Masahiro Sakurai’s beloved pet cat, Fukurashi, passes away at 17 years old "The bite mark on my hand from long ago remains, and the sensation of her rubbing against my legs still lingers. Thank you for everything!" automaton-media.com/en/news/masa...

Anime about sexually frenzied married women terrorizing their landlord in skimpy mind control costumes will have one voice actress playing ten different roles automaton-media.com/en/news/anim...

Japanese developer COLOPL lets go of 104 employees after number of “voluntary redundancy” applicants exceeds targets automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...

Rune Factory developer Marvelous sees record-high game revenue and return to profitability thanks to Guardians of Azuma and Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar automaton-media.com/en/news/rune...

“You have to deceive your company.” Danganronpa and Hundred Line creator Kazutaka Kodaka shares advice for getting even the most unhinged projects greenlit automaton-media.com/en/news/you-...

Developer whose project was called “an insult to life itself” by Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki to launch “god simulator” game on February 12 automaton-media.com/en/news/deve...

Japanese grandma who played Final Fantasy 11 for 20 years passes away. Developers extend condolences automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...

89% of Japanese artists consider generative AI “a serious threat” to their livelihood, large-scale survey shows automaton-media.com/en/news/89-o...

“I’ve never made a single magical girl anime.” Sailor Moon R and Revolutionary Girl Utena director Kunihiko Ikuhara says many people mistake the genre of his work automaton-media.com/en/news/ive-...

“Releasing the game while the anime was still airing was crucial.” Kaiju No. 8 THE GAME producer on post-launch success and overcoming a content shortage automaton-media.com/en/interview...

Pokémon’s Ultra Beasts were based on past Pokémon designs rejected by Game Freak art director Ken Sugimori, artist reveals. That’s why they look so creepy automaton-media.com/en/news/poke...

“Game designers who ask for ideas, programmers who don’t know C++.” CyberConnect2 CEO on the top reasons why aspiring game devs fail to enter game companies A survey of about 40 Japanese game companies shows that only about 1.9% of applicants get hired automaton-media.com/en/news/game...

“This ruling shakes the foundations of the game industry.” Japanese game company and ex-Konami composer lose lawsuits against each other after collapse of crowdfunded project automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...

“Like Vampire Survivors, but completely different.” Ascend to ZERO developers on what makes their time-stopping game different from other roguelikes automaton-media.com/en/news/like...

Shadow of the Colossus producer Kenji Kaido's new game is about upside-down helicopter martial arts automaton-media.com/en/news/shad...

Sequel to Japan’s “worst game ever made” released on itch. io following rejection from Steam, GOG, and DLsite automaton-media.com/en/news/sequ...

Japanese game developer forced to clarify their mystery horror game wasn’t inspired by Epstein Island after players point out similarities "Return to Shironagasu Island" launched well before the scandal became public, so any similarities are coincidental automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...

“I was amazed Umamusume managed to pull it off.” Developer of classic Famicom horse racing series on legal difficulties of using real racehorse names automaton-media.com/en/news/i-wa...

Disgaea’s next installment will show off Nippon Ichi Software’s leap in 3D graphics, CEO says automaton-media.com/en/news/disg...

Japanese eroge developer forced to deny bizarre false claim of “upcoming anime adaptation” made by its own staff member automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...

Manga detailing the life of Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii in educational, “RPG-style” to release on February 24 automaton-media.com/en/news/mang...

Saya no Uta to receive stage play adaptation in Japan It will be a reading drama-style adaptation incorporating choreography automaton-media.com/en/news/saya...

From giant maids wrecking cities to magical dungeon demolition: 5 Japanese indie games where you destroy things automaton-media.com/en/news/from...

Japanese streamer who spent $160k USD to make his dream game breaks even in just a month, plans to invest everything into next game automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...

Aquaplus expects quality of its future games to “rise dramatically” thanks to new parent company Yuke’s automaton-media.com/en/news/aqua...

Final Fantasy fans in Japan hope FF7’s “new version” on Steam means no more region-locking automaton-media.com/en/news/fina...

