Coffee Talk Tokyo developer interview: ‘We hope that players find something that moves them, uplifts them, or makes them feel seen’

Image via Chorus Worldwide Games. Edited by Dot Esports

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"Coffee Talk Tokyo developer interview: ‘We hope that players find something that moves them, uplifts them, or makes them feel seen’"

Interview with Anna Winterstein and Fuzuki Ninomiya.

Published: May 19, 2026 11:23 pm

How often do you check the news and see how bleak everything is? It feels like the whole world has gone mad, and it inevitably weighs you down even if you’re not political in the slightest. In times like these, video games serve as a very good escapism tool to take your mind from all the horrible things that are happening everywhere.

But even among them, there’s a subset of games specifically designed to soothe you, make you feel comfortable and cosy without infantilizing you or insulting your intelligence. Coffee Talk Tokyo is one of these games. You can read our very positive review here .

We also got to talk with the developers of this little masterpiece, Lead Writer Anna Winterstein, and the COO of Chorus Worldwide, Fuzuki Ninomiya.

The game launches on Steam , PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and Xbox Series S|X tomorrow, May 21.

Dot Esports: Coffee Talk has always been less about serving drinks and more about listening. When you started Coffee Talk Tokyo, what did you see as the emotional core that absolutely had to translate to a new city and cast?

Anna Winterstein: You’re absolutely right: the emotional core of Coffee Talk is the characters and their interactions. One thing that makes the game unique is that its fantasy setting serves as a metaphor for real, relatable issues that players may recognise, and perhaps derive some measure of hope or solace from.