t seems like BL games are gradually disappearing

[wwabc3]

t seems like BL games are gradually disappearing



It seems that in the past, various BL games would be released every few months, but these days, BL games that are properly published and not doujinshi seem to come out only a few times a year.

Mobile BL games come out from time to time, and I also enjoy playing NU: Carnival, but I still miss games in the style of the original Novel... And mobile games generally seem too soft, so I really miss the kind of harder flavors like Gwijeok Glasses and xx Butler.

What do you all think?

 

[BLFan]

Why do you say that?

Did you notice they released a BL gacha called Sensultra and there's already another BL gacha called Godly Love - On Air in production? What already exists is enough for me, so releasing something new is appreciated. Besides, haven't you noticed that a BL anime comes out every season? I don't understand why people say this. Maybe they're talking about new releases or something. There are already many in production, but we just have to wait for them to be released. It's not like they're an otome game that's a copy of another game with no creativity, including the character designs copied from BL games that are later made heterosexual 0% creativity

Edited: In any case, I'd rather play dirty, degenerate games than have to play a otome PC games where I have to seduce a woman li lol.

 

[selinee]

I do agree we get less and less BL games as time passes, but I wonder if it has to do with the genre itself or just the PC joseimuke market in general.

For example, PC otome is also quite dead compared to the old days (talking about established companies/veteran devs only and not hobbyist/dlsite doujin groups)
But console otome companies are still chugging out games on a monthly basis, so at least the fans are fed.

BL on the other hand... *long sigh* Since a large part of the genre revolves around dark twisted stories and sex, it seems they can't go the console route? Let's say, hypothetically, they do decide to go that route and censor their own games, I'm curious if they can thrive that way...
And if they keep being PC only with R18 content the same way they are now, the PC market seems a bit small to sustain.

That's not to mention some disappointing releases from well-known BL devs I've seen recently. Ani Asobi from Tennenouji and Chuki Chuki Eroryman from Mada Labo... Seriously, I deadpan so hard while playing those. They felt less like actual games, and more like experimental hybrid game-video projects. I don't want to start bashing the games into the ground here, but like, I hope this doesn't become a trend. It's sort of ridiculous two different games from different companies followed the same format in a short span of time. In a way I couldn't believe they were from the same devs as Friendly Lab, Lucky dog and Hadaka Shitsuji and Patient S.

 

[3302325939]

It's not just BL games; the PC otome game market has also been gradually shrinking for quite some time. Ultimately, it comes down to money. It means they aren't profitable. While mobile and consoles are the most accessible platforms, I'd say the position of BL on consoles is a bit ambiguous. I'm not exactly a fan of BL games, but it is a shame to see them decreasing and disappearing every year.

 

[ninnikuryona]

visual novels are niche, and bl are niche within a niche. not to mention how fujoshi prefer to spend their time arguing on the internet over how heterosexual genres (otome) should include bl content instead of, well, supporting already released bl projects (im not even sure if anyone on the west is aware of suito wa hakumei releasing outside of this forum. or hadaka shitsuji fandisk en version). maybe if they did show more support, there would be more big companies releasing more games each year. i would also love to see that, partly because i like bl myself but also because it would help to contain fujoshi in their own spaces. but alas

on the brighter side, there are tons of small free games on sites like novelgame being released. on the darker side, theyre mostly very short. but theyre still there! so i would greatly recommend people to check out novelgame/freem/plicy/etc for new doujin releases!:D
oh and also amare. these games usually try to present themselves as "for everyone", but not only theyre usually written with male mc in mind, but also contain a huge amount of bl fanservice, needed or not. so its always a good idea to keep an eye on those as well, if youre not too picky
other than that, ebihime is still releasing blge regularly. and, unlike her yuri projects, most of her bl projects are r18 too!

in general, there are less releases overall nowadays. not just with bl, but other genres within the vn medium as well. older companies shut down, newer eroge are passable, some eroge studios turn all-ages, and the rise of ai has also hurt the industry. at least in the art sense, because i heard ai helps a lot with coding. but on the brighter side, when big hits are released, they are big! and hits! ooe, mahou shoujo no majo saiban, limelight lemonade jam which is considered the best yuzuge period, over requiemz, and so forth
it is obviously really sad to see your hobby slowing down and becoming niche again, but personally, im fine with it. as long as its not dead completely, theres always a chance to encounter something truly beautiful. not to mention how there have been more than enough releases from the past ~30 years to keep you well-fed! thats what i think

 

[maya_chan1]

I definitely get that feeling too, and honestly, it makes me a little sad because I love BL games.

