While this may come as a surprise to some, according to series creator Sayori, the universe of Nekopara has always been rooted in a near-future science fiction setting; one that is, at its core, a fully AI-controlled dystopia.
This revelation comes alongside the release of Nekopara Sekai Connect (commonly shortened to NekoConne), a new mobile and PC title that continues the story beyond the original games. While the earlier entries largely focused on romantic slice-of-life interactions, NekoConne leans toward exploring the broader implications of the series’ worldbuilding, something longtime fans had only glimpsed in fragments.
“From the beginning, the world of Nekopara was envisioned as near-future sci-fi. However, since we thought that people would appreciate it more if we focused the genre on flirting with the girls, we didn’t explore the worldbuilding that much,” Sayori explained in an interview with DengekiOnline. She also intends to use this particular mobile title to answer fans’ questions about the world, thanks to the “freedom and long-term nature of the live-service format.”
Sayori also explained why she chose the AI topic as a focal point. “I think many people are curious about the idea that “cats were created by AI,” but from the very beginning, the original setting already described them as beings artificially created by a large corporation. When we examined how they would actually be created, we concluded that using AI made the story more complete.”
That decision ties directly into NekoConne’s broader setting, a society governed by advanced AI systems. Sayori described it as a “perfectly calculated” world under a “singularity × dystopia” framework, where human agency is significantly diminished. “Most humans wouldn’t be able to resist it,” she said, explaining that in such an environment, “as long as you don’t think too much, it’s easy to live a happy life.” However, throughout the story, the protagonists will have to confront the AI-governed world and discover “what true happiness means for themselves”.
As for the remake project of the original Nekopara visual novel series, Nekopara Love Project, the director said that it will include newly added episodes that explore the past of characters like Chocola and Vanilla, and that the original game was merely a “prologue” for the entire series, so as to build anticipation for NekoConne. All illustrations were also remade so the remake wouldn’t feel out of place next to NekoConne.
With more than 100 characters planned and ongoing content updates, as well as giving players the chance to romance all of the cats, NekoConne intends, in the creator’s words, to achieve world domination through cuteness, or Cute Domination!
Nekopara Sekai Connect (NekoConne) is now available for Android and iOS. It features Japanese and English language support. The game is also coming to Steam next fall.
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