Japanese yuri game developer forced to delay new title after banks reject Steam revenue transfers

Takii Noame, a Japanese indie game developer specializing in yuri visual novels, recently announced that they would be postponing their latest game’s launch due to difficulties they’ve been experiencing with receiving income earned from past titles released on Steam. The issue appears to lie in domestic banks refusing to remit international transfers from their publisher. 

Takii Noame is the creator of the adult-oriented Ne No Kami series – which includes two games, as well as the all-ages Watamari series – which currently counts one game and has a pending (now postponed) sequel. Both series are published internationally on Steam by Sekai Project. 

According to the developer, as part of recently tightening screenings of international bank transfers (aimed at preventing money laundering and the like), they were asked by their bank – SBI Shinsei Bank – to provide documentation about their transactions. After they complied, the bank determined that “part of the revenue was related to adult-oriented (yuri) content” and refused to process transfers. Takii Noame said they were informed of this explicitly via phone call. 

From there, the developer asked their publisher to try to transfer only proceeds related to their all-ages Steam games (the newer Watamari series) through the Japan Post Bank. However, following another screening and request for documentation, this too was rejected. The Japan Post bank did not provide a reason for the rejection, and Takii Noame described the decision as a “mystery” given the lack of adult content. 

The developer has been trying to resolve the issue for the past month. Most recently, they’ve succeeded in creating an account in another bank and receiving international transfers from their publisher, but only small amounts. “Currently, not only am I not able to receive revenue [from past titles], but I’m also facing a situation where even revenue from new releases won’t reach me, so I’m making this my top priority,” they wrote on X. To deal with the matter, they have postponed the release of Watamari Part 2 – A Fake Marriage?, which was originally slated to launch in August, by two months for the time being. 

The issue of so-called debanking of adult game developers in Japan has been a growing concern as of late, with different banks being involved in practically each case. Indie creators and studios like Ren, Mousou no Mayu and Nupuryu have reported similar problems, with the issue of blocked income also being coupled with tax complications.