I'm not really into mobile or gacha BL games, so I do miss having more traditional BL VNs being released. I wish we had more of them nowadays!

 

[Beannie]

visual novels are niche, and bl are niche within a niche. not to mention how fujoshi prefer to spend their time arguing on the internet over how heterosexual genres (otome) should include bl content instead of, well, supporting already released bl projects (im not even sure if anyone on the west is aware of suito wa hakumei releasing outside of this forum. or hadaka shitsuji fandisk en version). maybe if they did show more support, there would be more big companies releasing more games each year. i would also love to see that, partly because i like bl myself but also because it would help to contain fujoshi in their own spaces. but alas

Hmm, I cannot say I have not seen such discussion, but do you think it is really the defining feature of the fujo community in general? From my very limited pov, (extremes aside), most fujo do keep to themselves (and their shipping wars lol) and do not advocate adding BL to otome media unless there is some yaoi baiting? Not saying you are wrong; I am mostly curious what your experiences are in the topic.

 

[Beannie]

I do think Japanese single-player BLVN big studios are falling. Not completely, but it seems there are fewer big releases than there were in the 2010s. Could be a combo of R18 and PC; could be that BLVN players just do not have enough purchasing power for a big company to survive. If you check out these filters, in comparison to otome games, it is just not as many https://vndb.org/v?q=&ch=&f=053gja184on3d

 

[satory]

My take on this: people have a lot of games already out when they are starting (including those that came out a long time ago), so it seems like there are many. But games were and are coming out at somewhat slow pace, people just caught up with them. But I do want more

 

[Beannie]

@selinee, I have yet to play one of those mentioned, but I cannot just take seriously the game named Ani Asobi

 

[ninnikuryona]

From my very limited pov, (extremes aside), most fujo do keep to themselves (and their shipping wars lol) and do not advocate adding BL to otome media unless there is some yaoi baiting? Not saying you are wrong; I am mostly curious what your experiences are in the topic.

if this was true, then utpr, grmn, virche, and many other things would have never happened. those who keep it to themselves keep it to themselves, but a huge portion of loud fujoshi prefer to attack yumejoshi and otome games (which are anti-bl by default), then immediately assume a defensive posture and use "homophobia" as a shield, claiming that theyre Good people actually and they advocate for "diversity" (when bl has nothing to do with reallife homosexuality), ultimately ruining everyones day. not to mention how many of them criticised mhyk anime for featuring a female protagonist (the game has a choice between female and male mc), or said they wouldnt even touch twst anime if it has a female protagonist (the game's protagonist's sex is unknown, and even toboso yana herself pointed out that the writing is genderless on purpose)
they also try very hard to insist that utpr is a joseimuke franchise and therefore yumejoshi are the crazy ones, even though utpr as a whole started as an otome franchise, so its only natural those who were there since the beginning would be hurt by broccoli's disgusting and scummy decisions
and, of course, western fujoshi try really really hard to insist that theyre the backbone of every single community, otome included, when its been shown time and time again that the ones carrying fandoms and sales are not fujoshi, but actual target audiences

so yeah, if they were to pay for their own games instead of making bl fanart for otome or sending bl fanfiction to the author of a manga who explicitly stated he does not want to see any bl for his work (nippon sangoku), then bl as a genre wouldnt "slowly die". and even then, there are some doujin blge being released semi-regularly, so id advise people to keep an eye out on jp platforms

 

[satory]

@selinee, I have yet to play one of those mentioned, but I cannot just take seriously the game named Ani Asobi

Sorry to interrupt, but does that mean you take "Chuki Chuki Eroryman" seriously? XD

 

[Beannie]

Sorry to interrupt, but does that mean you take "Chuki Chuki Eroryman" seriously? XD

Well, I might have been too fixated on Ani Asobi to notice the second game mentioned

 

