Famous for Fate/Extra and Fate/Extra CCC, along with many other titles, the company known as Imageepoch finds its management subject to many unpleasant rumors, leaving the business world uncertain about it and its future.

The company was established in 2004. Some of their works include Saigo no Yakusoku no Monogatari, development of Toki Towa, Black Rock Shooter THE GAME, adaptations of Alice Soft’s masterpieces such as Tournament of the Gods (Toushin Toshi), and more. A representative of the company, Mikage Yoshie-san, held a conference in 2009, known as CEDEC, for Japan’s best game developers. She gave lecture at that conference, during which she said the company’s stock would be listed. In 2010, they declared their intention to continue making “interesting JRPGs”, which became known as the “JRPG proclamation”, attracting attention from many people.

However, in 2013, a portion of the company’s bills were left unpaid, resulting in administrative litigation. The company’s stock is unlisted, so people are left to speculate about what is occurring. Despite this troubling state of affairs, on 23 October, 2014, the weekly release of Famitsu said that Imageepoch was in the middle of developing their tenth-anniversary title, Stella Glow. People were gladdened by this good news, and expectations began to rise.

Starting from January of this year, more things have begun to stir. A site detailing changes of jobs show that a former employee stated, “In 2014, two internal development lines in the company were merged into one”, “talented people within the company were quickly changing jobs”, and “the company’s ability to develop is quickly declining”. Regardless of whether the information was accurate, it spread around the web. At the same time, a rumor spread within the industry that Imageepoch had begun to quickly settle its accounts.

In order to evaluate the rumor’s authenticity, requests for interviews with company representatives were made, to no avail. At the same time, according to a real estate site, the building where the company was located began to look for new tenants. This has been confirmed. Perhaps the company is moving to another location; however, if they are moving, they would probably be making preparations to leave. A visit to the company’s premises reveals that Imageepoch’s name is still on the door, and there is no evidence that preparations for a move had begun. The door was shut, and notices of failure of package delivery were stuck in the door.

When thinking of the possible demise of the company, it is worth considering that the company website has not been renewed. The company’s registration does not specify any change of address. People within the industry now think the demise of the company is a matter of time. Their tenth anniversary project, Stella Glow (featured above), is highly anticipated by players. It seems a waste for it to remain shelved forever.

Representative Mikage seems to know much of these troubles, and she may not be able to bring Stella Glow to market.

[Editor’s note: the above is a loose translation of an article on Otapol.]