Konami revealed Rhapsody in Scarlet at State of Play, showing Ellie Myers, beast-and-magic combo combat, and a 1920s New York story. PS5 is confirmed, with Xbox Series and PC also listed, but no release date yet.
Image: IGDB
Store links: Rhapsody in Scarlet on Steam
Konami’s PS5 reveal comes with a platform caveat
Konami has announced Rhapsody in Scarlet, a new action-focused RPG project revealed during PlayStation’s September 3, 2026 State of Play, with a PS5 release confirmed through the PlayStation Blog and PlayStation Store concept page. The immediate caveat is that this is not currently a PS5-only announcement. Gematsu, citing Konami and the game’s official website, reports that Rhapsody in Scarlet is also coming to Xbox Series and PC via Steam, and Console Creatures likewise lists Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, and PC as launch platforms.
The other practical detail is simpler: there is no release date or release window. PlayStation’s post introduces the game as a brand-new action game for PS5, while Gematsu reports that a release date was not announced. Console Creatures also states that no release window was given. For now, anyone tracking Rhapsody in Scarlet PS5 should treat the PlayStation reveal as the first major showcase, not as confirmation of exclusivity or imminent launch timing.
That split in messaging is worth keeping clear because the reveal traveled through a PlayStation event, a State of Play Japan story trailer, and Konami’s own materials. The public pitch is still early, but the shape of the game is already more specific than a teaser logo: 1920s New York, secret magi, a jazz singer protagonist, beast companions, and combo-driven combat built around magic rather than conventional weapons.
The trailer frames Ellie Myers as a singer, magus, and reluctant catalyst
The Rhapsody in Scarlet trailer and Konami’s published description center on Ellie Myers, a young magus who comes to New York to pursue a career as a jazz singer. According to the PlayStation Blog post by co-producer Takanori Murayama, Ellie is swept into events behind the city’s skyscrapers and lively streets, where people who practice magic in secret are already fighting an unseen conflict.
Konami’s official overview, as reproduced by Gematsu, adds a sharper inciting detail: Ellie is suddenly transported by a mysterious man to a place known as a sanctuary. The same overview says a world-shaking conspiracy is unfolding, with danger and madness in the darkness, and that Ellie carries extraordinary power and a buried past. That makes the trailer’s singer-to-warrior contrast less cosmetic than it first appears. The story is positioning Ellie as someone with a life she wants, a power she cannot ignore, and a history that may be less settled than she understands.
The Rhapsody in Scarlet trailer also introduces her beast companion, Sköll. PlayStation’s description says Ellie fights alongside Sköll by channeling the powers of beasts and magic into combined attacks. Console Creatures reports the same character setup and notes that Ellie is voiced by Cherami Leigh in English and Akari Kito in Japanese. Her personality is presented in direct opposition to institutional control: Konami describes her as valuing freedom above all else and refusing to be bound by rules or authority.
Ilya and the Seekers turn the premise into a faction conflict
The second major character is Ilya Jones, leader of the Seekers, a magus organization. PlayStation’s post identifies her as a serious-minded counterpart to Ellie, while Gematsu’s official-site summary says Ilya was raised under Harold, her father and the head of the Sorcellerie Quarter. She is described as an exceptionally talented magus with a strong sense of responsibility, and she values order in a way that naturally clashes with Ellie’s free-spirited approach.
That conflict gives Rhapsody in Scarlet a classic RPG party dynamic even before Konami has explained the full party structure. Ellie and Ilya are not presented as instant allies with matching principles. They repeatedly clash, fight side by side, and gradually build understanding while investigating a mysterious mafia organization. GamingBolt’s story-trailer report describes that mafia as local magi using their skills for more nefarious purposes, while the Seekers are framed as an existing magi order trying to counter the threat.
The result is a story setup with three pressures working at once: Ellie’s personal dream of becoming a jazz singer, Ilya’s duty to a formal magus organization, and a criminal faction trying to gain a foothold in a hidden magical conflict. Konami’s description says their investigation pulls them deeper into New York’s secrets and toward a battle that threatens the balance of the world. That is broad fantasy language, but the factional setup is concrete enough to make the setting feel actionable rather than ornamental.
The combat pitch is about customizable magic and beast combos
Konami is not currently selling Rhapsody in Scarlet as a traditional turn-based RPG. The PlayStation Blog calls it an action game, Gematsu describes it as an original magick-themed action adventure game, and Siliconera identifies it as a new Konami action-RPG. The shared throughline is that combat is built around fast, customizable combinations of magic and beast techniques.
