be an action adventure, an action RPG, or something more experimental that blends grounded impact with supernatural systems. Right now, though, the available facts remain limited, and the job listing is doing most of the talking.

What is clear is that Unbound Games is real, staffed, growing, and actively building a major multiplatform title. The studio lists 53 employees as of April 2025, and the job page also names prior staff work on projects including Ghostwire: Tokyo, Hi Fi RUSH, Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, Devil May Cry, and more, which signals a team with a strong legacy across Japanese action and horror development.

For now, that is enough to make this one of the more interesting under the radar projects currently in development. Until Unbound officially reveals the game, the fantasy angle and engine question will remain partially speculative. But the foundation is there: Shinji Mikami is leading a new studio, that studio is hiring for a AAA multiplatform project, and the earliest signs point toward something larger, more stylized, and potentially more fantastical than many expected.

What would you want most from Shinji Mikami’s next game: survival horror, stylish action, or a full fantasy action RPG direction?