[Beannie]

if this was true, then utpr, grmn, virche, and many other things would have never happened. those who keep it to themselves keep it to themselves, but a huge portion of loud fujoshi prefer to attack yumejoshi and otome games (which are anti-bl by default), then immediately assume a defensive posture and use "homophobia" as a shield, claiming that theyre Good people actually and they advocate for "diversity" (when bl has nothing to do with reallife homosexuality), ultimately ruining everyones day. not to mention how many of them criticised mhyk anime for featuring a female protagonist (the game has a choice between female and male mc), or said they wouldnt even touch twst anime if it has a female protagonist (the game's protagonist's sex is unknown, and even toboso yana herself pointed out that the writing is genderless on purpose)
they also try very hard to insist that utpr is a joseimuke franchise and therefore yumejoshi are the crazy ones, even though utpr as a whole started as an otome franchise, so its only natural those who were there since the beginning would be hurt by broccoli's disgusting and scummy decisions
and, of course, western fujoshi try really really hard to insist that theyre the backbone of every single community, otome included, when its been shown time and time again that the ones carrying fandoms and sales are not fujoshi, but actual target audiences

so yeah, if they were to pay for their own games instead of making bl fanart for otome or sending bl fanfiction to the author of a manga who explicitly stated he does not want to see any bl for his work (nippon sangoku), then bl as a genre wouldnt "slowly die". and even then, there are some doujin blge being released semi-regularly, so id advise people to keep an eye out on jp platforms

I see, thank you for sharing your experiences. I guess I should be glad I am not around the unfortunate drama you listed. I def believe there are some crazy fujos (or yumes for that matter), but at least ppl in BL (otome) community I have interacted with were all pretty chill, so I want to believe the average BL (otome) enjoyer is not as crazy as you describe.
However, all I have is my anecdotal experience and belief, so there is that.

Also, at this point I think Broccoli lost the plot lol. Seems like utapri is trying to please both sides and ended up doing neither lol

 

[ninnikuryona]

Also, at this point I think Broccoli lost the plot lol. Seems like utapri is trying to please both sides and ended up doing neither lol

yeah. i just think they want to create bl games, but since yumejoshi bring in way more money, they instead pivot to creating otome with bl shit in it. happened with utpr, happened with kamigami no asobi (which is long forgotten and thank god for that). will probably happen with their licobits titles. so i have no trust in their future titles. also i saw a more knowledgeable japanese person saying that broccoli even sucks at creating danseimuke titles, so i just think they should stop creating games altogether..

 

[Beannie]

yeah. i just think they want to create bl games, but since yumejoshi bring in way more money, they instead pivot to creating otome with bl shit in it. happened with utpr, happened with kamigami no asobi (which is long forgotten and thank god for that). will probably happen with their licobits titles. so i have no trust in their future titles. also i saw a more knowledgeable japanese person saying that broccoli even sucks at creating danseimuke titles, so i just think they should stop creating games altogether..

Seems like both camps have a common enemy lol. This middle status is not serving anybody. They might put some BL fruitiness in there, but for me personally it is just bad baiting that leads nowhere. And cause they try to cater to everybody, the story/romance/characters suffer ><.

Or commit to amare for god's sake. Anybody with anybody seems like a better choice than nobody with nobody

 

[ninnikuryona]

Or commit to amare for god's sake. Anybody with anybody seems like a better choice than nobody with nobody

with how much people try to argue that amare is not a "real term" (theyll get brain aneurysm when they learn how terms are created and established) i see why devs decide to jump on a more popular and profitable genre (otome). all i can hope for is that after the shitstorm that started in january 2026 (gmrn), japanese yumejoshi become louder in expressing their displeasure with bl shit in otome

 

[satory]

yeah. i just think they want to create bl games, but since yumejoshi bring in way more money, they instead pivot to creating otome with bl shit in it. happened with utpr, happened with kamigami no asobi (which is long forgotten and thank god for that). will probably happen with their licobits titles. so i have no trust in their future titles. also i saw a more knowledgeable japanese person saying that broccoli even sucks at creating danseimuke titles, so i just think they should stop creating games altogether..

They need to stay in buisiness at least untill Jack Jeanne 2 is out! And maybe 3 (yes, I'm greedy). Also, aren't Licobits' titles are doing fine? They should have good sales to have localisation and FD. Am I mixing brands?

 

[ninnikuryona]

Also, aren't Licobits' titles are doing fine? They should have good sales to have localisation and FD. Am I mixing brands?

youre not mixing brands, im just distrustful of them due to their (broccoli's) past sins w

 

[Natalieee62]

I definitely think we're getting less, and with cool Bs magazine being discontinued it's a bit disheartening for the future. I'm quite happy though that so many exist from like 20 years ago that I've still got a big backlog to play ^^' but I wish we got more yearly BL titles coming out.

