Although Steins;Gate Re:Boot features improved graphics, fully re-recorded dialogue, and an expanded narrative that incorporates Steins;Gate Elite’s story and a brand-new ending, it won’t be modernizing any nuances in its language and atmosphere, remaining heavily rooted in 2010s Japanese otaku culture. While the devs at Mages initially wanted to update the reboot for modern audiences, they ultimately decided to keep the now “dated” elements as they originally were.
In an interview with Game*Spark, Science Adventure series producer and director of the original Steins;Gate Tatsuya Matsubara, alongside series scenario writer Naotaka Hayashi, talked about how 2010s otaku slang and Akihabara culture affected Steins;Gate.
“Steins;Gate is set in 2010 Akihabara. Looking back now, that atmosphere and vibe are truly part of what has become a ‘legacy.’ So much has been lost since then. By recreating that era of Akihabara (something that doesn’t exist in 2025) visually, I want those who remember it to feel nostalgia. Conversely, I want those unfamiliar with the time to experience something fresh,” Hayashi comments.
The developers say that it isn’t just the aesthetic of 2010 Akihabara which gives Steins;Gate its charm. Rintaro Okabe and the other characters also make liberal use of otaku terms and internet slang from the era. Terms such as “El Psy Kongroo” (Okabe’s signature phrase, which has no meaning), world lines, and Itaru Hashida’s online handle of DaSH (short for “Daru the Super Hacker”) help reinforce that the game is about a bunch of skilled, slightly delusional teenagers growing up in the early days of the internet.
During development, there was a heated debate about whether or not Steins;Gate Re:Boot should use updated slang to fit modern audiences. After much deliberation, it was decided that preserving the now-obsolete slang would be pivotal in “reviving” the legacy by helping players understand it.
Matsubara adds that recreating Akihabara’s visuals was a major point of significance for the reboot. When searching for reference materials online, the developers found it difficult to find images of Akihabara from 2010. Thankfully, Mages had done location scouting twice, once for the original 2009 Steins;Gate, and another time for the 2011 anime adaptation, so they had a lot of photographic material from the time to draw from.
“I mentioned earlier about the lack of reference materials. Surprisingly, even searching online, photos of 2010 Akihabara are hard to find. In that sense, preserving it as a reference resource was a theme I personally considered important. That’s also why we’re creating such detailed, photorealistic illustrations for the backgrounds,” Matsubara explains.
While the team is meticulously drawing the game’s environments by hand, they’re finding it difficult to contact the rightsholders of stores that have since shut down. This is so that they can accurately recreate the store signboard featured in the photos, in hopes that they may live on spiritually through the reboot.
Steins;Gate Re:Boot is set to release in 2026. Further details are TBA.
