The cultural juggernaut that is KPop Demon Hunters has spawned a small industry of tie-ins, and the games keep coming. The latest is K-Pop Rising – Dream To Shine, a rhythm title from Paris-based publisher Microids and developer Old Skull Games. There’s no supernatural bloodshed here, but the DNA is unmistakable.
Set to arrive this November for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC, the game casts you as an up-and-coming musician clawing your way up the K-pop ladder. You start by customizing your protagonist — outfits, makeup, the works — and then recruit bandmates to assemble a group. From there, the loop splits into two halves: rhythm sequences built around singing and choreography, and lighter simulation elements covering studio training and life between gigs.
Microids frames it as a full-blown stardom fantasy. Alongside your best friend Nova, you commit fully to the grind — from intensive studio sessions to headlining the most prestigious stages — while juggling a sense of rhythm, deep customization, and community management in the social-media age. The pitch leans heavily on that idol-simulation angle, though the early screenshots skew toward the music sections, with only brief glimpses of the between-shows UI and a photo mode.
The big open question is balance. How much meat is on the simulation bones versus the rhythm gameplay? Right now it’s tough to say, and that split is exactly what will make or break the experience.
As for the KPop Demon Hunters connection, it’s more homage than coincidence. Beyond the shared musical obsession, the game centers on a trio of performers and supports up to three-player co-op. The key art is the least subtle nod of all, depicting three pop stars — one bearing a striking resemblance to Rumi, another echoing Zoey. To the developers’ credit, the whole slaying-demons thing has been left out.
It’s not hard to see why studios are chasing this sound. KPop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most-watched movie of all time, racking up more than 500 million views. It’s the only Netflix title to sit in the platform’s Global Top 10 for a full year straight — smashing the previous record of 20 weeks — and it swept up Oscars for Best Original Song (“Golden”) and Best Animated Feature, plus a Grammy for “Golden.”
That’s a monumental act to follow, and K-Pop Rising – Dream To Shine isn’t the only one trying. The tabletop world is stacking up its own tributes, including Asmodee’s KPop Demon Hunters: Spot-It! (US$10.99, out July 31), Z-Man Games’ Battle for the Spotlight (October 2), and Ravensburger’s Labyrinth: KPop Demon Hunters (US$29.99, September). Whether any of them capture the original’s lightning-in-a-bottle magic is another matter entirely.
