Meccha Chameleon
2026 multiplayer video game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meccha Chameleon[a] (pronounced /ˈmɛtʃə/, ME-tcha) is a multiplayer casual video game developed by Japanese indie game developers Lemorion_1224 and Haganeiro. It was released for Windows on June 10, 2026. In the game, the player controls a white bipedal character playing the role of a hunter or a chameleon. The chameleons can paint themselves to match their surroundings and hide from the hunters, while the hunters must find all the chameleons before time expires.
| Meccha Chameleon | |
|---|---|
Steam header | |
| Developers |
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| Publisher |
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| Director |
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| Designer | Lemorion_1224 |
| Programmer | Haganeiro |
| Artist | Lemorion_1224 |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 5 |
| Platform | Windows |
| Release |
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| Genres | Casual, friendslop |
| Mode | Multiplayer |
Meccha Chameleon was developed in two months. It received positive reviews upon release and was a commercial success, selling more than 15 million copies by July 5 and a peak of 340 thousand players. It has been described as the fastest and best-selling video game of 2026.
Gameplay
Meccha Chameleon is a hide-and-seek video game where the player plays as a white bipedal character. The game is split between the hunters and the chameleons, where the chameleons must hide and blend themselves into their surroundings by painting their characters, either as a blobby or cube character, using different color settings, such as a color picker and an eyedropper, and choosing different poses, such as curling up or lying down.[1] The chameleons can also create clones or select different sizes of the blobby character to help them hide.[2] The hunters must find the chameleons before the timer runs out.[3]
The game features three more modes: Infection, where a chameleon becomes a hunter upon being caught; Double, where everyone hides in the beginning, then everyone hunts, so whoever finds the most people, or finds everyone first, wins;[4][5] Reverse Chicken Race, where each player was given time to paint themeselves. After the timer ends, each player's paint job will be displayed on a pedestal, where other players will try to find the player after the observation time ends.[6]
The game has both public and private servers.[7] The chameleons can use a free camera mode to explore the map or spectate the hunter.[4] The chameleons can taunt the hunter by producing a whistling sound,[8] which helps the hunter locate the hiders. There is a setting called forced taunting that forces a taunt after a certain period of time.[4]
The game can support up to 24 players.[9] The number of players in the game is based on the internet connection of the host. The recommended number of players is 2 to 12.[10] The players can play various maps in the game such as Hide-and-Seek Mansion, Indoor Country, Sewer, Backrooms,[11][12] Penguin Hotel, Sugarland,[13][14] and Osaka.[15] The game can be modded by adding custom maps available at Steam Workshop,[16] such as Art Gallery, The Market, Swimming pool!, and Viking Market.[17][18]
Development and release
The game was developed by Japanese indie game developer Lemorion_1224 with the help of Haganeiro.[14][7] The two previously developed games for Fortnite using the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) before moving to Steam. Lemorion previously released works such as the Pengiun Hotel series and Link Penguins.[19]
The game was conceived after the two developers played various hide-and-seek style mechanics on Fortnite.[20] The game was Lemorion's idea after he remembered an artist on television painting themselves to blend into their surroundings. He handled the development of graphics, planning, background music, models, and maps, while Haganeiro handled system management and effects.[21][22][23] The game uses components and assets, including the back-end systems, from their previous games such as Penguin Hotel and Link Penguins.[24][25]
The game was created in two months,[26][14] but counting the development of the reused assets, the total development period last four to five months.[24][25] The game was developed on Unreal Engine,[21] and uses Epic Games' Epic Online Services, a free multiplayer networking tool, for matchmaking purposes.[27][25] According to Lemorion, the Hide-and-Seek Mansion map took the most time in development, while the entire development of modeling and designing the locale lasted one month.[25]
According to Lemorion, they focused on "avoiding complex controls for the user" and "ensuring the system itself did not become overly complicated".[22] A two-hour play test was performed by 100 randomly selected users from various countries.[19][22] Following the feedback from the play test, the two added three more maps two weeks before release.[25]
The game was announced on May 15, 2026, and released on Steam on June 10, 2026.[28][29][10] The game was made available on the cloud gaming service GeForce Now on June 27. Using this service, the game can be played on macOS.[30]
Reception
Commercial performance
On its release day, the game received 20,000 concurrent players on Steam[31] and by June 15, it had over 90,000 concurrent players.[32] Its all-time peak was over 340,535 players on June 22, making it the 44th most concurrently played game in Steam's history.[33][34] It sold 250,000 copies by June 11, half a million on June 12,[35] one million on June 14,[3][28] two million on June 15,[36][37] three million on June 17,[38] five million on June 20,[39] seven million on June 22,[40][41], 10 million on June 26,[42] and 15 million on July 5.[43]
It was described as the fastest and best-selling game of 2026,[44][45] outselling games like Resident Evil Requiem, Forza Horizon 6, and Crimson Desert.[45] It debuted in first place on the Japanese Steam sales charts, beating Forza Horizon 6 and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.[46] It reached second place on the global Steam sales chart.[28] By June 16, the game earned around $6.9 million.[26]
Critical reception
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| IGN | 8/10[47] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 82/100[48] |
The game was described by Sam Woods of TheGamer as "2026's Biggest Viral Sensation".[20] It was praised by Elie Gould of PC Gamer for its gameplay, adding that the game has the "potential to become one of the giants in the friendslop genre".[49] Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of Rock Paper Shotgun said that "one of the game's loveliest qualities is that, strictly speaking, you don't need to play it to play it."[50] Seungjin Kang of Inven Global praised the game, adding that the game's popularity was because its "high-quality, novel art and camouflage Mecchanics have resonated with live-streaming audiences".[51] Game producer Taira Nakamura of Sega commented on the fact that the game had sold two million copies in five days despite having no promotion, adding that it is an "unthinkable achievement for the game industry and game companies".[52]
Audience reception
Despite not spending on marketing, the game became a huge hit on social media due to various viral short-form videos and contents from streamers, as well as the low base price of the game and word-of-mouth marketing.[40][53][20] As of June 22, the game had a Very Positive rating on Steam from over 17,000 reviews and a peak of 340,000 people playing.[54][34][55] Fans of the game also recreated the character in the game by 3D printing and placing it in random public places in real life.[56]
Following the popularity of the game, various conspiracy theories have spread online, such as claims that the developers paid streamers before the game was released to boost its popularity and claims that they have wealthy backers, pointing out the cost of running servers for more than 200 thousand players at the same time. Haganeiro dismissed the rumors, adding that the game uses Epic Games' Epic Online Services.[27][57]