Zero Escape and The Hundred Line Developer's New Studio "Could Literally Fall Apart Into a Million Pieces" After Next Game Is Cancelled

A new game from Kotaro Uchikoshi (of Zero Escape and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) has been cancelled, leaving the fate of his studio shrouded in uncertainty. Read more

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A new game from Kotaro Uchikoshi (of Zero Escape and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy) has been canceled, leaving his studio's fate in limbo.

Uchikoshi first became a household name after writing and directing the Zero Escape trilogy, a classic series of locked room puzzles on the DS that were eventually ported to modern platforms. The self-proclaimed "underrated director of the dead" recently jumped online to announce his new studio, Crash Keys, and ask for help.

He tweeted earlier today: "Honestly not feeling well at all... why, you ask...? Because the game that our entire team poured our hearts and souls into for about a year and a half has suddenly been cancelled." I mean, I lost my job overnight.

Crash Keys actually opened in March 2025, and Uchikoshi planned to officially announce the company and its first game next year. "But then there was the whole 'Maze of the Blue' incident - it forced him to market earlier than expected," he explained.

The studio is now looking for anyone who "may be interested in working with us or investing in our projects." The developer might struggle to survive without some kind of investment, Uchikoshi warned them with his usual humor. "Please give us jobs! At this rate, our company may literally fall into a million pieces. My team and I may have to survive on nothing but cicada shells collected from a dilapidated park. So please help us! You are our only hope!"

The Crash Keys website lists only two other employees. Akira Mine, credited writer on Hundred Line and the upcoming Danganronpa 2x2, and Mori Sasaki, who contributed to Zero Escape and AI: The Somnium Files. As some players have pointed out, Crash Keys is also the name of a very important organization in the Zero Escape trilogy, which caused quite a bit of concern among hungry series fans online.

After finishing work on the Zero Escape series, Uchikoshi founded a different development company (TooKyo Games) alongside another popular visual novel creator - Kazutaka Kodaka of Danganronpa. Last year, the pair released the hugely ambitious but overlooked crime strategy game The Hundred Line. It is unclear if Uchikoshi is currently still involved with TooKyo.