Did you know that Yuzo Koshiro, legendary video game composer, has made a Sega Mega Drive / Genesis shmup? It was released on Steam back in July, with our friends over at Time Extension giving it a glowing review. It was due to launch on consoles, including Switch, at the same time, but was pushed back to "mid-September".
Fortunately, it looks like Earthion will be landing that mid-September date, as the eShop page says the game is coming out on 18th September 2025. That's just over two weeks away!
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Published by Limited Run Games and developed by Koshiro's company Ancient, Earthion is a gorgeous-looking shoot 'em up developed for the classic Sega console. That version is coming in 2026, but for anyone wanting it on modern consoles, you won't have long to wait.
Like many of the best shmups, the Earthion keeps things simple, giving your ship a main weapon and two sub-weapons and eight diverse stages to blast your way through.
We'll point you towards Time Extension's review for the low-down, but if you're not sold on Makoto "Karu_gamo" Wada (Gotta Protectors: Cart Of Darkness) and Koshiro's yet, here's a little snippet from that review:
"Earthion is everything I'd hoped it would be when Yuzo Koshiro first announced it; a challenging shmup which pushes Sega's 16-bit hardware to its limits in terms of visuals and audio whilst combining a high level of polish with tight gameplay and plenty of longevity."
Well now, that sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Let's hope that the 18th September date sticks — we've had no word from the publisher or developer on it yet, so keep your eyes peeled.
Let us know if you're looking forward to Earthion in the comments.