Koei Tecmo fans in Japan lament another “lost year” as the company maintains ban on Valentines’s chocolates addressed to fictional characters and staff The company used to have exquisite Valentine's Day fanservice, and people are missing it automaton-media.com/en/news/koei...

Shin Megami Tensei artist Kazuma Kaneko’s free-to-play AI card game to end services and immediately resurrect as full-price Nintendo Switch exclusive automaton-media.com/en/news/shin...

RGG Studio responds to concerns over Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties demo’s graphics issues and bugs automaton-media.com/en/news/rgg-...

NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD creator nyalra’s return with Sister Other Paranoia is even more unfiltered, grotesque and personal. “I’m doing what I want, regardless of sales” automaton-media.com/en/news/need...

Sexy action RPG sees Steam Wishlists explode in Japan after viral “ladder climbing” animation showcase. We ask the dev about their rear jiggle physics philosophy automaton-media.com/en/news/sexy...

Bizarre bug in Arknights: Endfield turns all characters blue-skinned for some reason, players mistake it for alien design "There's definitely something strange going on here, but to be honest,... I'm kind of into it." automaton-media.com/en/news/biza...

"He's a net-positive for the game industry.” Nier creator Yoko Taro on why Hideki Kamiya’s famous social media blocking sprees and snarky comebacks actually work in developers' favor automaton-media.com/en/news/hes-...

Massive manga piracy site Bato(.)to was shut down in collaborative crackdown by Japanese and Chinese publishers, CODA reports automaton-media.com/en/news/mass...

Manual of Japanese retro game alone valued at over $1,400 USD for including photos and commentary by late celebrity Ai Iijima automaton-media.com/en/news/manu...

“Overseas otaku have it much harder than otaku in Japan, and I understand that loneliness.” NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD creator nyalra on why his work resonates with his “own kind” automaton-media.com/en/news/over...

Anime studio partnerships with global giants like Netflix may spur reform of Japan’s investor-centric production system, insider says “Creators naturally want to work where the pay is better, and they have more freedom." automaton-media.com/en/news/anim...

Taimanin series’ new free-to-play turn-based RPG amasses over 200,000 pre-registrations in just one month since initial reveal automaton-media.com/en/news/taim...

Aquaplus will bring the Utawarerumono series to a close and focus on developing new IPs after latest installment, COO says automaton-media.com/en/news/aqua...

“Yes, this is a game company.” Koei Tecmo’s investments outperformed core game business in the past three quarters automaton-media.com/en/news/yes-...

Resident Evil Requiem’s Leon Kennedy became a “hot uncle” thanks to hawk-eyed female Capcom staff who reviewed “even the finest wrinkles on his neck,” director says automaton-media.com/en/news/resi...

Piracy of Japanese games and anime has tripled over the past 3 years. Government acknowledges need to expand legitimate global distribution channels automaton-media.com/en/news/pira...

Resident Evil Requiem pushes the limits of its age rating in Japan, but it's not gory just for the sake of it, director says automaton-media.com/en/news/resi...

"I wanted my next game to be entirely my own." NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD creator nyalra on starting his own game company and pursuing 90s eroge legacy automaton-media.com/en/interview...

Over 50% of Phantom Blade Zero’s Wishlists come from outside of China, according to developers The game celebrated 1 million+ Wishlists in December, and interest is still rising steadily, says S-Games CEO automaton-media.com/en/news/over...

Ex-Capcom developers’ PvP mobile game Outrankers to end services after just three months automaton-media.com/en/news/ex-c...

Japanese indie studio spends over 300 hours making a 30-minute-long end credits scene after promising to credit over 60,000 names automaton-media.com/en/news/japa...

Beast of Reincarnation’s graphics “weren’t made with domestic nor overseas audiences in mind,” says director. The photorealistic style came naturally automaton-media.com/en/news/beas...

In The Hundred Line, even the “everyday” song is designed to fill you with unease. Masafumi Takada on creating “pop dissonance” and drawing from ancient Japanese court music automaton-media.com/en/news/in-t...

Steam open-world roguelike Elin publishes official newsletter for January. Latest updates, community news, and an open call for ASMR submissions automaton-media.com/en/news/stea...