It’s time for the Weekly GameSpark Rankings—or “Weekly Spa-Ran” for short—featuring the top 5 most-read articles from those published on Game*Spark between Friday, October 2, 2026, and Thursday, October 8, 2026.This is perfect for those who want to catch up on the week’s highlights or who are too busy and just want the quick rundown!
No. 5—“SYNDUALITY” Anime Production Committee Issues Statement Following the Passing of Animator Kenichiro Katsura
On October 5, the production committee for the TV anime “SYNDUALITY Noir” released a memorial statement following the passing of animator and character designer Kenichiro Katsura on September 30 at the age of 59.
In addition to serving as animation character designer and chief animation director for “SYNDUALITY Noir,” Mr. Katsura worked on “Macross 7,” “That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime,” “Knights & Magic,” the OVA “Utawarerumono,” the “VIPER” series,“ToHeart2,” and “Comic Party Revolution.”
In its statement, the production committee acknowledged his achievements, noting, “We are deeply grateful for his tremendous dedication,” and paid tribute on behalf of all staff and associates, stating, “We pay our respects to the deceased’s achievements and offer our heartfelt condolences.” The funeral was reportedly held with only close family members in attendance.
4th Place—How “Front Mission” Became a “Defunct Series” Overseas
“Ollie’s Robot Game Column” by Ollie Bader, who has become known as “the foreigner who knows way too much about robot games and anime.” In this installment, he discusses the background behind why the *Front Mission* series came to be viewed overseas as a “series that ended without ever being widely known.”
Although he himself played the entire series in Japanese and grew to love it, this appears to have been an exception when viewed from the perspective of the global gaming community. Like many Japanese mecha games, most titles in the series were never officially released overseas; reportedly, the only games foreign gamers could actually play were *Front Mission 3* and the original title, which was ported years later.
A major factor influencing this situation was the impact of the British gaming magazine “Super Play” in the 1990s.There was a tendency for the magazine’s reviews—based on imported Japanese games—to be accepted as “absolute fact.” While the original *Front Mission* received high praise, *Front Mission: Gun Hazard* was branded a “bad game” due to critical reviews, and this perception took hold.
Furthermore, the fact that “Front Mission Evolve” and “LEFT ALIVE”—two of the few titles to receive a full-scale overseas release—ended in failure also significantly damaged the series’ image. Subsequent remakes also failed to reverse this perception, and the current reality is that the series is still effectively treated as “finished” overseas.
On the other hand, there is a growing trend of younger gamers starting to play the original Japanese-language titles, and he expresses hope that one day the series might reach its intended audience.
3rd Place—Free-to-Play MMO “AION 2”: Character Creation Draws Attention for Its “Excessively Detailed Breast Slider”
In the free-to-play MMORPG *AION 2*, which officially launched on October 5, the character creation feature—which allows for adjustments across more than 200 parameters—has sparked discussion both domestically and internationally, particularly due to the extreme level of detail in the “breast sliders.”
In this game, players can individually adjust settings such as ribcage width and length, breast size and upper volume, breast position, and latissimus dorsi muscles—and can even fine-tune “how much the stomach protrudes.”
The game surpassed 400,000 active players within two hours of its official launch, and the depth of its character creation options appears to be a major factor driving its popularity. “AION 2” is currently available as a free-to-play title on PC (Steam/Purple).
2nd Place—‘Forza Horizon 6’ Developer Issues Statement Amid ‘Itasha’ Controversy, but Avoids Specific Details
Playground Games, the developer of “Forza Horizon 6,” released a statement to players on its official X account on October 6.
In the statement, the studio acknowledged that “we had not engaged sufficiently with our players” and stated that it is considering changes to both in-game content and communication methods with players moving forward. However, no specific details regarding the nature of these changes or their implementation timeline were provided.
This comes amid a series of reports in September regarding the removal of “itsusha” (decorated car) designs and account suspensions. Although the developers redefined their review criteria for user-generated content, players have voiced concerns that the boundaries regarding sexual content remain ambiguous, and users are addressing this issue in the comments section of the statement as well.On the international forum Reddit, some users appear to view this statement as damage control.
*Forza Horizon 6* is currently available for PC (Steam/Microsoft Store) and XBOX Series X|S. It is also available via Game Pass on the Microsoft Store, and a PS5 version is scheduled for release on January 27, 2027.
No. 1—Highly Anticipated Title ‘Pax Autocratica,’ Just Released in August, Goes 80% Off Due to Pricing Error
Multiverse announced that the 80% discount—pricing the Early Access title *Pax Autocratica* at 770 yen during the Steam Autumn Sale—was the result of an error in setting the discount rate.
According to an announcement posted by the developer on the Steam forums, the intended discount rate was 20% (3,850 yen → 3,080 yen), but an incorrect value was entered when setting up the sale. The developer described it as a “completely human error” and apologized for any confusion or concern caused.
An 80% discount less than two months after the start of Early Access could easily be perceived as a fire sale before development ends. Perhaps mindful of this, the developer emphasized that they have neither abandoned nor canceled development of the game, and that this is not a final “going-out-of-business sale.”
The 80% discount was corrected in about a day, and the subsequent Autumn Sale period featured the expected 20% discount. The game is now back at its regular price.
This week’s most-read article was about *Pax Autocratica*! The game is currently available in Early Access on PC (Steam). While it does not support Japanese, a fan-made Japanese mod is available.
