Nintendo Switch [HORGIHUGH] to be released on October 22, 2026! Pre-orders started!

Pixel Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture; CEO: Hidekazu Sasaki) has started accepting pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch version of the shooting game 'HORGIHUGH,' scheduled for release on October 22, 2026 (Thursday).

First released for PC and iOS in 2018, 'HORGIHUGH' earned acclaim for its serious themes and authentic level design, contrasting with the cute, animal-motif characters and retro pixel art created by KOU.

In 2021, it was released for consoles as 'HORGIHUGH with Friends,' including additional elements.

Now, in 2026, marking the 10th anniversary of Pixel Co., Ltd., the game is returning to its roots under the title 'HORGIHUGH.'

With new sound, polished graphics, changes to boss and enemy algorithms, adjustments to player ship performance, and various other refinements, it is being reborn as an exhilarating shooting game accessible to both newcomers and veterans, while retaining its original essence.

What is Horgihugh?

'Horgihugh' refers to a mix between a husky and a corgi. The protagonist, Hugh, is modeled after 'Hughga,' a real dog that lived in Iitate Village, Fukushima Prefecture, and was forced to evacuate due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. Other characters are also modeled after real animals.

In this work, there is a mode where you reconstruct a city, and the name of the city, 'Etarday,' is an anagram of 'Iitate.' 'HORGIHUGH' was born alongside the connections and bonds forged through the Great East Japan Earthquake and the thoughts of many people.

Story

This is a story of an Earth different from ours. A world where various races live their daily lives, each with their own values and faiths. National states had been spending peaceful times avoiding over-interference, despite minor issues. However, a sad murder case in a small town one day eventually developed into a world war.

In the midst of the war, Dr. Howard, who was saddened by the world's conflicts, accidentally discovered a glowing stone that seemed to come from outer space during his travels. He worked on researching a device that could neutralize weapons and communications to resolve the war peacefully. However, two years after the war began, it ended before Dr. Howard's invention was completed.

Six years after the war ended, invaders named the 'Gozarians' suddenly began attacking Earth. The signals that the discarded glowing stone had been sending into space after Dr. Howard's research had summoned them.

Against the suddenly flying Gozarians, attacks were launched by the latest weapons of some countries that had broken the post-war peace treaty and continued to possess and develop weapons. However, everything was neutralized, and damage was inflicted even on large cities by the Gozarians' counterattacks.

Recognizing the invasion from outer space, the world united and decided on interception operations. However, because of the total abandonment of weapons due to the peace treaty and the recklessness of some countries, there were almost no powerful weapons left.

There was a southern island a little away from the continent. There were two pilots who had escaped from the war because they didn't want to kill others just because they had different values. 'Why do we have to take lives just because our values are different?' 'The weight of life doesn't change even if we don't understand each other.' 'I didn't become a pilot to take lives.'

Ironically, the only remaining wings of hope—unaffected by the Gozarians' neutralization—were the old planes of Hugh and Figaro, pilots who had denied the war and lived in seclusion in the southern country since the war. Having refused requests from the government, the two decided to launch, for the reason of 'protecting what is important' after learning that many of their friends and families were involved in the chaos. Thus, this story begins.

The new key visual is drawn by KOU. Following 'HORGIHUGH (with Friends),' KOU is also in charge of the key visual for this work. The new key visual will be announced at a later date.

Polished graphics: The background graphics for the stages have been significantly enhanced. In addition to Kengo Tanaka and THE Factory, who have been in charge of graphics, a budding new pixel artist who has worked on many popular games has joined for this project.