Studio M2, known for porting and emulating Japanese retro classics to modern consoles, has announced the cancellation of Ubusuna, a shoot ‘em up title previously helmed by Ikaruga creator Hiroshi Iuchi. Following Iuchi’s departure from the company, it was decided that the game couldn’t be completed without him.
While the reasons behind Iuchi’s departure were not disclosed, the official statement attributes his resignation to “various circumstances.” M2 officially apologized to those who supported Ubusuna, including Japanese and international fans, external devs who contributed to the project, and media outlets who worked alongside the company’s public relations. In light of recent events, M2 has made its “UBUSUNA SOUNDTRACK-EP- YouTube video private, leaving even fewer traces of the game’s existence available online.
Iuchi announced Ubusuna on August 13, 2014 via his official blog. Initially planned for the PlayStation 4 with the possibility of multiplatform expansion, the game was envisioned as a shoot ‘em up that built upon a scrapped “50YW” project. While Ubusuna’s systems were largely similar to 50YW, Iuchi planned to rewrite the world and setting to fit his new vision.
Ubusuna was still in the very early phases of development when Iuchi made the initial announcement. According to him, while M2 doesn’t normally announce anything at such an early stage, the company’s CEO Naoki Horii approved it, saying it would be fine since shoot ‘em up fans wouldn’t mind waiting.
Updates on the project would be few and far between in the next few years, with Iuchi dividing his time between Ubusuna and other M2 projects. In 2019, Horii revealed that while asset creation was proving difficult, the game was “nearly playable from start to finish.” 2022 saw some more progress, with further story details being revealed. Iuchi’s final update on the game was released on August 17, with him saying that M2 would make an official announcement when the time was right.
Following Ubusuna’s cancellation, Iuchi released a short blog entry apologizing to fans and asking for some more time before he can address the situation:
I apologize for the commotion this has caused.
I’d like to address the comments from the many people who have reached out, but I’d prefer to wait until after I’ve resigned (early July or later) to comment on this matter.
I’m also sorry to have disappointed so many of you. However, based on how things feel at the moment, I don’t think it will turn out to be such a disappointment after all.
I apologize if this seems abrupt, but I ask for your understanding.
While M2 has given up on Ubusuna, it seems that Iuchi hasn’t. In the company’s statement, Naoki Horii hopes that Iuchi will be able to get the opportunity to complete the game, even if it takes on a different form. That said, Horii would appreciate it if people would refrain from posting speculations and defamatory comments on social media, as they can negatively impact those involved.
