A musical performance appearing in a video game is nothing new, ranging from the bardic melodies in The Witcher 3 to Raphael’s mid-boss fight number in Baldur’s Gate 3, but video games that are also full-on musicals are still a relatively niche phenomenon. As revealed at Tokyo Game Show 2025, publisher Annapurna Interactive is joining the increasingly popular trend with People of Note, developed by Iridium Studios.
People of Note joins the ranks of Stray Gods, Wandersong, and the upcoming There Are No Ghosts at the Grand as a full musical-video game hybrid, complete with multiple musical numbers performed by the characters. It stars Cadence, a woman who dreams of winning the Noteworthy Song Contest, the most important event in the city of Chordia. But her unwillingness to adhere to the contest’s pop-only rules puts her in the sights of Smolder, Chordia’s top boy band/mercenary group, and forces Cadence to embark on an adventure that will defy genre.
People of Note is Clair Obscur Meets KPop Demon Hunters
Speaking at a pre-Tokyo Game Show press event attended by Game Rant, Iridum Studios creative director Jason Wishnov stated that he brought his and the team’s “theater kid energy” to the five-year development process of People of Note. When asked to describe the game in one sentence, Wishnov’s response was “the combat of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 combined with the frenetic energy of KPop Demon Hunters.” The game is a brightly colored celebration of all things musical, combined with classic turn-based RPG combat, dungeon exploration, boss battles, and more.
In People of Note, every battle is also a musical performance. As Cadence travels, she gathers allies who perform in different genres than Chordia’s all-consuming pop from rock n’ roll to electronic and more. In turn-based combat, characters can team up to perform “genre-bending mashup attacks” in constantly evolving combat conditions. Combat focuses heavily on the party working together, creating not just a group that can fight as one but a cohesive musical ensemble capable of delivering a star-making performance at the Noteworthy Song Contest.
The Iridium Studios team promised that People of Note will be filled with “puzzle dungeons, party-based combat, many musical numbers, and lots and lots of puns.” The game is currently scheduled for a 2026 release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. More information, including a concrete release date, is likely to be revealed in the coming months.
People of Note Continues Annapurna’s Commitment To Delivering Unique Games
Annapurna Interactive has developed a reputation for delivering unique and innovative indie games, and People of Note is no exception. Previous Annapurna titles that experimented with genre and form include the time-looping Outer Wilds, the cat-focused adventures of Stray, and the literary puzzler Storyteller. People of Note continues this tradition by its use of music in both combat and storytelling, its puzzle-heavy dungeons, and its colorful, futuristic world.
The publisher also has experience with titles that heavily incorporate music, such as 2019’s Sayonara Wild Hearts and 2021’s The Artful Escape. People of Note, with its combination of genres and heavy use of music in its storytelling, is a perfect fit for Annapurna’s 2026 catalog, which also includes the puzzle title D-topia and the action-adventure game Demi and the Fractured Dream, both also revealed at Tokyo Game Show. Players excited about People of Note but looking for something to tide them over until 2026 can also check out Bounty Star and Mixtape, two Annapurna titles that will be released later in 2025.
- Date Founded
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December 1, 2016
- Headquarters
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West Hollywood, California, United States
