Happy New Year Post + New Game Announcement!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Last year was a rollercoaster, and despite the wins and lessons that came with our full game launch, we’re happy to share that we were able to fully recoup our development costs within just 24 hours of release! Because of that, I can safely say that Talents is still a success.

With that, we’re excited to announce here on itch that we’ve been working on a new game called Cyber Obsession! This time, I’m exploring a different genre I want to improve at: psychological horror and drama. While the game still includes romance elements, I won’t be marketing it as an otome, as it doesn’t quite fit the genre. The game will feature original art and music (partial), making it my most expensive free game so far.

Genre-wise, it will be similar to my previous game, I Like You, but with the emotional drama of He@rtstrings. The art style will be reminiscent of Talents, though we’ve commissioned new artists for this project. You can find more details about the game here and here. The game page will be up soon on Itch (follow me there to get a notification once it's up!), and I’m currently planning a full free release as a thank-you for all the wonderful support. However, since the scope has grown much larger than expected—and as I’m now a full-time indie dev—this plan may change in the future. You can follow updates and sneak peeks on our social media accounts.

While Talents was a success, there weren't any DLC plans from the start (aside from the artbook). Still, we hope it continues to sell steadily so we can occasionally share Talents content on social media and support our future projects.

Lastly, thank you for staying with us throughout 2025. It was a year of ups and downs, and especially post-release, it wasn’t easy. While the destination wasn’t exactly what we envisioned, we believe the journey matters more—and that the result is exactly what we need, even if it’s not what we initially wanted. We’ll continue to make games that speak to the soul, keeping in mind your feedback and support. Releases may vary in pace going forward. I’m now a full-time solo developer, and the speed of development depends on how much the previous game is able to support my continued work.

If you’d like to support me, buying any of our digital products or games would mean a lot—but even just sharing our work with friends helps immensely.

Thank you so much for your time, and we hope you have a wonderful 2026! 💖

- Izumi Ikimizu