{"id":69792,"date":"2026-07-18T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=69792"},"modified":"2026-07-17T16:23:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T07:23:03","slug":"sweet-hamster-days-developers-talk-about-initial-steam-rejection-and-how-they-got-the-game-approved-for-launch-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/sweet-hamster-days-developers-talk-about-initial-steam-rejection-and-how-they-got-the-game-approved-for-launch-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweet Hamster Days developers talk about\u00a0initial\u00a0Steam rejection and how they got the game approved for launch again\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kodansha released the live-action romance sim\u00a0<strong>Sweet Hamster Days<\/strong>\u00a0on July 17 for PC via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4390720\/Sweet_Hamster_Days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>\u00a0and the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.epicgames.com\/p\/sweet-hamster-days-4cb057?lang=en-US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Epic Games Store<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a&nbsp;somewhat bizarre&nbsp;departure from your typical romance game, Sweet Hamster Days puts you in the role of a protagonist who has been reincarnated as a literal hamster. From a hamster&#8217;s perspective, you spend your days being&nbsp;doted on&nbsp;by three beautiful sisters after they take you in as a pet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The game was actually announced back in August 2025 with an original release window slated for the same year.\u00a0However,\u00a0a couple\u00a0months\u00a0later, Kodansha announced that due to various\u00a0circumstances, it had become difficult to release the game on Steam, with the\u00a0store page\u00a0subsequently\u00a0delisted.\u00a0Now that the game is out,\u00a0AUTOMATON sat down with the developers to find out more about the issue and how they overcame it. (This article is part two of a two-part series, for more\u00a0about\u00a0how\u00a0Sweet Hamster Days\u00a0leverages\u00a0Japanese gravure culture\u00a0and\u00a0people&#8217;s\u00a0desire to &#8220;become small and helpless,&#8221;\u00a0be sure to <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/crazy-hamster-pov-live-action-romance-sim-sweet-hamster-days-is-kodanshas-bid-to-bring-japanese-gravure-culture-into-gaming\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">check out part one<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Live-Action Dating Sim Sweet Hamster Days Coming to Steam and Other Platforms in July 2026!\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wo4qlL-LvNs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2014Could you tell me more about what happened last year, when the game&#8217;s&nbsp;initial&nbsp;Steam release got shelved?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Oda:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>When our\u00a0submission\u00a0was rejected, we\u00a0didn&#8217;t\u00a0know the specific reason. Based on Valve\u2019s guidelines, we\u00a0assumed it was\u00a0likely\u00a0due to\u00a0one of two issues\u00a0\u2013\u00a0either the use of real people, or restrictions\u00a0related to\u00a0sexual content.\u00a0That said, live-action games feature actors performing roles,\u00a0so\u00a0they\u00a0aren&#8217;t\u00a0simply\u00a0appearing as\u00a0\u201creal people.\u201d\u00a0That left\u00a0sexual content as the\u00a0most\u00a0likely cause, but\u00a0Sweet Hamster Days\u00a0itself is\u00a0actually quite mild, and Steam already sells plenty of games with much stronger sexual\u00a0depictions\u00a0than ours.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We still&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;know exactly how&nbsp;the platform&nbsp;saw things, but after revising details such as the&nbsp;age rating settings&nbsp;and re-submitting the game, it was eventually approved.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sakurai:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>This is purely my personal speculation, but whenever platform regulations become a topic of discussion,\u00a0players often speak out in favor of freedom of expression.\u00a0Perhaps those\u00a0voices from users also helped push things in our favor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1248\" height=\"702\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1248px) 100vw, 1248px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-006.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-69793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-006.jpg 1248w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-006-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-006-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2014Did you end up having to make any major changes to the game\u2019s&nbsp;footage&nbsp;or other content?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Oda:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>No, we\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0make any changes to<s>\u00a0<\/s>the game\u2019s actual content or expressions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2014I see that&nbsp;users&nbsp;now need to be logged in to view the Steam store page.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Oda:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>Yes,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not\u00a0an 18 plus game by Japanese standards, but I also\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0call it suitable for all ages.\u00a0We see it as\u00a0something intended for players around 15 and up. In Valve\u2019s eyes, it\u00a0seems to be\u00a0positioned somewhere closer to adult content.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1032\" height=\"614\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1032px) 100vw, 1032px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-007.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-69794\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-007.jpg 1032w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-007-380x226.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-007-768x457.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sakurai:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>There are certainly moments\u00a0in there that &#8220;make\u00a0your\u00a0heart race,&#8221;\u00a0but by\u00a0FRIDAY\u00a0(Kodansha\u2019s gravure magazine that\u00a0participated\u00a0in development)\u2019s\u00a0own standards, the content in\u00a0Sweet Hamster Days\u00a0is\u00a0actually quite\u00a0restrained.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2014Looking&nbsp;beyond&nbsp;the game&#8217;s launch, how would you like to&nbsp;nurture this new&nbsp;title&nbsp;and the live-action game genre in general?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sakurai:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I think it would be exciting if live-action games became established in Japan as a legitimate form of expression that other companies could also explore. In fact, on July 18,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0planning to hold an event focused on live-action games together with TV Asahi.