BUZZ or DIE Turns Viral Scandals Into a Deadly Game Show

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Kodansha Game Creators’ Lab and solo developer Bon have announced BUZZ or DIE, a violent science-fiction visual novel launching for PC through Steam in 2026.

The story places a group of death-row inmates inside a televised contest where popularity determines whether they receive freedom or a streamed execution. Each prisoner must investigate an opponent’s past, package the worst discoveries into a short video and compete for the audience’s approval.

Players search conversations and memories for scandals, dangerous thoughts and incriminating actions. Those discoveries are combined with words and images to create a deliberately sensational thumbnail before the finished video is shown to the country.

The contestant who earns the most likes receives a pardon and one wish. The loser is executed, while an android model based on them is condemned to permanent labour and public humiliation.

The cast includes a former comedian turned bomber, a gifted hacker, a revolutionary and a cannibalistic chef. Bon describes the premise as deliberately extreme but says its characters and systems contain further depth that the announcement does not reveal.

BUZZ or DIE will support English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese when it arrives in 2026. Its Steam page is available now. Readers interested in branching visual novels can also see our Bad End Theater review.