Automaton West reports that Shibuya Scramble Stories raised 55 million yen, about $340 thousand USD, but developer Jiro Ishii’s team says it still has not received more than half of the money from platform operator Ubgoe. The dispute has turned one successful campaign into a warning about payout custody and developer liability.
Moderators announced on VNDB that founder Yoran "Yorhel" Heling died on March 17, 2026. The news turned into a wider preservation story because the Visual Novel Database has become one of gaming's deepest long-running archives for the genre since launching in 2007.
A priceless floppy disk containing the 1999 trial edition of visual novel Tsukihime was destroyed during international shipping, allegedly by US Customs or DHL inspectors. One of only 50 ever produced, the irreplaceable piece of gaming history has been permanently lost.