Shibuya Scramble Stories Funding Dispute Exposes the Risk Hidden Inside Crowdfunding Platforms

The most alarming business-side gaming story in this Reddit cycle is not about layoffs or a delayed launch. It is about a successful crowdfunding campaign that still failed to deliver its money to the creators. Automaton West reported on April 3, 2026 that Shibuya Scramble Stories, a visual novel project from Jiro Ishii and Skeleton Crew Studio, raised 55 million yen, about $340 thousand USD, yet the team says it received less than half after platform operator Ubgoe withheld the remaining 27.75 million yen, more than $170 thousand USD.

According to the report, Ubgoe was supposed to transfer the funds on September 1, 2025. After the deadline passed, Ishii says he asked for an explanation and was told that the money had been mistakenly wired to another client. Automaton West says Ishii then had the company sign a memorandum promising full payment by September 16, 2025, but only 6 million yen arrived by that date. Ishii’s lawyer, Takahiro Kasagi, reportedly doubts the mistaken-transfer explanation, arguing that a bank reversal would normally be requested if such an error had actually occurred.

Why the case matters beyond one visual novel

The campaign itself succeeded, so the issue is not lack of demand but custody and payout of collected money.

Automaton West says Ubgoe’s terms place fulfillment responsibility on the project owner even if the platform does not hand over the funds.

That creates a structural mismatch: backers expect delivery, while developers may still be liable even when the platform has not paid them.

The wider concern is trust. Crowdfunding platforms are often treated like neutral infrastructure, but this case shows that platform-level payout risk can become existential for the creators even after supporters have already paid. A developer can end up carrying both the reputational burden and the delivery obligation while lacking access to the money raised for production. For small and mid-sized studios, that is not an accounting inconvenience. It is a survival issue.

Automaton West notes that the project is not currently expected to collapse because Tokyu Land Corporation has provided support, and a separate agreement now obligates Ubgoe to pay in installments. Even so, the story has landed as more than local drama. It highlights a blind spot in game crowdfunding: raising money is only one half of the trust chain, while reliable disbursement may be the part that decides whether a project can actually ship. That is why this r/Games post carried clear news value well beyond a niche visual novel audience.