Tanuki: Pon's Summer is out now, following its November 10, 2026 launch. The game supports 15 languages, including English and Japanese.
The game was first announced in 2023 under the working title Project Tanuki. It had been targeting a 2025 release before a delay near the end of that year gave developer Denkiworks more time to polish its systems and expand the project's scope.
Players take the role of Pon, a postal worker in a Japanese town on a small island. His job involves delivering residents' mail, and the people he meets also have a variety of other tasks for him to help with.
Denkiworks developed the casual simulation, which is published by CRITICAL REFLEX.
Package arrangement is part of the delivery work. Players need to decide how to place their boxes to maximize how much mail they can carry on a trip.
Minigames and a shrine to customize
Pon can also step away from postal work through minigames that switch to a different style of play and help him get to know the locals. Activities include:
- Fishing.
- Baseball.
- Sumo wrestling.
- Working in a sushi restaurant.
- Playing the drums.
Fishing in Tanuki: Pon's Summer
The launch trailer includes footage of these side activities alongside animated sequences and a song styled like an anime opening.
Money earned from postal work and helping around town can go towards customizing the shrine Pon calls home. Players can freely arrange decorations throughout the grounds, choosing where to put individual pieces such as torii gates and stone lanterns.
