Red Chat Ritual Kikuo: Original Music and Release

Yes — Kikuo's music is part of Red Chat Ritual – TSUMIMI TIME. When Tohakusha announced the game in April 2026, the announcement described it as featuring "brand-new original music written for the game by Kikuo," and Automaton's coverage of the game's wishlist milestone went further and called it a Kikuo theme song. So this is not a licensed older track dropped into a trailer: the music was made for this project.

That is the core of what has been said publicly. As of 2026-10-17, the official Steam page does not name individual tracks, list a track count, or mention a separate soundtrack release, and neither does the announcement coverage — so treat any specific song title or OST listing you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until it comes from Tohakusha.

What the announcement actually says about the music

The Gematsu write-up of the April 2026 reveal is the clearest description: the Kikuo credit appears alongside the game's pitch as a psychological horror adventure built on livestream intervention, investigation and deduction. In other words, the music is presented as part of the game's atmosphere rather than as a standalone selling point. Automaton's headline framing ("featuring Kikuo theme song") is consistent with that, and the same article notes Tohakusha was preparing to show more footage of how the stream-intervention and deduction sections play.

If you know Kikuo from Vocaloid-adjacent work, the pairing is not random — the game is about an idol streamer, her missing groupmate, and a village that has been erased from the map. The Steam page recommends headphones for the best experience, which is worth taking seriously for a game that leans on audio cues and stream audio.

The game around the music

Red Chat Ritual – TSUMIMI TIME casts you as a viewer of Tsumimi, a struggling idol streamer in the unit Wataame Chainsaw. Her partner Mashiro has disappeared, and Tsumimi keeps streaming in the hope of getting famous enough to be found.

• By day you search the internet for clues; by night you watch Tsumimi's stream and intervene through comments, Mega Chats (paid donation messages in the vein of Super Chats) and gifts.
• Your money is limited, so what you choose to send matters, and gifts can produce a reaction in the following day's stream.
• Clues go into an investigation file; connecting fragments and confirming hypotheses changes what happens next, and the story branches into multiple endings.
• The official Steam page describes a 15-day cycle; the April announcement described the story as unfolding over roughly a two-week day-and-night cycle.

Tohakusha's own framing is that your interventions, investigation and deductions decide Tsumimi's fate — the horror comes from how far you push a streamer who can see your messages.

Practical notes before you start

• Release: the Steam page lists 22 October 2026 for PC via Steam. As of 2026-10-17, the official Steam page lists Steam as the platform; no other platform is named there.
• Language: English interface and subtitles are listed, alongside Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. There is no full English audio listed.
• Length: the Steam page estimates about 4 hours for a first playthrough and roughly 8–9 hours to see multiple endings. The April announcement gave shorter figures (about 3 hours, 4–5 hours total), so expect the current store page to be the more accurate guide.
• Demo saves: the Steam page states that save data from the demo cannot be carried over to the full game, and that chasing multiple endings may mean replaying shared scenes.
• Content: psychological horror, violence and blood, references to self-harm and suicide, and intrusive behavior toward a livestream. The store page says jump scares with loud sounds or sudden screen changes are used sparingly, and notes the game is not built on demanding 3D graphics.

Sources

• Gematsu: Red Chat Ritual: TSUMIMI TIME announced for PC — the Kikuo music credit and the game's premise.
• Automaton West: the Kikuo theme song and 10,000 wishlists — English support and the wishlist milestone.
• Red Chat Ritual – TSUMIMI TIME on Steam — release date, languages, playtime estimates and content notes.

For the broader soundtrack and audio side of the game, see Red Chat Ritual music; for what the game looks like in motion, see Red Chat Ritual gameplay trailer.