Jiro Ishii's new Shibuya live-action adventure game prototype crowdfunding in Japan funded instantly

by Kite Stenbuck on 28 May, 2025

Jiro Ishii had just set up a crowdfunding campaign for the prototype of a new Shibuya-based live-action adventure game on the Japanese site Ubgoe, and it was immediately funded within the first two hours after launch. As of 21:00 JST (exactly 2 hours after the campaign launched today at 19:00 JST / 10:00 UTC), 479 people have pledged 7,383,531 yen (approximately $51,125), which is 147% of the initial goal of 5 million yen (~$34,615).

This brand-new game will follow through the success of 428: Shibuya Scramble, which Ishii had handled as the executive producer, although it will have its own standalone story instead of a sequel.

Fumio Kitagami, the actor who portrayed the freelance writer Minoru Minorikawa in 428, will make his return in this new game as Reporter M. In addition, it will also feature the return of Masakazu Arai, who performed the detective Keima Amemiya in Chunsoft's 1998 Sega Saturn adventure game Machi, as Detective K. Players will be able to play two stories that separately focus on these respective characters.

Jiro Ishii also published a list of key staff members working on the new game. Almost all of them had previously worked on 428 or Machi, with the exception of the art director Minoboshi Taro, who is better known for his works in Konami's Love Plus and Kadokawa's God Wars: Future Past.

Writer: Yukinori Kitajima (prev. 428: Shibuya Scramble)
Photographer: Ayumu Iino (prev. 428: Shibuya Scramble)
Composer: Hideki Sakamoto (prev. 428: Shibuya Scramble)
Scenario Assist: Kazuya Asano (prev. the director of Machi)

The Japanese crowdfunding page also includes a couple of sample gameplay trailers, which are also available to watch right below:

The crowdfunding campaign is still ongoing until July 25. However, most of the backer tiers, which include a vote to determine the game's title, are only available until June 22.

The campaign's FAQ segment also includes an English entry confirming that people residing outside Japan can also back the project on the Japanese website. However, PayPal will be the only available payment method, and the campaign also suggests using a third-party forwarding service like Tenso to ship the physical rewards.

With the prototype development all but confirmed following the instantly funded crowdfunding campaign, Jiro Ishii plans to formally reveal the new game after finishing the prototype within this year in 2025.