A Japanese game that skipped Xbox suddenly launched with absolutely zero warning

From seemingly out of nowhere, World’s End Club has arrived on Xbox consoles nearly 5 years after its initial launch on Steam. Blending 2D side-scrolling action with puzzle mechanics, World’s End Club was originally a Nintendo Switch console exclusive, and later came to PlayStation consoles in mid 2025.

World’s End Club was developed and created by Kotaro Uchikoshi and Kazutaka Kodaka, creators of the Zero Escape and Danganronpa series. While the game didn’t receive widespread critical acclaim, seeing a niche game like World’s End Club arrive on the Xbox platform so late in its lifecycle is a promising move.

You might be wondering what World’s End Club is outside of a 2D side-scrolling action platformer. Set in Tokyo, elementary school goers find themselves trapped in a long-abandoned underwater theme park where they’re visited by a villainous clown who tells them all they must fight one another for survival. Quickly after, powers within the group start to emerge, leading to some fun.

The setting gave me Corpse Party vibes at first, but it seems to be far less horrific (thankfully). I could go for a little anime-inspired game myself, and plan to pick up a copy once I’m done with my playthrough of Pathologic 3.

A step in the right direction for Xbox users

With so many games as of late skipping Xbox, seeing something like World’s End Club appearing on Microsoft storefronts is a nice little addition. Games like Entoria: The Last Song and Dispatch have famously skipped launch on Xbox consoles in 2025. While Microsoft hardware sales have continued to dwindle, the idea that more games may skip the platform altogether seems more than inevitable.

Granted, a game like Word’s End Club isn’t a platform-shaking entry that looks to be the course corrector, but it’s something. Thankfully, as time progresses and the launch of the next Xbox looms, apparently, all games that work on your current Series consoles and Windows PCs will play on there as well.

Imagine a world where PC gaming and console gaming mix into one grand stage. The best of both experiences at your fingertips. As a pretty regular PC gamer and Steam user myself, getting my hands on a device that finds a way to perfectly blend both without having to dabble into Linux (don’t get me started), would be the best fit for me.

Here’s to hoping World’s End Club is the beginning of another club, the everything starts coming back to Xbox club! A guy can dream, right?

Xbox World's End Club: $19.99 at xbox.com

A new type of action-adventure game that fuses a thrilling story with 2D side-scrolling action. A "dream team" adventure game with a scenario written by Zero Escape series creator, Kotaro Uchikoshi, and Danganronpa's Kazutaka Kodaka as creative director.

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This one came out of nowhere, so we want to hear from you. Does a surprise Japanese release like this make Xbox feel more global and unpredictable in a good way, or does it highlight how strange the platform’s relationship with Japanese publishers still is?

Drop your thoughts, theories, and wish‑lists below — especially if you want to see more of these unexpected arrivals.

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