The gaming market for ADV/VN games (text-based adventure games/visual novels) has been decreasing over the years, with fewer companies producing high-quality titles. The once-thriving genre has seen a significant drop in popularity, with many well-known companies struggling to produce successful games. MAGES. (formerly 5pb.) is one of the few remaining prominent companies producing ADV games, but even their recent titles, such as "Anonymous Code" (2022) and "Robot Notebook DaSH" (2019), have received mixed reviews and have failed to gain significant traction. The low recommendation percentages on Steam (69% and 81%) and other review platforms are a stark reminder of the struggles the genre is facing.
The struggling industry has resort to re-releasing classic titles, such as "Ever17", "Never7", and "Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works". The Square Enix-developed "spirit vision anomaly OF23 The Seven Wonders" was produced as an "encouragement of creation of new IP" with small budget. Although the game received positive reviews, the company's involvement with the title is uncertain, indicating that the game's commercial performance may not have met Square Enix's expectations. In fact, it appears that even high-quality titles may not be able to recoup their development costs.
The situation is further complicated by the difficulties surrounding the release of new titles. While there have been some promising releases in the past, such as "The 7th Expansion" (2016) and "Spirit Vision Anomaly File 23: The Seven Wonders" (2019), they may have struggling to attract attention from potential audiences. The recent release of "Aria of Iwakura" by MAGES. did not received any reviews.
The demise of ADV/VN games may be a threat to the survival of the gaming industry, which has seen a significant decline in popularity over the years. The rise of other genres, such as JRPGs and interactive movies, has left ADV/VN games struggling to stay relevant. Unless something is done to revive the genre, it may be too late to prevent its complete disappearance.