If you are active on social media, you might have seen an ad for the mobile game Tokyo Debunker as you scroll through your Instagram or Twitter feed. Tokyo Debunker is a dark fantasy otome game developed by Zigzagame, a Japan-based game development company. The game was initially planned to release in 2019 but was eventually postponed to 2020. Ultimately, the game went into indefinite hiatus in 2020, with the developers no longer sharing game updates. However, after a year of silence, the developers suddenly became active on Twitter this month, which caused fans to speculate that the game could be making a return soon.
Tokyo Debunker first gained attention on social media, where it was promoted through ads on Instagram and the official Tokyo Debunker account was promoted on Twitter. Soon afterward, the game amassed a large fan base, as people found the game’s plot and main characters interesting. Then, on Nov. 15, 2019, the developers announced on Tokyo Debunker’s official social media accounts that the game’s release would be delayed to April 2020.
With a new release date in the works, fans were understanding about the situation and remained hopeful regarding the game’s development since the developers mentioned that they will continue sharing more updates and sneak peeks of the game in their announcement. However, this hope was cut short as the developers unexpectedly announced the indefinite hiatus of Tokyo Debunker on March 19, 2020.
Due to the circumstances surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and the proper safety measures that needed to be taken, fans understood that the game’s development would need more time. Once again, the developers told fans that they will try to keep them updated, so hope remained on the horizon for the game’s release. However, the developers suddenly went silent after their hiatus update, and Tokyo Debunker‘s social media accounts were no longer active for roughly three months. Then, on June 3, 2020, the developers broke their silence to apologize for not keeping fans updated about the game’s development status. The next day, the developers quoted their apology tweet to thank fans for their kind messages. There were no more updates following that last tweet, and the game’s social media accounts went silent for the rest of the year until December 2021.
With no warning, the Tokyo Debunker Twitter account became active again on Dec. 1, 2021, where the developers posted a vague tweet and then quickly deleted it. Before the tweet was deleted, a Tokyo Debunker fan named Jules took a screenshot of the tweet and shared it on Twitter, while also sharing an update on the game’s website.
This sparked speculation about development starting up again, where fans believed the tweet to be related to the game’s story. Next year will mark the fourth year since Tokyo Debunker was first announced. However, Tokyo Debunker’s developers have proved that the game’s delay will not be in vain. Throughout the game’s development, the developers shared information about the game, such as character height charts, individual character profiles, and sneak peeks into the game’s communication feature that allows you to talk to the characters through texting and phone calls. They also revealed voice acting cast full of familiar voices for the main male characters, with Haikyu!! voice actors Kaito Ishikawa and Soma Saito being included in the names mentioned on the game’s website.
As of now, there are no recent or known updates regarding Tokyo Debunker, but the game is still promoting ads along with its official account being promoted on Twitter. Hopefully, the developers are doing well, and fans can see the game come to fruition one day.