STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT developer Mages has announced via the game’s official website that due to the “nature of the product,” it will not be granting anyone permission to stream or upload live commentary for the upcoming title. While console sharing features that allow in-game footage capture are authorized for private and personal use, broadcasting the game to an unspecified/large number of people is not permitted.
These kinds of bans are not uncommon among Japanese publishers, especially when it comes to the visual novel genre, where watching gameplay videos can almost fully substitute playing the game. Past Steins;Gate releases have also come with similar rules, and the publishers have been thorough in enforcing them.
In 2023, a 53-year-old Japanese web creator who uploaded an hour-long video of Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace (including its endings, which were under a streaming ban) alongside other copyrighted content, faced legal repercussions. He was arrested and found guilty of copyright infringement, ultimately being sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for five years, and fined 1 million JPY (roughly $6,400 USD), according to Yomiuri Shimbun. The man admitted to uploading the videos knowing full well of the legal implications.
To prevent similar cases of copyright infringement from happening and to ensure a spoiler-free experience for players, Mages has placed a full streaming ban for the upcoming Steins;Gate Re:Boot. While the story is largely the same as the 2009 original visual novel, the addition of a new ending is one of the reasons why players would want to check it out, alongside new additions such as re-recorded voice acting and revamped graphics.
Steins;Gate Re:Boot is set to release on August 20 for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam).
It makes sense especially with visual novels.