Takashi Mishima, the latest president of FuRyu who was appointed in June 2018, announced in a shareholder report that FuRyu will temporarily halt all investment into game development outside of those already in the works. [Thanks, Game’s Talk!]
“In terms of our games business, we strived to monetize via mixed media developments. However, we have been struggling to recoup our heavy investments, and growth in our main business has also been worrying, which shows a large disparity from our initial plan.”
“We will halt all investment in game development, and focus on maximizing profits from games we have already invested in. Our investment in anime for mixed media projects is also complete, and we plan to maximize profits via the synergy between our games and anime. Furthermore, we will review and revise the amount of expenses used for advertising and the like.”
Update: FuRyu clarified that the temporary halt of title announcements applies to smartphone games.
In an addendum for the shareholder report from FuRyu, it was mentioned how people were misunderstanding the report to mean that FuRyu was halting video game development indefinitely. They clarified that planning, development, and sales of console games, things will carry on as usual, including after the fiscal year ended March 2019. They will be suspending the release of mobile games through the fiscal year ended March 2019, and focus on maximizing profits on games already released.
Currently, FuRyu has the following games in development:
- Work x Work (Nintendo Switch, to be released September 27, 2018)
- Crystar (PlayStation 4, to be released October 18, 2018)
- Beyblade Burst Battle Zero (Nintendo Switch, to be released October 25, 2018)
- Project One Room (PlayStation 4, release date TBA)
The Caligula Effect: Overdose was recently released for PlayStation 4 this year, and The Caligula Effect also had an anime that was broadcasted this year.
