The new Sanrio game will turn you and Hello Kitty into party animals
Whether it’s an island adventure or running a cafe, we love following Hello Kitty and her pals around on our phones, consoles, and PCs. At the 2026 Sanrio Fest in Japan, the creators of our favorite cutiepie had a surprise for mobile gamers – a new Hello Kitty rhythm game, titled Sanrio Kawaii Me Live!, is coming in 2027.
The new Hello Kitty game will be free-to-play, and thanks to an early preview from Japanese outlet Famitsu, we have some pretty solid details on what to expect. Famitsu reports that Sanrio Kawaii Me Live! features rhythm game levels set to a number of familiar tracks, including Kuromi’s Greedy Greedy and Pompom Beat. There are two musical modes – a relaxed one and a more hardcore one – or, if you’re only interested in the dressing-up aspect, you can set the tracks to automatically complete, meaning you don’t even need to be a fan of rhythm games.
Unfortunately, you might need to be a fan of gacha games. Clearing levels awards you currency in the gacha, which isn’t much of a surprise for a free mobile game. Luckily, all the characters are unlocked from the beginning, and the gacha is instead the main way to get cosmetics for your friends. You can get clothes and hats, as well as instruments, to make them look cooler while playing on stage. These have a benefit to your gameplay, too, as leveling up cosmetics means you can unlock cool new features.
The early signs point to Sanrio Kawaii Me Live! being a banger, but when can we actually play it? Well, a closed beta test is currently open for signups, but only in Japan. Typical. That being said, we’re sure Sanrio Games will open pre-registration in the West when it’s time for the global launch. We’re at least six months away from launch, but I can see the game showing up early next year. No jinx, though.
Are you ready to get pretty with Hello Kitty? Come share your excitement with us in the Pocket Tactics Discord server, and while we wait, check out all the other new mobile games that are coming soon.
