Sanrio — the company behind Hello Kitty, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, and approximately every cute character your niece is obsessed with — has launched its own gaming brand. As of today, Sanrio Games is a thing, and it's already announced its first title: Sanrio Party Land for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

The game is exactly what it sounds like: a party game set in a town full of Sanrio characters, where you create your own avatar and get stuck into minigames and board games with the Sanrio crew. It's landing fall 2026, and given how popular these characters are globally, there's clearly an audience for it.

What's more interesting is the bigger picture here. Sanrio says Sanrio Games plans to release another title this fiscal year, and around 10 titles by March 2029. That's a proper publishing strategy, not a one-off licensing deal — they're clearly looking at the games market as a long-term thing.

Whether Sanrio Party Land ends up being a proper Mario Party rival or a pleasant-but-shallow novelty remains to be seen, but the idea of Hello Kitty, Kuromi and Cinnamoroll sitting around a virtual board game table has a certain irresistible energy to it.