Director's New Zero Escape And Hundred Line Game Cancelled Before New Studio Announcement

Kotaro Uchikoshi Had Planned to Unveil Crush Keys' New Studio Alongside His First Game

Kotaro Uchikoshi planned to introduce the new Crash Keys studio alongside his first game

Kotaro Uchikoshi is one of the minds behind last year's incredible visual novel and strategy game The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, but you may also know him for his work on the Zero Escape series and AI: The Somnium Files. It was revealed that Uchikoshi had been secretly working on a new game at a new studio he founded last year, but the revelation of the two isn't good news, as Uchikoshi revealed on social media that the game the team was working on was "suddenly cancelled."

Uchikoshi posted a lengthy announcement on Twitter, revealing that in March 2025 he had created a new studio called Crash Keys, which "specializes in video game design, direction, and narrative writing." He wouldn't go into detail about what happened, but he did say that the game the developers were working on was canceled and there are no projects in it now. The original plan was to introduce the company alongside the canceled game in 2027, but now, plans have changed and Uchikoshi is asking customers to contact potential work for the team, lest the company "literally fall into a million pieces." The company now has a website with contact information as Uchikoshi looks for a new project for Crash Keys.

Hello everyone, how are you? Honestly, I'm not feeling well... why, you ask...? Because the game that our whole team had poured our hearts and souls into for about a year and a half was suddenly canceled...!! I mean, I lost my job overnight. Talk about a blue screw…

— Kotaro Uchikoshi Eng (@Uchikoshi_Eng) October 14, 2026

My staff and I might make a living by selling the round stones we pick up from the river. So please, we beg you…help us!! You are our last hope!! We realize this is a lot to ask, but with your support, we sincerely hope to fill this still-empty "to-do" section with projects we live together.

The company roster includes Uchikoshi, as well as writer Akira Mine (Hundred Line, Danganronpa 2x2) and screenwriter Muri Sasaki (Zero Escape, AI: The Somnium Files), so it appears to be a small team at this point, all having been at developer Hundred Line Games or Kybit Too. Last year, Too Kyo Games CEO and Hundred Line co-head Kazutaka Kodaka said the game's surprise success helped the company stay afloat after accumulating a large amount of debt to release the game. Hopefully something will happen and similarly rescue Crash Keys now that the first project has been discontinued.

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