Japanese 3D girlfriend simulator crowdfunds entire development budget in just 2 hours 

The work-in-progress 3D girlfriend simulator VR-Kanojo opened a crowdfunding campaign in the evening of September 2. Only an hour and 40 minutes later, the project reached its initial goal, securing a 2-million-yen development budget. The game continues to receive support even after reaching this milestone and has accumulated over 3.5 million yen (over $24k) at the time of writing. 

VR-Kanojo is pitched as a new and improved version of the original VR Kanojo from 2018. The original game gained significant popularity both in Japan and overseas, but was abandoned when its developer ILLUSION dissolved last year. This led to players no longer having access to an official patch that unlocks the Steam version’s R-rated content. 

The new VR-Kanojo is being developed by the same producer, under the new company ILLUMINATION. The original protagonist Sakura Yuhi makes a reappearance, and the stage is set for various kinds of couple interactions. The game will make use of VR controller haptics to make touching Sakura feel more lifelike.   

With VR-Kanojo already securing 179% of its crowdfunding goal, the developers are introducing stretch goals for new costumes, more realistic textures and the development of a standalone version. 

VR-Kanojo is scheduled to be released in Q4 of 2024 for the PC (Steam).