Murayama writes on the PlayStation Blog that many modern action games emphasize weapon-based close-quarters combat, while Rhapsody in Scarlet is designed around highly customizable combos and the possibilities of magic. The described kit includes close-range attacks, long-range attacks, area-of-effect spells, and beast techniques. Gematsu’s official overview similarly says players can mix and match an expansive arsenal of abilities and fight alongside powerful beasts through magick-fueled combo attacks.
That makes Rhapsody in Scarlet worth watching for RPG players who care about build expression, not only spectacle. The important unanswered question is how deep the progression layer runs. Konami has described customizable combos and an arsenal of abilities, but the provided materials do not yet confirm skill trees, gear systems, party management, quest structure, difficulty options, or how beast companions are upgraded. The premise supports those systems naturally, especially with Ellie’s bond with Sköll at the center, but those details remain unannounced.
1920s New York is doing a lot of work in the reveal
The new Konami RPG leans heavily on its 1920s New York setting. PlayStation’s post describes jazz-filled streets, dazzling skyscrapers, and lively city life, while Console Creatures reports that Konami worked to recreate period atmosphere through architecture, fashion, cars, and Prohibition-era speakeasies. Console Creatures also notes Konami’s stated interest in the era’s broader social and technological energy, including automobiles, radio, and the changing role of women in society.
Those historical references matter because Rhapsody in Scarlet’s fantasy elements are being layered into a specific social moment. The city is glamorous on the surface, but the official story description says secret magi are already locked in conflict beneath that public life. The mafia angle also fits the Prohibition-era frame without requiring the game to become a straight crime drama. In the material shown so far, organized crime, hidden magic, and jazz performance appear to be part of the same urban fabric.
The risk is that stylish period dressing can flatten into backdrop if quests and character writing do not make the city feel lived in. The reveal has the right ingredients for an RPG with strong hubs, faction investigations, and side stories about hidden communities. Konami has not yet detailed exploration structure or quest design, so that potential remains expectation rather than confirmed design. Still, the setting is specific enough to invite sharper questions than a generic fantasy city would.
Platform and timing details remain the buyer’s-guide part of the story
If you are deciding whether to put Rhapsody in Scarlet on a wishlist, the confirmed platform picture is broader than the PS5-focused headline suggests. PlayStation confirms Rhapsody in Scarlet for PS5. Gematsu reports PS5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam, with a Steam page attached to its coverage. Console Creatures reports the same platform set. Siliconera’s early writeup focuses on PS5 and says there was no release window, while also noting that more details were expected during the Japan segment of the showcase. The apparent difference is timing and source scope, not a confirmed contradiction over final platforms.
There is no announced price, edition structure, preorder campaign, physical release plan, PC requirement list, performance target, or upgrade path in the provided source material. There is also no confirmation of PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, or Nintendo Switch 2 versions. Readers should be wary of assuming cross-generation support from the art style or genre label, because every sourced platform list here is current-generation console plus PC.
For PS5 players, the safest practical read is to wishlist or follow the PlayStation Store concept page if the premise lands, but wait for a dated gameplay presentation before treating it as a near-term purchase. For PC players, the Steam listing reported by Gematsu is the key availability signal, though system requirements were not included in the source material. For Xbox players, the strongest support comes from Gematsu and Console Creatures listing Xbox Series, while the State of Play framing naturally put PS5 first.
Konami has an RPG-adjacent project to prove, not only announce
Rhapsody in Scarlet arrives at an interesting moment for Konami because the reveal is original, stylish, and still carrying several unanswered production questions. Siliconera notes that Konami also has Rev.Noir in development for PS5, making Rhapsody in Scarlet another RPG-adjacent project in the publisher’s current slate. That context does not prove a broader strategy on its own, but it does show Konami using a major platform showcase to put new role-playing and action-adventure ideas in front of players rather than relying only on familiar names.
Early reaction is not uniformly settled. A ResetEra thread collected the multiplatform trailer and official site link, and one poster described liking Konami’s resurgence while saying the game looked rough. That is a forum comment, not a technical analysis, but it captures the reasonable caution around an early reveal. Combo-heavy action games live or die on animation clarity, enemy behavior, input feel, and encounter design, none of which can be fully judged from trailer cuts.
The reasons to keep watching are concrete: Ellie and Ilya have a clean ideological contrast, the mafia-versus-Seekers conflict gives the story a factional spine, the beast-and-magick combat pitch has room for meaningful buildcraft, and the 1920s New York setting gives the project a distinct identity among current action RPGs. The reasons to wait are equally concrete: no date, no price, no deep progression breakdown, no performance details, and no hands-on evidence yet. Rhapsody in Scarlet has the components of a standout Konami action RPG, but the next reveal needs to show how those components behave when the player, rather than the trailer editor, is driving the fight.