Draft:Project Eighty Six
FPS Video Game based on Anime/LN
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Project-86 (styled as PROJECT 86; Japanese: エイティシックス) is a community-driven, open-source fan game set in the universe of 86 (novel series), the acclaimed Japanese science fiction light novel series written by Asato Asato. The game is developed by an international group of volunteer contributors—collectively known as the Project-86 Community—and is published free of charge via GitHub. It is designed to recreate the harrowing experience of piloting a Juggernaut combat walker and commanding squadrons from the perspective of a Handler, blending elements of first-person shooter (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) gameplay.
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| Project-86 | |
|---|---|
| Developer | Project-86 Community (formerly Somnium Legio Studio / Unknown Glory) |
| Engine | Unity (6000.0.32f1) |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows |
| Release | c. 2022 (Unknown Glory era); rebranded 2023 |
| Genres | First-person shooter, Real-time strategy |
| Modes | Single-player; Multiplayer (planned) |
The project originated under the name Unknown Glory, developed by a small team calling itself Somnium Legio Studio, before later being rebranded and reorganized into the broader community-led Project-86. It is supported financially through Patreon and external donations, and is built using the Unity game engine. As of early 2026, the game remains in an active alpha development state.
Because fan games typically require explicit authorization from intellectual property holders for commercial distribution platforms, Project-86 is not currently available on Steam. The development team has stated that obtaining such authorization is an aspirational goal as the community grows.
Background
Source material
86: Eighty Six is a Japanese science fiction light novel series written by Asato Asato and illustrated by Shirabii, originally published under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint beginning in February 2017.[1] The series centers on the Republic of San Magnolia and its long-running war against the autonomous mechanized forces—known as the Legion—of the neighboring Giadian Empire. While the Republic publicly claims the war is waged by unmanned machines, it is in fact fought by a persecuted ethnic underclass called the Eighty-Six, who pilot armed combat walkers designated Juggernauts under the remote guidance of military officers known as Handlers.
An anime adaptation, produced by A-1 Pictures and distributed by Aniplex, aired from April 2021 to March 2022 and attracted a wide international audience via Crunchyroll.[2] The anime was nominated for five categories at the 6th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, including Anime of the Year, and received praise from critics for its production values, directing, and thematic depth. The renewed global interest in the franchise following the anime's broadcast served as the primary catalyst for fan-led game development efforts, including Project-86.
Development history
Unknown Glory origins
The earliest incarnation of a community-built 86: Eighty Six game appeared around 2022 under the name Unknown Glory, developed by a group styling itself Somnium Legio Studio. The project was announced via a dedicated X (formerly Twitter) account (@86UnknownGlory) and promoted through hashtags in both English and Japanese, reflecting an ambition to reach the franchise's multilingual fandom.[3] The team described the game as a non-profit effort and solicited community interest for an upcoming playable demo. Early posts featured concept screenshots of Juggernaut-style mech units, generating considerable enthusiasm among fans of the anime on social media.
Rebranding as Project-86
The project was later ended after the original creator retired. A new Game produced under Taliyaya was designated Project-86 and restructured around a broader, more open contributor model. The X account for @86UnknownGlory was updated to identify itself as "The official development account of the new Project 86 fan made, non profit game. (Previously Unknown Glory)."[3] A public GitHub repository was established under the username Taliayaya, making the full game source code freely available for inspection, forking, and contribution. Concurrently, a Patreon page was launched to solicit financial support from the fanbase, framing the project as an open-source indie game set in the universe of 86: Eighty Six whose goal is to recreate the experience of piloting a Juggernaut and guiding squadrons as a handler in a unique semi-open world.[4]
Open-source model
A defining characteristic of Project-86 is its fully open-source development model. The GitHub repository hosts all game files and is open to community contributions across disciplines including programming, 3D modeling, music composition, level design, UI art, and narrative writing.[5] An official website, maintained at a secondary GitHub Pages repository (Project-86-Community/Project-86-Website), provides contributor onboarding guides, download links, and documentation. The team explicitly invites players to participate in testing and feedback, framing the development process as collaborative and community-directed.
The project also maintains an active Discord server, where contributors coordinate across development tasks and players report bugs. A separate GitHub repository manages a custom game launcher (Project-86-Launcher), designed to streamline updates by downloading only changed files rather than requiring users to re-download the entire game build with each release.