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While this title&nbsp;happens to revolve around romance and sexy elements,&nbsp;I believe that expanding the use of live-footage can broaden the possibilities of the medium&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;as&nbsp;we&#8217;ve&nbsp;seen in serious games like&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/368370\/Her_Story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Her&nbsp;Story<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013&nbsp;allowing&nbsp;all kinds of new titles to&nbsp;emerge.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Katayama:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I also think the live-action genre\u00a0has tremendous potential. For example,\u00a0Sweet Hamster Days\u00a0frequently\u00a0uses low-angle shots, which reminded me of the dignified\u00a0style\u00a0of\u00a0Yasujir\u014d Ozu&#8217;s cinematography.\u00a0Granted,\u00a0the contents of our game are quite&#8230; different (laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I feel that&nbsp;the&nbsp;live-action&nbsp;medium&nbsp;could&nbsp;open up&nbsp;entirely new forms of visual expression that traditional games have&nbsp;not explored so far.&nbsp;That&#8217;s&nbsp;why&nbsp;I\u2019d&nbsp;love to see more developers enter the space,&nbsp;like&nbsp;TV Asahi&nbsp;did&nbsp;with&nbsp;&#8220;Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts&#8221;&nbsp;and Wave Corporation&nbsp;did with&nbsp;&#8220;Love Starts Again.&#8221;&nbsp;I really hope live-action games continue to gain momentum in Japan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2014In that sense,&nbsp;I think&nbsp;Sweet Hamster Days&nbsp;stands out as a \u201clive-action game made by professionals from the gravure industry.\u201d Having people who regularly photograph gravure idols involved in production seems like&nbsp;a significant&nbsp;selling point.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sakurai:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>To begin with,\u00a0I think\u00a0nobody would\u00a0ever\u00a0expect FRIDAY\u2019s gravure photography and video games to come together\u00a0(laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Oda:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I personally\u00a0wasn&#8217;t\u00a0very familiar\u00a0with\u00a0FRIDAY\u2019s gravure culture, but I visited\u00a0nearly every\u00a0shoot, and\u00a0when I saw the footage that came back,\u00a0I was\u00a0struck\u00a0by the sheer attention they paid to presentations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even when shooting similar material, there were countless moments when I found myself thinking, \u201cThis feels completely different.\u201d Sakurai was the same way, and the photographers paid extraordinary attention to direction,&nbsp;experimenting with camera angles even for straightforward shots.&nbsp;I really made me&nbsp;realize how professional they were.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The head of our photo and video department&nbsp;once told&nbsp;me, \u201cWhen it comes to making&nbsp;women&nbsp;look cute on camera, we\u2019re&nbsp;experts.\u201d&nbsp;And&nbsp;well&#8230; he was absolutely right.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Katayama:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>Since this is our first attempt at the genre,\u00a0I think\u00a0there\u00a0are bound to be\u00a0some rough edges, particularly with things like the UI. But overall, the game is filled with the passion of Sakurai, Oda, and everyone in the photo and video department\u00a0(laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2014I think&nbsp;I&#8217;d&nbsp;like&nbsp;to see a live-action game based not on gravure, but on FRIDAY\u2019s investigative scoops&nbsp;some day&nbsp;too.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sakurai:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>I\u2019d\u00a0definitely like\u00a0to try something like that&#8230; though just\u00a0the thought of\u00a0it\u00a0alone\u00a0is\u00a0making me\u00a0nervous (laughs).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Katayama:<\/strong>\u00a0<br>There have already been discussions within Kodansha,\u00a0including the Game Lab team,\u00a0about creating entirely new genres of games that make use of the unique\u00a0insights\u00a0of a publishing company, so\u00a0we\u2019d\u00a0love to take on that challenge.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2014Thank you very much.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sweet Hamster Days\u00a0is out now for  PC via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/4390720\/Sweet_Hamster_Days\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>\u00a0and the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.epicgames.com\/p\/sweet-hamster-days-4cb057?lang=en-US\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Epic Games Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part two of our interview with the developers of Sweet Hamster Days at Kodansha Game Lab and FRIDAY magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-07-18T13:00:10+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mqwd2gcoyh2y","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mqwd2gcoyh2y\",\"cid\":\"bafyreih6hok5r77yyjgz6omexqzjh6apma3mpewrdcdvi2ys32mdtkwo4y\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreibgziycunoaewexjk5rpgkf62o7vvitutm3x56pjgs56f5pwsmcly\",\"rev\":\"3mqwd2gcwsh2y\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-69792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sweet Hamster Days developers talk about\u00a0initial\u00a0Steam rejection and how they got the game approved for launch again\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Part two of our interview with the developers of Sweet Hamster Days at Kodansha Game Lab and FRIDAY magazine.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/sweet-hamster-days-developers-talk-about-initial-steam-rejection-and-how-they-got-the-game-approved-for-launch-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sweet Hamster Days developers talk about\u00a0initial\u00a0Steam rejection and how they got the game approved for launch again\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part two of our interview with the developers of Sweet Hamster Days at Kodansha Game Lab and FRIDAY magazine.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/sweet-hamster-days-developers-talk-about-initial-steam-rejection-and-how-they-got-the-game-approved-for-launch-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-18T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260717-69761-001-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1527\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"859\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sweet Hamster Days developers talk about\u00a0initial\u00a0Steam rejection and how they got the game approved for launch again\u00a0 - 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