- Interview location: Anime Expo 2026
- Interview format: In person, one on one
Anime Herald: What have you been working on for the past year?
Taichi Miyazaki: The most important news from last year is that in February we celebrated our thirtieth anniversary and with it we announced our next big project”.hack//ZERO“On top of that, thanks to the support of fans, especially in Japan, we reached the number 1 trend on Twitter. We were also featured in a couple of Yahoo! News articles, for which we are very grateful.
Anime Herald: I remember that moment very well, because it was a big surprise.
Taichi Miyazaki: when it comes to .hack//ZEROobviously there was a lot of work before we made the announcement. An entire year was dedicated to this. When we made the announcement, what caught everyone’s attention the most was that we were going to be the publisher. Previously, the .cut The series has been published by Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. (BNE). The fact that we were self-publishing created a lot of buzz.
Anime Herald: What was behind the decision to self-publish? .hack//ZERO?
Taichi Miyazaki: When it comes to self-publishing .hack//ZEROThis goes back to our twenty-fifth anniversary. That’s when we came up with the idea to challenge ourselves and publish one of our own games. that game was Fugue: Melodies of Steel. It went on to become a trilogy. It did very well, with more than 550,000 downloads. With the success of self-publishing Fugue: Melodies of Steeldecided for our thirtieth anniversary, we would take on a new and greater challenge, with one of our most important original titles, the .cut series. As a series and title that we hold dear, we felt it was appropriate to take on the challenge of self-publishing with this series. We went and negotiated with Bandai Namco about the rights and were able to get their permission to go ahead and publish it ourselves.
Anime Herald: Fascinating. I didn’t realize you needed to ask their permission.
Taichi Miyazaki: Oh yes, of course. When asking the BNE, although it is true that we have some of the rights over the .cut franchise, a large majority of these rights belong to the BNE. That is why it is necessary to ask, discuss and negotiate with them. As it was, this being our 30th anniversary, we really wanted to challenge ourselves and wanted to continue with .hack. We were able to successfully convince them and get it granted to us. We were able to get their permission to self-publish. By doing so, we received very warm support from them. A pat on the back.
Anime Herald: It’s funny. The first thing I noticed about their 30th anniversary were the new business cards. Apparently that wasn’t all he had in store. Now let me ask you about some other properties. Tokyo Ogre Street and cecilia.
Taichi Miyazaki: When it comes to Tokyo Ogre Streetdevelopment was able to create a simulation. However, when it got to that stage we realized it could be better. Could be more CyberConnect2. At that point we decided to go back to the drawing board.
Anime Herald: That was all true last year. Has anything changed over the last year?
Taichi Miyazaki: That’s right. In terms of updates on where we are Tokyo Ogre Streetthe answer remains the same as last year. We’re still back at the drawing board with no concrete answer yet.
when it comes to Tokyo Ogre StreetAn action game was created. It was already done. However, it lacked this factor called “Kerenmi”. It’s a strange phrase. It means the only thing that only we can do. The essence of CyberConnect2. when it came to Tokyo Ogre Streetit was missing that special something that would make it a CyberConnect2 game.
Anime Herald: Could you describe that? Tokyo Ogre Street make fun of “generic”?
Taichi Miyazaki: That would be a good way to describe it. Generic. Typical. Normal. But that is not enough. We want to make something that people will play and say, “This is a game that could only have been made because CyberConnect2 was making it.” We still have to find that something special for Tokyo Ogre Street.
Anime Herald: Last year you said “Game development is a series of inventions..” Apparently we are still waiting for that invention to Tokyo Ogre Street.
Taichi Miyazaki: Yes, that is the case. We are still waiting for that invention that will set us on our way. It has been a long and difficult road and we are still searching.
Anime Herald: Okay, now let’s talk about Cecilia.
Taichi Miyazaki: cecilia It’s the same way. We are waiting for “Kerenmi” to come into effect. Currently it lacks it. Things are being reorganized and we are back to the planning stage. We’re still looking for that unique CyberConnect2 feel.