Gameplay
Project-86 is designed around two distinct play styles that reflect the narrative duality of its source material: the ground-level perspective of Juggernaut pilots, and the command-level perspective of Handlers directing multiple units from a remote tactical interface.[6]
Juggernaut Mode (FPS)
The primary and most developed game mode as of the current alpha build is the Juggernaut Mode, an FPS experience in which the player directly pilots a Juggernaut combat walker from a first-person perspective. The mode is intended to capture what the official website terms "the full traumatizing experience of piloting a walking-coffin and confronting the Legion."[6] Players control the Juggernaut's main cannon, wire-based secondary systems, and machine guns, and must manage battlefield resources with the assistance of an AI Scavenger unit. Controls include standard WASD movement, zoom functionality up to 8× magnification, and a set of scavenger management commands (follow, hold, and waypoint).
Handler Mode (RTS)
The planned Handler Mode is intended to offer a real-time strategy experience in which the player takes on the role of a commanding Handler, directing multiple Juggernaut squadrons across a battlefield. This mode is described as combining strategic top-down oversight with the ability to "possess" individual squadrons to provide direct guidance toward objectives, blurring the boundary between the FPS and RTS genres.[6] As of early 2026, Handler Mode remains in the planning stage and is listed as a forthcoming feature on the official website.
Multiplayer vision
The developers have articulated an ambitious long-term goal of implementing a seamless multiplayer environment in which players assuming the Handler (RTS) and Juggernaut (FPS) roles coexist within a single shared game session, mirroring the command-and-combat relationship depicted in the 86: Eighty Six narrative. The team has acknowledged this is subject to evolution based on available development capacity and community feedback, and it has not yet been implemented in any publicly available build.[6]
Technical details
Project-86 is developed using the Unity game engine. The project has undergone engine version upgrades during its development lifecycle; the current build as of early 2026 targets Unity 6000.0.32f1, having previously used Unity 2022.3.21f1.[6] The repository requires contributors to install Git, Git LFS (for large binary assets such as textures and 3D models), and GitHub Desktop for simplified version control workflows. Contributors are directed to download an additional assets package separately via Google Drive due to Git LFS bandwidth constraints. The project requires approximately 20 GB of free disk space for the full development environment including Unity-generated content.
The compiled game is distributed as a Windows executable (.exe). Because the project does not hold a code signing certificate, Windows systems may flag the launcher executable as potentially unwanted software; the developers acknowledge this and attribute it to the absence of a commercial signing certificate rather than any malicious content.[6]
Distribution and access
Project-86 is available free of charge through two primary channels. The recommended method is a direct download of the latest release archive (a .zip file) from the GitHub Releases page, which is then extracted and executed locally. An alternative custom launcher application was developed to automate updates and minimize re-downloads, though as of 2025–2026 the launcher's backend update system was reported as out of service, with direct download recommended as the primary installation method.[6]
The game is not available on Steam. The developers have noted that Valve's platform policies restrict fan games from distribution without explicit authorization from the relevant intellectual property holders—in this case, the rights holders of the 86: Eighty Six franchise—and that growing the community's profile is a prerequisite to seeking such authorization.[6]
Community and reception
The Project-86 GitHub repository has accumulated over 190 stars and more than 20 forks from developers wishing to contribute or experiment with the codebase, indicating a modest but engaged following within the 86: Eighty Six fandom. The project's Discord server serves as the principal hub for coordination between developers, artists, testers, and general fans. An official Patreon page provides supporters with a means to financially back ongoing development.
Early social media posts announcing the Unknown Glory predecessor project generated organic enthusiasm from fans of the anime series, with community members expressing that a dedicated 86: Eighty Six game was an unexpected but strongly desired creation.[7] The open-source nature of the project has been praised by contributors as lowering barriers to participation and allowing fans without prior game development experience to become involved in roles such as testing and asset creation.
 | Project-86 is an unofficial fan creation and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Asato Asato, Kadokawa, Aniplex, A-1 Pictures, or any other rights holder of the 86: Eighty Six intellectual property. |
Legal status
Project-86 operates as a non-commercial fan game and is distributed without charge. The developers make no claim to ownership of the 86: Eighty Six intellectual property, which is owned by Asato Asato and published through Kadokawa under the Dengeki Bunko imprint, with animation rights held by Aniplex and A-1 Pictures. The project explicitly describes itself as a fan creation and has not, as of early 2026, been the subject of any publicly known cease-and-desist action from the rights holders.
The aspiration to release on Steam is contingent on negotiating authorization with the IP holders, a process the development team has indicated they hope to pursue as the project matures. The game's open-source code is hosted on GitHub, where the repository is publicly visible but the legal license governing third-party use of the code in relation to the franchised IP has not been separately disclosed.
See also
- 86 (novel series) – source light novel series
- Fan game
- Open-source video game
- Mecha game