Japanese Ramen Simulator Lets Players Experience Steam, Shuriken, and a Perfect Bowl

Wild Dog just announced Japanese Ramen Simulator, a Steam management sim scheduled for September 2026 that puts as many as six people behind one counter. Players run the entire shop. Prep work, broth, noodles, toppings, service, conversation with guests, and cleanup all happen on the same shift. Orders arrive in a steady stream. Noodle texture, broth temperature, aroma, umami, and how long the bowl waits on the pass all affect the result.

Soup can be made using any combination of ingredients. Toppings fall according to physics, thus two bowls made from the same recipe will look slightly different. Recreate one of your shop’s most popular items or make something completely new that no consumer has ever requested. Gyoza are prepared in the same kitchen as the other items on your menu. The manner you sear them on the dumpling is important, and don’t forget you can utilize ramen toppings on a rice bowl, which opens up options like chashu don. Beer is also on tap, and obtaining precisely the correct amount of froth in the pour is part of the game. Rather than being shoved to one side of the dish, the side work can sit right next to the main bowl.

The shop layout is very open, allowing you to position the cooking equipment, furniture, storage, and decorations wherever it makes the most sense for you, whether to help you get through the rush or simply to make the area seem lovely. The Custom Design function allows you to go crazy sketching on your posters and Noren curtains, and you can even invite your friends to come over and leave their mark. In terms of decor, you can even include a strange toilet or two if that’s your style. One plan may be all about speed, while another is more concerned with making the location look so Instagrammable that it attracts a flow of people.


Online co-op allows you to team up with up to five friends, each taking on a different task, such as splitting the prep, cooking, plating, serving, and washing the dishes while the tickets keep flowing in. If you don’t want to enlist the support of your pals, you can always hire some part-time workers to cover the same tasks and keep things moving at a slower pace. Business hours aren’t exactly the quietest because a ramen critic may simply stroll in and demand a fresh bowl that’s excellent on all counts, scent, umami, toppings, you name it… or a burglar could try their luck with the register. Then there are the odd flames that start for no apparent cause… but you’ll have shuriken and fire extinguishers on hand to deal with those. If your shop is really in a jam, there’s always the next door gambling den.


Wild Dog is a minor Japanese studio started in October 2022 by Hiroto Nakajo, a 25-year-old engineer who previously worked on Palworld’s network. Their team has worked on both AAA and independent games, and their previous title, Keep Digging, sold a solid 450,000 copies. To get this game just right, they visited a lot of ramen shops, cooked their own ramen a few times (because you can’t really say you’ve done the research unless you eat the food), recorded real kitchen sounds, and even scanned in real materials to make it feel like you’re standing in front of a real counter.


Their goal is to release the game on Steam for Windows 10 and 11 in September 2026, with an initial Early Access run in the coming days. They expect it to continue about six months, during which time the game will change and expand in response to player feedback. Prices will rise over time, but anyone who purchases in Early Access will keep the game and be able to enjoy the updates for free. They also intend to perform a closed beta via Discord in August, and languages covered include Japanese, English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Korean.