Professor Layton and the New World of Steam will be released on 10 December

The facts

Professor Layton and the New World of Steam will be released on 10 December 2026. The date was revealed on 9 September, during the Nintendo Direct. The game is developed and published by Level-5. Nintendo only mentions the Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch versions, but Level-5’s official website also announces a PlayStation 5 version and a PC version, on Steam: the series will thus make its debut on PlayStation 5. The price has not yet been announced.

In France: release on 10 December 2026, a date confirmed by Nintendo France’s product page, which shows no price as of 29 September.

The game takes place one year after Professor Layton and the Lost Future. Luke Triton, the professor’s former assistant, now lives in the United States. After receiving a letter from him, Hershel Layton travels to Steam Bison, a booming American city where everything runs on steam and where mysterious incidents are multiplying. According to Nintendo Life, one of the cases involves a phantom gunslinger spreading terror through the town.

The principle remains that of the series: solve puzzles and gather clues to move the investigation forward. This time the puzzles are designed by QuizKnock, a Japanese media outlet devoted to quizzes, which combines entertainment and knowledge. The game’s song brings together the composer Joe Hisaishi and the singer Lilas, known as ikura in the group YOASOBI.

The context

Level-5 unveiled this new entry in 2023, with a release targeted for 2025 on Nintendo Switch. In November 2024, a new trailer still confirmed that timeframe.

On 25 September 2025, at the Tokyo Game Show, the studio apologised and pushed the game back to 2026, explaining that it wanted to deliver it “in the best possible form”. It took until the September 2026 Direct for a precise date. As of this article, it has not moved.

The last main entry, Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy, was released in France on 8 November 2013. Lost Future, of which this new instalment is the direct sequel, was released in France on 22 October 2010 on Nintendo DS.

Why it matters

The series returns after more than ten years without a main entry, and it is broadening its audience: in addition to Nintendo’s two consoles, it is coming to PlayStation 5 for the first time, as well as to PC. Entrusting the puzzles to QuizKnock is the other gamble of this comeback, since these brainteasers are at the heart of the formula. On 10 December, we will find out whether the machinery still runs smoothly, on steam this time.

Archive note

• Release on 10 December 2026 on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and PC (Steam).
• Date announced at the Nintendo Direct of 9 September 2026, after a delay from 2025 to 2026.
• The story takes place one year after Professor Layton and the Lost Future, in the American city of Steam Bison.