Romeo is a Dead Man

Romeo is a Dead Man (ロミオ・イズ・ア・デッドマン) is a 2026 action-adventure game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture. It will be released for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows. It is directed by Ren Yamazaki, and written by Yamazaki and Goichi Suda. The game follows Romeo Stargazer, a man saved from death by a time paradox, which breaks the fabric of space-time. Romeo then becomes the FBI Space-Time special agent "Dead Man".

Gameplay

Romeo is a Dead Man is a hack and slash and third-person shooter game. The player controls Romeo, who swaps between various guns and swords to fight hordes of enemies, taking place across the real world and subspace. By fighting Romeo accumulates blood from his enemies, which can then be unleashed with Bloody Summer, an instant-kill special attack. The game also features side activities and retro-style minigames.

Story

Romeo Stargazer is fatally wounded by a monster, and is saved from death by the Dead Gear Life Support System, a device created by his scientist grandfather Benjamin Stargazer. The device keeps Romeo on the edge of life and death by causing a time paradox, which shatters the space-time continuum. Romeo becomes the FBI Space-Time special agent Dead Man, and hunts space-time's most wanted fugitives to repair the damage. Romeo's quest intertwines with the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend Juliet Dendrobium.

Cast

Romeo Stargazer – Antony Del Rio
Benjamin Stargazer – Larry Cedar
Juliet Dendrobium – Brittany Cox
Luna Stargazer – Dayci Brookshire

Development

Grasshopper Manufacture was acquired by NetEase Games in May 2021, during ongoing development of No More Heroes III. Goichi Suda presented three projects to NetEase, and they replied that he could choose whichever project he wanted. As a result, development of Romeo is a Dead Man officially began in January 2022 under the working title Project Deadburgh. It was decided that the game would be an entirely original IP, rather than a sequel. Suda's goal was to expand the action gameplay of Travis Strikes Again and No More Heroes III to a larger scale. The game's development included the construction of a physical diorama of the game's world which could then be incorporated into the game through 3D scanning. The game was properly revealed with a trailer in Sony's June 2025 State of Play presentation.