Kotaro Uchikoshi Announces New Studio Crash Keys After Unexpected Game Cancellation

Kotaro Uchikoshi announced the establishment of Crash Keys in October 2026, a new game studio headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. The studio’s tagline, “Some locks can only be opened with broken keys. All creation begins with destruction. Crash your rusty old keys. Beyond the door lies a world yet unseen. We CRASH KEYS. Shattering conventions to unlock the unknown,” signals a focus on original projects that break conventional formulas.

Uchikoshi has built a reputation through narrative‑heavy adventure titles such as 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Virtue’s Last Reward and the AI: The Somnium Files series. He also co‑founded Too Kyo Games, working with Kazutaka Kodaka on The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, a strategy RPG released in 2025.

Before launching Crash Keys, Uchikoshi’s team had been developing a new game for roughly a year and a half. The project was abruptly canceled, a decision that left him without a job, which he described on X as a “bolt from the blue.” The studio was originally set up in March 2025, but the cancellation prompted an early public announcement.

Crash Keys is now actively seeking investment partners, work requests and other forms of support. No specific titles or release dates have been announced yet, but the studio is open to proposals for new projects and invites interested parties to contact it through its website.

The studio’s website contains cryptic references to the Zero Escape series, such as the name Crash Keys itself and allusions to Rhizome‑9, the setting of Virtue’s Last Reward. These elements hint at a possible ARG or future connection to the series, while the studio’s mission remains to craft deeply moving and memorable experiences for players worldwide.