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Square Enix goes wearable with the first RPG designed for Apple Watch

By Brad Jones Published January 18, 2018

Square Enix has announced a game that’s set to break for its genre. This summer, Cosmos Rings will be the first RPG released exclusively for the Apple Watch.

Cosmos Rings will be based on an unusual gameplay mechanic known as the “Time Upstream System.” While details are scarce, it seems that the device’s Digital Crown will be used prominently.

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However, progression will be tied to the player’s step count, which the Apple Watch is obviously more than capable of tracking. Given the success of Pokémon Go in recent weeks, it’s easy to see why Square Enix has chosen to announce a new game based on physical movement.

Takehiro Ando has been called upon to act as the game’s producer, according to a report from Siliconera. Ando previously created Chaos Rings, a series of four RPGs that were released across iOS and Android hardware between 2010 and 2014.

Given Ando’s involvement and the similar naming convention, it wouldn’t be surprising if Cosmos Rings turned out to be something of a spiritual follow-up to Chaos Rings. However, the brief plot synopsis that has already been revealed suggests that the game’s storyline will be unrelated.

Cosmos Rings takes place in the Interval of Time, where human emotions are said to swirl around in the ether. These emotions seem to be the enemies that players will be battling over the course of the game, as they attempt to bring back the mysterious Goddess of Time.

Besides the brief glimpse of gameplay present on the official Cosmos Rings website, that’s all we know about this intriguing new RPG for the time being. The game is expected to launch this summer, so we could perhaps see a surprise release sooner rather than later.

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Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

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