TOKYO — Aug 5, 2026 — NAME OF THE WILL, the award-winning daylight horror cult mystery developed by Zeitgeist Studio, will invite new Neighbors when it launches in early 2027 on PC via Steam through a collaboration with Japanese publisher HYPER REAL. Go hands-on with NAME OF THE WILL’s new demo at the Indie Arena Booth during gamescom 2026, alongside a surprise title that will also be available for hands-on gameplay.
Welcome to HOPE, Neighbor 3279.
Here, the downtrodden can find enlightenment away from life’s inherent trauma and devastation. Our harmonious community resides in a 34-story compound filled with individuals just like you, who seek relief from mental anguish, grief and life’s regrets. Seek new perspectives and find the good in everything through HOPE’s education courses. Here, pain is freedom, death is not to be feared, and mourning is misguided.Our friendly Neighbors will always watch your back from behind their smiling masks to ensure we all stay on the path without fear of regressing to our baser instincts. Follow HOPE’s helpfully thorough conduct system, do your part to foster harmony, heed our Benevolent Father’s every word, and you’ll fit right in.
Smile through seven days embedded in HOPE as 3279, a new Neighbor asking a few too many questions. Mind every word and action as HOPE’s seven-strike Conduct System tallies every “disruption of harmony”, where different scores alter their path and how it will all end.
By daybreak, explore the halls of HOPE’s indoctrination facility. Interact with uncanny Neighbors, attend re-education classes, and sit through tense interrogations where 3279’s answers could cost a member’s life. Vote to select the day’s victim, and inflict anguish on them during disturbing Reformation rituals. When night falls, evade the Benevolent Father as he prowls the halls, and sneak into forbidden Backstage areas to uncover HOPE’s harrowing origins.
Investigate both reality and the ethereal as 3279’s past traumas bleed into the present. Collaborate with other skeptics in search of answers, and piece together clues, memory fragments, and diary entries that shed light on 3279’s mysterious circumstances.
Question free will itself while delving into a fully hand-drawn, morally ambiguous tale inspired by the Buddhist philosophy of shared karma. NAME OF THE WILL’s award-winning horrors (A MAZE. WINGS Award 2026, Third Place of NEOWIZ Indie Quest) are complemented by an abstract amalgamation of Hong Kong’s soundscape by renowned composer hirsk (Golden Melody Awards – Best Instrumental Album Producer).
“NAME OF THE WILL’s horror does not come from jumpscares or monsters; it comes from the pressure to conform, even when everything in you resists,” said Mandy Wong, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Zeitgeist Studio. “Thanks to the support of HYPER REAL, what started as a passion project has grown to become something much bigger than we could ever imagine, and we look forward to sharing our creation with worldwide horror fans at gamescom this month.”
NAME OF THE WILL arrives on PC via Steam in early 2027 with language support in English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, French, Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish (Latin America). For more information, visit the official HYPER REAL website, follow HYPER REAL on X / Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram, Zeitgeist Studio on YouTube, Bluesky, X / Twitter, Instagram, and join the official Discord.
About Zeitgeist Studio
Zeitgeist Studio is a woman-led, husband-and-wife indie game studio based in the USA, formed by Hong Kong creative talents with multidisciplinary backgrounds. With an experimental spirit, the studio makes uncanny games that explore mental health, empathy, and emotionally charged storytelling. NAME OF THE WILL is their debut title.
About HYPER REAL
HYPER REAL is a Japan-based publisher that specializes in bringing edgy, unique indie games to global audiences, with an emphasis on tapping into developers’ raw creativity and seeking to expand the concept of what video games are as a whole. The team behind HYPER REAL brings experience across a wide range of titles, from AAA blockbusters to indie games.
