Famitsu published an advance review of STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT on August 19, 2026, Japan time, written by a writer who had never played a STEINS;GATE game before. The feature began with a request from the editorial team: “We want the screams of a first-time player.”

In the review, the writer wrote, “I screamed. I screamed a lot,” and recalled that he fell apart emotionally during Faris NyanNyan’s route.

The writer also describes the Phone Trigger system from a first-time player’s perspective. Rather than presenting choices on screen, this system has the player directly operate the in-story phone to send emails. While on-screen choices are easy to understand, the writer says they can pull the player back into a “player” mindset. On top of that, the writer wrote, “With Phone Trigger, maybe because you’re directly handling a prop from within the story, you can keep reading without losing your sense of immersion in the narrative.” The review closes with a line stating that anyone who plays it through to the end is unlikely to give up on the game.

STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT is a remake of STEINS;GATE, published by MAGES. and developed by CHIYOMARU STUDIO and NITRO PLUS. Spike Chunsoft holds the license to release it overseas. The protagonist, Rintaro Okabe, is a university student who runs an invention club called the Future Gadget Laboratory in Akihabara, and his latest creation happens to be a device that can send emails to the past.

The Japanese release is set for August 20, 2026, Japan time. It supports six platforms—Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam—though even in Japan, the Xbox Series X|S version won’t arrive until October 29, 2026. Voice-over is available only in Japanese, while text is available in Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese.

For the English version, only the Steam release launched on the same day, August 20. The English versions for Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S will follow on October 29, 2026. For now, the PC version is the only way for readers outside Japan to play STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT right away.

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