{"id":72436,"date":"2026-09-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=72436"},"modified":"2026-09-14T18:49:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T09:49:45","slug":"magical-girl-witch-trials-development-was-a-constant-cycle-of-self-doubt-producer-talks-about-how-a-group-of-writers-made-its-first-ever-in-house-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/magical-girl-witch-trials-development-was-a-constant-cycle-of-self-doubt-producer-talks-about-how-a-group-of-writers-made-its-first-ever-in-house-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Magical Girl Witch Trials development was a \u201cconstant cycle of self-doubt.\u201d Producer talks about how a group of writers made its first ever in-house game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japanese game studio Re;AER and their creative brand Acacia released the hit mystery visual novel <strong>Magical Girl Witch Trials<\/strong> in July 2025, to overwhelmingly positive reception. One year later, and the game has <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/magical-girl-witch-trials-sells-over-700k-units-on-steam-and-nintendo-switch-ahead-of-global-launch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sold over 700,000 units across Steam and Nintendo Switch<\/a> only in Japan and China, with <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/magical-girl-witch-trials-english-spanish-and-french-translations-complete-developers-ask-for-more-patience-as-small-team-handles-final-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">English, Spanish and French localizations just around the corner.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the wake of the title\u2019s huge success, Japanese media outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/dengekionline.com\/article\/202609\/84553\">Dengeki Online<\/a> interviewed Toshiyuki Hata, the producer of Magical Girl Witch Trials and CEO of Re;AER.<\/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=\"\u300e\u9b54\u6cd5\u5c11\u5973\u30ce\u9b54\u5973\u88c1\u5224\u300f\u30aa\u30fc\u30d7\u30cb\u30f3\u30b0\u30e0\u30fc\u30d3\u30fc\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w2HuQ95Huxw?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\">Starting as a scenario production company, Re;AER was founded by Hata alongside other fellow writers, and it mostly handled contract work for other game productions. However, Hata explains that he and his team still \u201chad the desire to create stories we truly wanted to tell, using our own capital,\u201d which is how their first ever original work, Magical Girl Witch Trials, came to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Hata, \u201calways sticking to the concept\u201d is one thing Re;AER is always paying attention to when creating its games. Throughout the development process, the team constantly makes sure all of the game\u2019s elements are \u201cconnected to the emotions that can only be experienced throughout that particular work.\u201d In the case of Magical Girl Witch Trials, the motto for the overall tone was \u201cas terrible as beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWithout making it a kind of horror that relies simply on cruelty, we were committed to achieving the feel of something quiet, beautiful, and ultimately spellbinding,\u201d Hata explains. The team\u2019s commitment to the concept even extends to the way CGs were made. Apparently, each of them were created and picked for the game on the basis of whether they offer a visually unique perspective that can\u2019t be seen in other CGs, and the creators specifically avoided \u201csafe\u201d CGs that \u201conly serve to highlight a character\u201d without bringing anything else to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"787\" height=\"434\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 787px) 100vw, 787px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260302-61434-header.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260302-61434-header.jpg 787w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260302-61434-header-380x210.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260302-61434-header-768x424.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, Hata says developing Magical Girl Witch Trials wasn\u2019t easy, especially considering that it would be the first time Re;AER was fully involved in making an original game project. \u201cMaking the in-house project, the true test for us was how far we could take something that we genuinely found interesting,\u201d Hata notes, explaining that the creative process behind the game was \u201ca constant cycle of self-doubt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, thanks to the constant process of questioning their own ideas and solutions, adjusting and reworking them, the end product ended up being much bigger in volume than the developers had expected, with around 30 hours of gameplay and full voice acting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Localization Update<br><br>Greetings, co-conspirators.<br>Today, we bring you the latest update for the official English, Spanish, and French localizations of Magical Girl Witch Trials that are currently underway.<br><br>First, the good news:<br>Aside from some editing work, the translation of the\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/g1WjajaqUw\">pic.twitter.com\/g1WjajaqUw<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Acacia_west (@Acacia_X_Global) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Acacia_X_Global\/status\/2098245815152328985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 11, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When it comes to the game\u2019s future, Hata says that Magical Girl Witch Trials won\u2019t be slowing down anytime soon. As a team that focuses on making original works, Acacia will aim to expand its means of storytelling to media forms other than video games. According to Hata, they have already started working on preparing their next project for the series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other than that, Acacia is also planning new games, including Magical Girl Taboo Village and The Streamer&#8217;s Alt Account Labyrinth, both slated to release in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Magical Girl Witch Trials is available for PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3101040\/Magical_Girl_Witch_Trials\/?utm_source=automaton-media.com_en&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=article-72334\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steam<\/a>) and Nintendo Switch systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Magical Girl Witch Trials has seen overwhelming success since its release in 2025, selling over 700,000 units. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":72444,"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":"2026-09-14T15:00:12+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mvieshv7xi2g","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mvieshv7xi2g\",\"cid\":\"bafyreicuadlambuh73wox3yskfblnrgcnhdcunodergfh2wskcesr5nnsq\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreidnomtx2sfwpalsvknf6i4n5ygtl4qvokwdc3jqwiqhl4x46c6ssi\",\"rev\":\"3mvieshvfsy2g\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-72436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - 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