TOHO Games, publisher of the Sakuna series’ live-service spin-off Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin ~Hinuka Junreitan~ has started publishing the game’s story sections as free YouTube videos. The prologue and Chapters 1 through 5 were uploaded on July 27, with the final Chapter 6 set to release on September 30 alongside other unreleased content.
The farming sim RPG was first released in February this year for mobile platforms, with a future Steam release also announced at the time. However, in April, it was announced that the game would be ending services on July 27, only six months after its launch. The planned Steam version was likewise cancelled.
Following the end-of-services announcement, the developers continued to release new content for existing players while phasing out paid elements and issuing refunds for unused in-game currency. Now that the game has officially shut down, however, it seems they have decided to preserve its story in a readily available format by uploading it to YouTube. With each video about 2 hours long, the YouTube series will cover the entirety of the game’s scenario and will also include unreleased content that continues beyond the game.
Thought a somewhat unusual approach, the decision to archive the game’s content in this way has been met with approval and gratitude from Sakuna fans in Japan, though many are still voicing pleas for a standalone, offline re-release.
