Game Developer in the World of Anime

Spending the Spring Festival in Ichin's hometown wasn't something that made Utaha nervous anymore—after all, she had already experienced it once before.

Her parents had also joined them on the previous trip. This time, although they met some of Ichin's relatives again, everyone got along quite well.

Of course, there were some differences compared to before.

This year's New Year's Eve dinner was held at home rather than going out to dine with other relatives. Still, during the New Year, Ichin's parents hosted a celebratory banquet for their children's university admissions.

Even though the college entrance exam wasn't officially over yet, Ichin had already secured his admission to the University of Tokyo early. Since Utaha was also there, they decided to celebrate both of them together and invited a good number of guests.

With that, some relatives who hadn't yet met Utaha were introduced to her. Upon learning that not only were the two in a relationship but had both been accepted into Todai, those with school-aged children couldn't help but show envy.

Can you blame them? Handsome, smart since childhood, accepted into a top university, and already with a girlfriend—it's hard not to admire that, no matter who you are.

After making the rounds with the relatives and enjoying a few relaxing days at home, Ichin and Utaha finally boarded a plane, leaving Shanghai for Tokyo.

A smooth two-hour flight later, their plane landed safely.

After collecting their luggage and exiting the airport, they got into the car parked in the airport lot. As she fastened her seatbelt, Utaha turned to Ichin and asked, "Ichin, there's not much left for us to do in high school now. Basically, we're just waiting for the graduation ceremony. Are you still planning to go to school every day?"

"I'll think about it. Probably not every day."

Ichin turned the steering wheel as he replied, "It's time to start thinking about college stuff. As for high school, all that's left is the graduation photo and the ceremony. I wonder which universities the rest of our classmates are heading to."

Having spent two years at Toyogasaki, Ichin had a decent relationship with his classmates and was genuinely curious about their futures. Everyone had been working hard before the National Center Test, and from both a personal and empathetic standpoint, he hoped they'd all do well.

"They should all do pretty well," Utaha said thoughtfully. "Our class already had strong grades. As long as they don't aim unrealistically high, they should get into the collages they want. It's only early February, and while we're taking it easy, the others still have entrance exams and interviews ahead. Some of them will be quite busy."

In other words, while Ichin and Utaha could relax now, the rest of their classmates still had at least another month and a half of intense preparation.

When they got home, it wasn't even lunchtime yet—thanks to getting up early for the flight. Still a bit tired, the two didn't feel like cooking or going out, so they ordered takeout and invited Utaha's mother from next door to join them.

After lunch, they took a nap, freshened up, and then headed to the company.

When they arrived, the office was already bustling with energy. At first, no one noticed Ichin had walked in.

It was Hazuki—who had been in the middle of discussing something with Yagami Kou—who looked up and saw Ichin and Utaha already standing right in front of them.

"Oh! You two are finally back. Have fun?"

The rest of the team came over to greet them as well.

"It was good—very relaxing."

Ichin told Utaha she could do her own thing, then gathered Hazuki, Umiko, Yagami Kou, and Toyama Rin and headed into his office.

"I've been gone for a week. How's everyone doing?"

Hazuki grinned. "Worried about that? Sure, things were a little more laid-back than usual, but no work was left undone. With the kind of benefits we offer here, no one's slacking off. You won't find another workplace this good so easily."

"True that," Umiko added. "You remember my friend—the one who works in anti-cheat development for games? Her company's not bad, but the workload is heavy. She's working overtime at least three days a week. Their benefits are average at best—definitely nothing like the snacks and afternoon tea we've got here. By the way, if we eventually move into online multiplayer games, do you think I could bring her in? Maybe even have her bring a few people and form a dedicated team?"

"That's definitely doable."

Umiko's friend was a woman around the same age as her. Whether it's Titanfall, Apex Legends, Fall Guys, or the Souls series, any future online titles would need serious anti-cheat measures. Building a dedicated team for that would be necessary.

And if someone reliable could bring in trusted teammates? Even better.

Looking to Umiko, Ichin said, "Then, Umiko, find a time to meet up with her and talk about our plan to form a team. See if she's interested. If she is, ask if she knows anyone else reliable and skilled—we're open to recommendations. As for salary and benefits, that's easy to negotiate."

"Got it. I'll arrange something this week. She's been wanting a change of environment anyway."

After that, Ichin turned to Hazuki.

"Hazuki, how's the deal with Xbox going?"

"Pretty much finalized. Porting Hollow Knight and Slay the Spire to Xbox is simple—barely needs any optimization. They can run directly. The main issue is joining the Game Pass subscription. We haven't finalized the terms there yet, probably need another round or two of negotiations. As for Persona, Ichin, are we going to launch it on Xbox even though we won't have English voiceovers ready at release?"

"We're still looking for voice actors and haven't found the right ones yet, so the English dub will be delayed," Ichin nodded. "But that's not a big deal. We'll still include English subtitles, and with Japanese voice acting available, it'll be enough for launch. We can just state in our announcement that English voiceovers will be added later. Umiko, the Xbox version of Persona runs fine, right?"

"No issues," Umiko confirmed. "I did some testing yesterday. It can run at a stable 4K60."

Satisfied, Ichin snapped his fingers. "Okay, let's add Xbox as a platform. But let's wait a bit—no rush. Maybe announce it six months after launch."

The game's pre-orders had been open for quite some time. Ichin didn't want to drop a sudden announcement about joining Game Pass.

While Xbox Game Pass would bring in some fees from Microsoft, the main revenue still came from game sales.

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