Originating in 2008 for the Wii, it was released on Steam a decade later, garnering 'Very Positive' reviews and a cult following. Last year, 428's executive producer Jiro Ishii announced a spiritual successor—Shibuya Scramble Stories—launching a crowdfunding campaign on the Japanese platform Ubgoe to fund it. The game blew past its funding goal in less than an hour, raising a total of 55 million yen ($340,000) by the campaign's end.
It all seemed like a straightforward crowdfunding success. But the situation recently took a bizarre twist. In March, Automaton Media reported that Shibuya Scramble Stories' developer , Skeleton Crew Studio, announced it was seeking legal action after Ubgoe had sent them less than half the funds raised.
In a statement shared on X, Skeleton Crew Studio claimed it has received only 27.75 of the total 55 million yen from Ubgoe, amounting to roughly $170,000. Article continues below last week, in an interview with Denfaminicogamer ( via Automaton ) Ishii shed further light on the situation, along with his legal counsel Takahiro Kasagi. In this interview, Ishii states that Ubgoe was supposed to transfer all funds by September 1, 2025, but missed the deadline.
When Ishii contactedy Okada the next day, CEO Kazua Okada allegedly told him the money was "mistakenly wired to a different client". Following this, Okada apparently signed a memorandum at Ishii's insistence, guaranteeing the Ubgoe would pay the amount due in full by September 16. But only a small portion of the total sum was paid by that date.
According to Ishii, Okada claimed this was because the money Ubgoe had mistakenly transferred had still not been repaid, but when asked to provide evidence of this, Okada repeatedly refused to show Ishii and Kasagi the transaction, or the account from which the transaction was made. Ishii goes on to say that Okada did eventually show him the account, but the numbers of the transaction itself were obscured, leading Ishii to believe that he was being misled. Compounding the situation is that, according to Ubgoe's terms and conditions, it is Skeleton Crew Studio, not Ubgoe, that is responsible for fulfilment of its obligations to backers, something that Ishii wasn't aware of when all this began."I myself didn't realise that the project owner would bear the responsibility if the collection agency absconded with the funds," Ishii said."I suppose I was acting under the assumption that people were inherently good."Keeping in mind the difficulty of proving fraud in Japanese law, Ishii acknowledges that obtaining actual damages may prove challenging, but intends to move forward with criminal proceedings nonetheless.
As for Ubgoe, Okada reportedly issued a response stating that the company will file a petition for court mediation and will continue to act in accordance with the results of such procedures. All this comes at a time when Crowdfunding platforms have become increasingly popular avenues for developers to bring their projects to life. This incident serves as a reminder of both its potential and risks—that platforms can disappear with others' money, regardless of how much they promise protection.
