Kotaro Uchikoshi establishes new studio CRASH KEYS

Zero Escape and AI: The Somnium Files creator Kotaro Uchikoshi has announced the establishment of CRASH KEYS, a new game studio headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan.

Drawing on Uchikoshi’s experience and creative vision, CRASH KEYS is moving forward with new original projects, aiming to craft “deeply moving and memorable experiences for players worldwide.”

To advance its projects and build a business foundation, CRASH KEYS is currently seeking investment partners who share the studio’s vision and want to help bring its creative ambitions to life. It encourages interested companies and investors to inquire about its business strategy, project concepts, and investment opportunities.

The studio’s tagline is, “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.”

In a message on Twitter, Uchikoshi explained that the studio itself was actually set up in March 2025, and that “the game our whole team had poured our hearts and souls into for about a year and a half was suddenly canceled,” so he decided to announce his new studio today instead of in 2027, as originally planned, in hopes of finding new investors. Here is his message in full:

Hi everyone, how’s it going? Honestly, I’m not doing well at all… Why, you ask…? Because the game 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 bolt from the blue…

So I decided to make an announcement now. To see if anyone might be interested in working with us or investing in our projects. And here’s the announcement.

Actually, I started a company back in March of last year. It’s a game studio specializing in video game design, direction, and narrative writing. (And… just between us, it’s also a secret organization dedicated to protecting world peace.)

The name is… “CRASH KEYS”!!

My original plan was to reveal CRASH KEYS when we announced our new game. That was supposed to happen next year… in 2027. But then came that whole “bolt from the blue” incident… So I ended up having to move things up and go public with it today instead.

With that in mind, I would like to humbly ask you all for a favor… Please give us some work!! At this rate, our company might literally CRASH into a million pieces. My team and I may be forced to survive on nothing but cicada shells collected from a run-down park. So please, help us!! You’re our only hope!!

For work requests, investment proposals, words of encouragement, or invitations to Law of Attraction seminars, we would be very grateful if you could contact us using the “CONTACT” form on our official website.

Any support you could offer would mean the world to us. We sincerely look forward to hearing from you!

CRASH KEYS’ founding members include:

Kotaro Uchikoshi (CEO and Deadass Underrated Director)

A delightfully offbeat game designer known for unconventional adventure titles such as Ever17, the Zero Escape series, and the AI: The Somnium Files series. His inventive narratives combine intricate branching structures, mind-bending twists, science-fiction and philosophical themes, and an almost aristocratic approach to dirty jokes, earning him acclaim worldwide.

One of his signature works, 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors, won IGN’s “Best DS Story 2010″ award. Its sequel, Virtue’s Last Reward, also garnered numerous accolades from international gaming media, including GameSpot’s “Handheld Game of the Year 2012” award. The game was even nominated for “Best Narrative” at the prestigious 2013 Game Developers Choice Awards, further cementing his international reputation. (Though, of course, it’s all thanks to the team and the fans…)

A founding member of Too Kyo Games, he served as scenario director on The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy, released in 2025. The game received an “Award for Excellence” at the Japan Game Awards 2025, as well as the “Scenario” and “Rookie” awards at the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2025. It also earned nominations for “Best Storytelling” at the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 and “Best Writing in a Game” at the New York Game Awards 2026, receiving widespread acclaim in Japan and around the world. (Once again, it’s all thanks to the amazing team and fans. Thank you so much!)

Akira Mine (Would-Be Anonymous Writer)

After years of writing RPG scenarios at a certain company, they’ve recently worked on The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy and Danganronpa 2×2. When it comes to character portrayals and dialogue, they’re the type of writer who keeps rewriting until they’re completely satisfied. They’re particular about their craft, but their wallet is entirely at the mercy of their faves.
Perhaps because they follow their curiosity wherever it leads, their own life is the one thing that never seems to go according to script, which is a bit of a headache. Still, they’re having a pretty good time.

Muri Sasaki (Murderously Riveting Scriptwriter)

In addition to writing for anime and games, they work on indie games based on their own original concepts and scripts, including Seifuku no Ojisama and Hornet the Vanguard.

They also contributed to designing the gameplay sections of Uchikoshi’s Zero Escape and AI: The Somnium Files series.

With the wonderfully selfish mindset of putting their characters through trials while keeping as much peace and quiet as possible for themselves, they craft stories filled with surprises and heart.

Visit the CRASH KEYS official website here.