Investigate Palace Conspiracies in KOEI TECMO’s The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother

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Investigate Palace Conspiracies in KOEI TECMO’s The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother

Anime Fans will Discover a New Story Under the Supervision of Series Author Hyuganatsu

BURLINGAME, Calif. – Sept. 9, 2026 – Today, KOEI TECMO America and developer Gust in collaboration with TOHO Co, Ltd., announced The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother, the first-ever console game adaptation of the popular franchise The Apothecary Diaries. Alongside Maomao and other iconic characters, fans will discover a new exclusive story and characters conceptualized by series author Hyuganatsu. The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother is currently in development and set to release early 2027 on Nintendo Switch™ 2, Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®5, and PC via Steam®. In The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother, players follow Maomao, a pleasure-district apothecary who now works in the rear palace. She finds herself investigating the Five Mysteries and Five Curses, two chains of strange phenomena and conspiracies causing chaos throughout the rear palace, the pleasure district, and streets of the capital. During her investigation, she stumbles upon the would-be-suspect, a masked man calling himself the “imperial younger brother”. As rumors swirl, Maomao is roped into an investigation that will lead her to uncover a shocking secret that could destroy the imperial court.

Watch the first trailer on YouTube

To conduct their investigation, Maomao will be joined by familiar figures such as Jinshi, the influential eunuch of the rear palace, as well as new characters including Guanyu, a travelling actor whose fame is growing in the capital. To uncover the truth behind the Five Curses and the identity of the “imperial younger brother”, fans will need to explore, gather evidence, and organize the information at their disposal to make deductions, while also gathering apothecary ingredients to concoct the medicines.

During the investigation phase, players will be able to not only explore the scene, but also the surrounding city and the rear palace to find clues or interview witnesses. By venturing outside the city, Maomao will be able to gather the ingredients needed to concoct medicines that can serve as evidence or enable her to help her friends. Once the players have gathered enough information and evidence, they will be able to review them in the deduction phase.

Throughout the deduction phase, Maomao will review clues and succinctly summarize the facts to help her unravel the mystery and present her theory. However, simply presenting deductions will not always be enough, and fans will need to be able to present solid proof as the other party argues back. They will need to carefully select their answers by reviewing the information, present the relevant evidence by looking into Maomao’s notebook, or combine information together to convince the other party. The more information players gather, the more evidence they will be able to produce, helping them to solve the case.

The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother will be presented in more detail during a special livestream broadcasted live from the KOEI TECMO stage at the Tokyo Game Show 2026 on Sept. 20, 2026, featuring the voice actors Aoi Yuki (Maomao), Takeo Otsuka (Jinshi) and Yohei Azakami (Guanyu).

The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother is currently in development and is scheduled for release in early 2027 on Nintendo Switch™ 2, Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®5, and PC Steam®. The game will include Japanese voices with English text.

For more information on The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother, be sure to visit the official site, subscribe to the official KOEI TECMO America YouTube channel, like us on Facebook, and follow us on X, Instagram, and Discord.

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ABOUT KOEI TECMO AMERICA CORP.

KOEI TECMO AMERICA CORP. is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for current generation consoles, handhelds, and digital download content based in Burlingame, California. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of KOEI TECMO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. KOEI is best known for its Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® franchises. TECMO is best known for the Dead or Alive®, Ninja Gaiden®, Tecmo Bowl®, and Fatal Frame® series.

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