{"rewrite":{"id":"r_e8c8c8b0a698b805cc03c1bd","clusterId":"c_7f48694ac221c8f36d1f20ae","slug":"static-hour-announced-1980s-news-bureau-thriller","model":"deepseek-v4-flash:free","headline":"Static Hour Announced: 1980s News Bureau Thriller","summary":"Barkbyte Interactive has announced Static Hour, a story-focused thriller adventure game set in a 1980s news bureau in a small town under a mysterious lockdown. The player takes on the role of a night-shift news editor who must judge the credibility of incoming information and decide what to broadcast. The game unfolds from an isometric perspective, with the player never leaving the bureau. Information arrives via phone calls from citizens, emergency radio, reports from local reporters, and notes left behind. This information can be incomplete, contradictory, or deliberately misleading, requiring additional reporting to verify. The player's broadcast choices affect the town's state, including citizen reactions and trust in the news bureau. Accurate reporting can calm the town, while sensational or uncertain content may spread panic, and withholding important information can have serious consequences. The game uses 1980s analog technology, including CRT monitors, rotary card holders, dial telephones, and radio receivers. Static Hour is planned for release on PC via Steam, with Japanese language support. The release date is undecided.","whyItMatters":"The game's core mechanic of managing public trust through broadcast decisions, where accurate reporting calms the town and sensational content spreads panic, offers a novel take on journalism as a gameplay system.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eStatic Hour is a narrative thriller set in a small town where strange violent incidents have occurred, families are fighting each other, and the government has issued a lockdown and dispatched the military. The player, as a night-shift news editor, relies on journalistic instincts and analog technology to gather information. This includes flipping through a rotary card holder, making calls on a black telephone, listening to emergency alerts, and intercepting police radio. The player may even search colleagues\u0026#39; desks for a scoop, and must decide whether to dispatch field reporters, who to ask for details, and what to convey during precious broadcast time. The game also requires verifying news and complying with Federal Communications Commission regulations. The main features include solving mysteries almost entirely through sound, with reality shaped by what the player broadcasts, tension from uncertain and contradictory information, and managing citizen fear and trust. The game is confined to the bureau, with the outside world known only through incoming reports. Static Hour is planned for release on PC via Steam, with Japanese language support noted on the store page. The release date remains undecided.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"In Static Hour, you never leave the news bureau. The whole town's fate hinges on what you choose to broadcast from a rotary phone and a police radio.","twitterPost":"Static Hour puts you in a 1980s newsroom under lockdown. Every broadcast decision shapes the town's panic or calm. Steam release planned, date TBA.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Barkbyte Interactive announced Static Hour, a 1980s news bureau thriller where you sort information under a mysterious lockdown. The game is planned for PC via Steam with Japanese support, but no release date yet.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/031/G103140/20260807021/\",\"title\":\"In a town under a mysterious lockdown, you sort information as the night shift at a news bureau. Story-focused thriller ADV 'Static Hour' announced.\"},{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/08/06/170298.html\",\"title\":\"謎のロックダウンの真実を探る1980年代舞台の報道局スリラー『Static Hour』発表！\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":6471,"outputTokens":953,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1786079401,"createdAt":"2026-08-07T05:02:21.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-08-07T05:06:44.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-07T05:02:21.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_7f48694ac221c8f36d1f20ae","canonicalTitle":"謎のロックダウンの真実を探る1980年代舞台の報道局スリラー『Static Hour』発表！","representativeArticleId":"a_9758a23f3ce0c0f80184d41d","sourceCount":2,"writtenSourceCount":2,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":false,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Static Hour\"],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"announcement\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-08-06T09:00:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-08-07T04:44:57.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-08-07T05:06:45.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/031/G103140/20260807021/","title":"謎のロックダウンが発令された町で，報道局の夜勤担当として情報を選別する。物語重視のスリラーADV「Static Hour」が発表に"},{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/08/06/170298.html","title":"謎のロックダウンの真実を探る1980年代舞台の報道局スリラー『Static Hour』発表！"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Static Hour"],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"announcement","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Static Hour is a story-focused thriller adventure game set in a 1980s news bureau in a small town under a mysterious lockdown.","The player is a night-shift news editor who must judge the credibility of information and decide what to broadcast, affecting the town's state.","The game uses 1980s analog technology including CRT monitors, rotary card holders, dial telephones, and radio receivers.","Static Hour is planned for release on PC via Steam, with Japanese language support, and the release date is undecided.","The game is developed by Barkbyte Interactive and was announced with a trailer on August 6, 2026."]}