A lot of BLVNs also contain much darker and problematic themes which are also becoming more unpopular these days. I just think about how the go for it nakamura creator was shunned off of platforms by fans for having old problematic elements into their work....^^' which makes me sad because I love how BLVNs aren't held back by what's seen as unconventional or taboo.

I think we're still going strong with the current titles that are being released but it's nowhere near the level it used to be, but I'm glad we still get some! ^^'

 

[selinee]

@selinee, I have yet to play one of those mentioned, but I cannot just take seriously the game named Ani Asobi

lmao. I actually find that name quite accurate Because, that's it, that's literally the game.
It's best to not take it seriously tho. My disappointment stemmed from having too much expectation. It's regretful because they had that a.ma.zing art with potential for something sooooo dark and fucked up my mind and body was ready, the atmosphere was there. But then.... sighhhhhhh

I don't want to accidentally spoil anything for anyone so I won't talk much more (but tbfh there isn't much to spoil even if I tried...)

This game managed to get even the Japanese fans to leave negative reviews on DLsite so that's something. In my experience they're already extremely lenient when it comes to reviews. They might leave a low rating but to actually write a bad review means it's so ughhhh that they had to speak up about it.

ok i'll shut up before this turns into a rant about how making a whole game about bro-play is not that interesting

 

[fr4pp3cinn]

It's not a BL game thing, eroge has been dwindling in the last few years (even AliceSoft closed down earlier this year, and they were quite big!) Gacha completely dominated the market, it was always on the horizon after FGO lol (and casual gacha players seem to prefer MCs of their own gender, but that's just my opinion)

Big studios like Nitroplus moved on from eroge; their last title was Mojika I think? And Slow Damage seemed like a "final chapter" in their BL releases as well. There was parade's lesson last year, but CLOCKUP is a bit niche because of their heavy content, and ADELTA is a smaller group with fewer releases

The only reason otoge managed to stay up on the VN market, I'd assume, is because they focus on the handheld console market; BL never had much space there, except for a few censored Nitro+Chiral's ports. If you look at otoge PC releases, they're tiny! And even less for R18 titles

I'd say BL always had a stronger front on the manga side, and it seems like it's doing fine on that end (especially with the digital releases nowadays, with plenty of official translations in places like Renta and Bookwalker). You can find plenty of good stuff on Freem, DLsite and Booth though! And every few years some developers dip on the BL market as well, so not all hope is lost, haha

 

[ninnikuryona]

(even AliceSoft closed down earlier this year, and they were quite big!)

wait for real? i saw people lamenting on how they switched to failed gacha games, but did they like. actually go out of business?

 

[ninnikuryona]

I'd say BL always had a stronger front on the manga side, and it seems like it's doing fine on that end (especially with the digital releases nowadays, with plenty of official translations in places like Renta and Bookwalker).

this seems to be true for otome as well. there are not a lot of r18 game releases (even though some of them even came back from the dead, which is amazing), however the シチュボ industry seems very big (ignoring the elephant in the room of course). same with otomemuke doujinshi, which sometimes sell better than even danseimuke doujinshi. i guess games/visual novels overall are being put to rest nowadays, regardless of the genre?

 

[fr4pp3cinn]

wait for real? i saw people lamenting on how they switched to failed gacha games, but did they like. actually go out of business?

Oh it's Alcot that shut down sorry about that! AliceSoft shifted to gacha, and they closed the official store down (with games being unavailable bc of that lol) for payment processor troubles

this seems to be true for otome as well. there are not a lot of r18 game releases (even though some of them even came back from the dead, which is amazing), however the シチュボ industry seems very big (ignoring the elephant in the room of course). same with otomemuke doujinshi, which sometimes sell better than even danseimuke doujinshi. i guess games/visual novels overall are being put to rest nowadays, regardless of the genre?

Otomemuke doujin is having an amazing streak in the last few months for sure! I've even seen some in the top selling for DLsite, which is amazing to see. Yeah, all VNs have been suffering a lot from the gacha market. The CN market especially has been investing heavily, while some JP companies lost the timing on it :( payment processing has also been a huge pain on that front, so it's not looking too bright for major eroge releases tbh...