Anime Herald: Let’s talk about your next panel.
Taichi Miyazaki: We talked a little about this at the GDC (Game Developers Conference). The panel is an opportunity to speak directly to our fans in the United States, which will be the first time for us since we announced the new .cut game.
Anime Herald: Sounds like .cut It is very important for CyberConnect2.
Taichi Miyazaki: When it comes to our games, it’s not just about .cut. There is not a single match that we consider not important to us. But, when it comes to .hack, which last updated the franchise in 2017 with .hack//Last GU Recode. Almost ten years have passed since then. Coming back here after so long to be able to talk about .cutIt fills us with a feeling of excitement and motivation.
Anime Herald: You’ve been working on this. .cut updated since its twenty-fifth anniversary. This is a great occasion.
Taichi Miyazaki: Yes, it is a very exciting time for us. Especially because this year we have surpassed three hundred employees as a company. When it comes to the type of people who join CyberConnect2, there are two big patterns. The first is the type of person who watches major IP games, such as naruto, jojo, Dragon Ball Z, demon slayer. They see the quality and the full 3DCG it’s rendered in and they want to do something like that on their own.
The second type of person has played our original games, largely .cut. They played the original titles we created. That inspired them to apply and join us. They want to create and be part of these original projects. For personnel like them, the announcement of “hack//ZERO It was exciting news that they didn’t know about. It is something that has filled them with motivation.
Anime Herald: Are there any other topics you would like to discuss?
Taichi Miyazaki: One thing I would like to talk about. The panel will focus on .hack//ZERObut we are celebrating thirty years of CyberConnect2. Our focus now will be on the next ten years, where we will continue to challenge ourselves. That includes desktop publishing, but also the work of a developer. I hope people are looking forward to that.
Anime Herald: That leads perfectly into the classic meme.
Play a bad game? You’re fired.
Make a good game? Dismissed.
Make an incredibly successful game? Believe it or not, also fired.
This comes after many successful studios closed after creating popular games. Do you have any thoughts on the industry?
Taichi Miyazaki: Yes of course. I have many ideas on the matter. Every time I see news about this, it is shocking and unthinkable because in Japan it is very difficult to imagine something like this happening. For CyberConnect2, and particularly as a company, our identity, the things we want to do, the things we want to do, are consistent at the high levels of the company and in our newly hired staff, because to begin with, we only hire people who want to create the same things that we want to create. So, for better or worse, regardless of how a game turns out, regardless of how successful it is, if it’s not successful, the responsibility falls on the entire company. It is our responsibility as an entire organization to come together and think about what we could have done better and what can be done next time.
Everything we create, as a company, is something we do together as a team. When it comes to how study abroad is treated, with mass layoffs, it seems a little boring.
On a broader scale, when games are created, it’s usually by executive decision, right? So wouldn’t it be the executives’ responsibility if a game doesn’t perform well?
Anime Herald: I’m going to respond to that by saying, “Of course, but isn’t it an executive’s job to delegate failure to someone who could be fired?”
Taichi Miyazaki: When it comes down to it, there seems to be a big cultural difference between the United States and Japan. When we hire people, it is never with the expectation that we will eventually have to fire them. Rather, the expectation is that during their time with us they will grow and we will grow together as an organization.
In addition to cultural differences, it is logistically difficult in Japan to fire people. On the very rare occasions when we want someone to leave the company, the most common reason is that the person wants to go in a different direction from the company, or does not respect their co-workers. In that case, layoffs do occur, but these cases are very rare.
Anime Herald: Is there anything else you would like to discuss?
Taichi Miyazaki: We are happy to see you again this year. As a small developer in Japan, we will continue to do our best to create new and fun games to reach even one more player and make one more fan. We hope everyone continues to support us along the way.
Anime Herald: Thank you.
Taichi Miyazaki: Thank you so much.