September 2, 2026 – Rice Games Inc. today announced that Shujinkou, its critically acclaimed story-driven dungeon-crawling JRPG, will officially launch on the Mac App Store on September 9, 2026.
🍎 Mac App Store Link (will go public Sep 9):
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shujinkou/id6760682263
Shujinkou will be free to download and play, giving Mac players access to roughly the first 5–10 hours of the adventure at no cost before offering permanent, one-time content unlocks for those who want to continue.
The Mac release also has personal significance for Rice Games founder Julian Rice, who has used Macs since high school and continues to use Mac as his primary platform today. Significant portions of Shujinkou were developed by Rice himself on a 16-inch Intel MacBook Pro during the game’s development, making a full Mac App Store release a long-standing goal for the studio.
Built over the course of more than six years, Shujinkou combines a full-scale turn-based dungeon-crawling RPG with an entirely optional Japanese language-learning system. Players can experience an 80+ hour story campaign, explore 16 handcrafted labyrinths, tackle more than 200 quests, master over 180 combat and exploration skills, and engage with Japanese-language content spanning beginner through advanced levels.
Since its release on Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch last year, Shujinkou has received more than 20 major updates, bringing hundreds of bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and new features inspired by feedback from players and critics alike.
Earlier this year, Shujinkou was nominated for Best Hidden Gem at the New York Game Awards, featured at Waseda University in a lecture examining JRPG design and innovative gameplay and learning mechanics, and showcased at BitSummit 2026, where Rice Games participated as an official sponsor. The game currently holds a 90 Metacritic score and 89 OpenCritic average.
Built for Mac 🍎
The Mac App Store release includes extensive Apple platform integration, including:
- Native support for both Intel and Apple silicon Macs
- 70 Game Center achievements
- 26 Game Center leaderboards
- Controller support
- One-time in-app content purchases
Rather than requiring an upfront purchase, the Mac App Store version uses a free-to-start model. Players can experience the opening portion of Shujinkou before deciding whether they want to permanently unlock additional content.
Available in-app purchases include:
- Genya Story Arc – $29.99
- Sabaku Story Arc – $24.99
- Genya + Sabaku Arcs – $49.99
- Swimsuit Quests DLC – $8.99
- Akuma Quests DLC – $8.99
- Complete Bundle – $59.99, including both full story arcs and both quest DLC packs
The Swimsuit Quests and Akuma Quests each introduce 18 additional character-focused quests centered around Shujinkou‘s six partner characters, along with exclusive costumes and additional story content. Each quest set includes 10-15 hours of additional gameplay.
Shujinkou will be available on the Mac App Store beginning September 9, 2026.
About Shujinkou
Shujinkou is a Japanese role-playing game developed and published by Rice Games. The game combines a full-scale role-playing adventure with optional Japanese language-learning elements, featuring deep dungeon-crawling, turn-based combat, two full story arcs, character-driven worldbuilding, many minigames, music, quests, extensive gameplay systems, and more.
About Rice Games Inc.
Rice Games Inc. is an independent game studio founded in 2018. Its flagship title, Shujinkou, is a JRPG that combines a full-scale role-playing experience with optional Japanese language-learning elements.
Contact:
contact@ricegames.net
https://www.ricegames.net/contact