As we close out 2023, it is once again time for an end of the year write-up to cover everything that has happened at Sekai Project this year. 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of Sekai Project and there was a lot that has happened. As usual, I will cover our releases this year as well as cover some of the notable events of the year.

2023 New Releases

2023 Game Releases

16 game titles were released in 2023. A number of these also made it to 3rd party platforms such as GOG and GMG. We only had a couple of console releases this time around but they are noteworthy nevertheless.

2023 started off with a Metroidvania in illuCalab’s Alice Escaped!. A new twist on the Alice in Wonderland story featuring Japanese illustrator PICPICGRAM’s mascot characters, Alice Esacped! would eventually be released on GOG as well as PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.

Most notably, 2023 was a year for sequels as we released the latest chapter in the Sunrider series, Sunrider 4: The Captain’s Return, the final chapter in the Slobbish Dragon Princess series, a return to Yunagicho and the animal-eared girls of Cafe Setaria in Amairo Chocolate 2, and the continued idol activities of the idol group Animal Trail ☆ Girlish Square in Animal Trail ☆ Girlish Square LOVE+PLUS and Animal Trail ☆ Girlish Square 2.

We also said hello to a number of new developers such as Puresis and their dramatic release, QUALIA ~The Path of Promise~, about a brilliant scientist and the robot, Machina (aka best robot maid waifu), who ends up living with him. And there is Hana’s Campus Life! by LIMITED FACTORY, which centers around college student Jeong Lee-Han and Hana, a little girl who ends up not only saving his life but claims to be a god as well. While the game is currently in Korean, an English update is in the works at the moment. We’ll have more details on that soon. Lastly, there is Kurenaibook’s Getting Freaky with Fujiki, another title set in a college where the mysterious female student Fujiki is keen on telling you everything about her even all you want is some peace and quiet.

Users looking for other types of games definitely had options in the form of ShiroKuroSoft’s Revival Quest, an RPGMaker game that centers around the efforts by Ravilla and Tyris to revive their dilapidated mining town. And though his name may invoke fear and the instant destruction of game controllers, desunoya’s latest release, LOOP LOOP ROOM is a simple though no less challenging puzzle game release featuring a squishy slime just doing squishy things and being a little guy.

Do you like little sisters? Perhaps a little sister who’s actually a succubus? Then perhaps you took notice in OrcSoft’s Marshmallow Imouto Succubus. Saki is a good girl, there’s absolutely nothing to be worried about here. Nope, nothing at all.

After our 2021 acquisition of Japanese game developer feng’s game lineup, there unfortunately hasn’t been a lot of updates on that front. 2023 changed that as we were able to release the entire Special Place trilogy. Each volume focuses on a different character so whether it’s a childhood friend, a little sister, or perhaps a (sometimes drunk) older sister and your otaku classmate, there’s something for everyone in these releases.

A Light in the Dark

A Light in the Dark

One of the more exciting things that happened this year was our big announcement for Anime Central. It never occurred to me that an off the cuff idea would somehow turn in to the appearances of Kubo Yurika and Ichinose Kana to promote the recent console release of A Light in the Dark on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. Due to some hiccups on the development side, it took much longer than expected to get this project out the door but for those that are curious, discussions on who was to voice the older and younger girls was already in the works back in the fall of 2020.

Casting Ichinose Kana as the younger sister was a very quick decision but there was a lot of back and forth between CreSpirit and our side on who would voice the older sister. At one point, Lynn was actually on the shortlist for that role but we ended up coming to a decision to choose Kubo Yurika instead. It’s something amusing to think about considering a very certain mecha anime series that would go in to production the following year.

Speaking of Kubo Yurika and Ichinose Kana’s appearance at Anime Central, they were amazing and professional in how they carried out their duties. While it was a disaster on my end during the Saturday night A Light in the Dark panel, the two of them were the real MVPs with Kubo-san playing the straight man while Ichinose-san dazzled with her rather amusing choices. The real shame is that we did not record the panel to savor those moments. Even if you did not know anything about this game, it was a real treat if you were at our panel that night.

On top of all of this, a few months ago we also pushed out the long awaited voice update for both the Steam and GOG releases. Honestly, if you asked me during the pandemic if any of this would eventually happen, I’m not so sure I would have believed it. Sometimes, you just never know what may happen until it does.

Crowdfunding Updates

Memory’s Dogma Code:02 and Code:03

2023 marked the conclusion of the WORLD END ECONOMiCA Kickstarter campaign with the shipping of the WEE Official Guidebook to the remaining backers. It’s no real consolation that a campaign promise for a release on PlayStation Vita never materialized before the end of its hardware cycle but at the very least there was a release on Nintendo Switch back in 2021.

There were no other major developments for our remaining crowdfunding campaigns this year. With Rewrite+ Harvest festa! and M.A.S.S. Builder not finished yet, fulfillment of physical rewards will still have to wait until these games are finished. Moving on to Memory’s Dogma, as mentioned in a June 2022 Kickstarter update, even if the game sequels won’t happen, the light novel project will still serve as a consolation of sorts for backers to be able to enjoy the Memory’s Dogma store in its entirety. Thus, we were glad to have been able to release Code:02 and Code:03 in the series. Currently, these light novels are only available to eligible backers and not to the public, but once the novelization of Code:01 is made available, these light novels will be offered on a number of platforms for purchase.

Work on the illustrations for the last two novels (Code:04 and Code:05) should be finished in 2024 so the entirety of the series will be complete next year. There will be more details on these developments on the Memory’s Dogma Kickstarter page so check back there from time to time for new updates.

The focus for 2024 will be begin the printing process on the physicals for a number of our other outstanding projects. We make no excuses for how long it’s taken to get these projects to the finish line but one way or another, we will make sure they get finished and backers get their physical rewards.

We currently have no plans to launch any crowdfunding campaigns for 2024.

Final Thoughts

2023 marked the 10 years of operations for Sekai Project. While it was a moment worth celebrating, we are not one to rest on our laurels as there remains a lot to be done. More than ever it was a wake up call to implement better processes and avoid the pitfalls and delays that have been tied to a number of our releases. If the next 10 years are to be successful, the same old thing isn’t going to cut it. It will be important to foster better communication with our fans to know what your concerns are and what titles we should look out for in the future.

Another thing we would like to consider is attending more anime conventions not only in North America but around the world to promote our products and also offer more physical merchandise for fans to purchase. It was nice to return to events such as Otakuthon and AnimeFest this year and given the reception, we are keen to check out more events moving forward. If you represent an anime convention and are interested in seeing us at your event, do not hesitate to reach out. If you are an anime retailer that is interested in our games and was hoping we had merchandise to go along with it, do not hesitate to reach out.

And lastly, I want to give a very warm shoutout to our staff and freelancers all around the world. It is the amazing people we work with that ensure that fans everywhere can enjoy our products. And of course, thank you to all our fans who have stuck with us and continue to support our endeavors.

That’s it for 2023! On behalf of everyone at Sekai Project, thank you again for making us a part of your world as we continue to bring the world’s creativity to your door step.

Sincerely,
Christopher Ling
Co-Founder and CEO