Localization company Sol Press announced a new digital distribution platform called Hyourin during Kumoricon 2018, and they followed up with a blog post that explains more about this new platform for light novels and visual novels.
The digital platform will have both a webstore and a downloadable dedicated client, that includes features like a built-in novel and manga reader, an in-client store, profile customization, and more. It’s built from the ground-up in Java, and is not built on Electron at all.
Hyourin is set to come out first on Windows, with Mac and Linux versions coming shortly afterwards. The Mac and Linux version will be missing the ability to run visual novels at launch, but will be updated to keep in tandem with the Windows version.
The main big benefit of Hyourin is that Sol Press will have another channel to release their localized content. This means that they don’t need to go through Steam or other platforms for approval, and can release games and novels on their own terms. That said, Sol Press reassured at the end that they will keep their promises and launch on every platform promised as well, such as in Kickstarter projects.
