As the year 2024 draws to a close, Famitsu has continued its usual tradition of speaking with a wide array of game developers. It’s always an interesting opportunity to hear from just about every corner of the Japanese games industry, and this time is no exception. Koei Tecmo’s Mei Erikawa, director and brand manager of the company’s Ruby Party label, had some exciting news to share. The pioneering otome game developer celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024, and it’s hard at work on a new otome game. [Thanks, Famitsu!]
According to Erikawa, the goal is to create a new otome romance game that suits the modern age. In recent years, Ruby Party has developed games such as Buddy Mission Bond, Touken Ranbu Warriors, Angelique Luminarise, and the seventh game in the Harukanaru Toki no Naka de/Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time series.
Speaking of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time, Erikawa also mentions that with the series celebrating its 25th anniversary in April, various things are being planned to commemorate the occasion. We’ll have to wait and see what she means by that, but with the most recent game in the series having been released in 2020, it wouldn’t be shocking to see some kind of announcement about a new entry. With that said, Ruby Party’s works often cross multiple forms of media, so it really could be anything.
As the first otome game developer, Ruby Party’s name carries a lot of weight in the genre. Few of its games have ever been localized for the West, but there’s always a chance Koei Tecmo will change its mind.
Published: Dec 31, 2024 02:00 pm