Japanese indie game developer ENDLESS SUMMER Studio (Neon Light LLC) revealed on April 24 that it is taking legal action against the CEO of domestic crowdfunding platform Ubgoe. The conflict centers on unpaid development funds for the studio’s upcoming sci-fi visual novel, Purgatory: Blue.
The project, spearheaded by composer and music producer cittan* (Fumihisa Tanaka), launched on Ubgoe in July 2025. The crowdfunding campaign ran until September of that year, gathering over 10.93 million yen (approximately $68.4 thousand USD) from 485 backers and achieving 156% of its initial target. However, ENDLESS SUMMER Studio reports that more than five months have passed since the payment was due, and Ubgoe has not disbursed the funds.
Ubgoe, which launched in January 2021 as a crowdfunding service operated by Ubgoe Co., Ltd., is led by Kazuo Okada. At launch, it touted itself as the first platform to implement a zero-fee system for creators, instead charging backers a small fee. Recently, however, the platform has faced numerous issues, including acclaimed game creator Jiro Ishii announcing earlier this month that Ubgoe withheld over half of the funds raised for his project Shibuya Scramble Stories. Additionally, the site became inaccessible on the night of April 15. Although Ubgoe issued a brief statement about restoring servers, the site remains offline as of this report.
ENDLESS SUMMER Studio appears to be the latest victim of Ubgoe’s troubles. The developers were supposed to receive the funds for Purgatory: Blue’s development back in November 2025. After missing this deadline, Ubgoe allegedly promised to transfer the money by December 15, which it failed to do. The developers then obtained a written pledge of debt repayment from Ubgoe’s CEO Kazuo Okada, with a promised payment by December 26. This promise was also broken. Later, in February 2026, Ubgoe stated it would make the payment that same month, but the developers have still not received any funds.
Following these repeated delays, ENDLESS SUMMER Studio hired legal counsel and filed a criminal complaint with the Shibuya Police Station in February, accusing Kazuo Okada of embezzlement. The station’s Criminal Investigation Division for white-collar crimes has reportedly begun investigating Okada’s bank accounts. The developers state they will consider pursuing a civil lawsuit depending on the outcome of the investigation.
In the midst of this legal turmoil, Purgatory: Blue creator cittan* has reassured fans and backers that his studio will complete the game. Despite being left without the raised funds, cittan* feels responsible for ensuring the project’s success and is reportedly preparing a plan to continue production using his own funds and additional fundraising efforts.
Mido