Osaka-based developer Technobrain announced today that its long-running ATC Simulator series, I Am an Air Traffic Controller, will soon have a new installment with “Bokukan 5.”
The announcement made on X (formerly Twitter) followed a tease shared a few days ago that pointed to something happening on Christmas day, and indeed it did.
For the moment, we don’t have specifics or details, as the reveal only includes the logo with the name, but it’s still relevant for fans of the franchise and the ATC simulation genre
If you’re not familiar with the franchise, it debuted all the way back in 1998, and it’s known as “Boku wa Kōkū Kanseikan” in Japanese, which translates literally into the English title, and it’s often abbreviated as “Bokukan.” Interestingly, it appears that the abbreviation may actually be the title, possibly for both Japan and the West, with “I Am an Air Traffic Controller” as the subtitle.
This would stand to reason to make it more catchy and immediate, considering that the original title has always been a bit of a mouthful. That being said, this has not been confirmed officially just yet.
Basically, the games of the series place the player in the role of an Air Traffic Controller in a major Japanese airport, tasked with getting aircraft safely from the gates to the runway and the other way around, while solving a series of challenging scenarios.
The main installment usually focuses on Tokyo Haneda Airport, and then several DLCs expand to other hubs in the country.
I Am an Air Traffic Controller 4 was actually the first to be released officially in English on Steam in 2020, and it’s currently available on Valve’s digital platform with some of its DLC: Narita, Nagoya, New Chitose, Naha, and Osaka.
The series has also been ported to consoles as “Airport Hero” in collaboration with SonicPowered, and the latest installment, Airport Hero Centrair All Stars, was released just today for Nintendo Switch. For now, it’s available only in Japan, but it includes an English localization.
You can check out its trailer below, also to give you an idea of what the Bokukan series’ gameplay looks like.
Even if you’re not into ATC simulation, the name Technobrain may ring a bell. They have also been making excellent scenery for flight simulators for many years, including Kansai Airport and Yao Airport for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and MSFS 2024.
We have been waiting for quite a while for their rendition of Tokyo Haneda for Microsoft Flight Simulator, which appears to be very promising, but doesn’t have a release date just yet.