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On the morning of November 2, 2026, readers looking forward to C#4R4CT3R’s upcoming lo-fi psycho-thriller romance Visual Novel Rain98 were met with some sad yet understandable news as the development team announced via Discord and a Steam post that the game was no longer scheduled to release in 2026, but would rather be coming out in 2027.
Hello, everyone. This is Shoon T, director of Rain98.
We released the demo on October 17, and so many of you have already played it and shared your thoughts and feedback.
Whether you’ve been supporting us for a long time or have only just discovered Rain98, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
How Reina and this world made you feel, what you enjoyed, and where you felt confused or found something difficult to play—we are taking all of your feedback to heart as we continue development.Today, however, I also owe you an update—and an apology—regarding the full game’s release.
We have decided to postpone the release from 2026 to 2027.
We have already asked you to wait once, and now we are asking you to wait again. I am truly sorry.As I wrote in my previous message, our wish is to create a game that stays with you long after you finish playing.
However, bringing that vision to life across the entire game is taking longer than we originally anticipated.With Rain98, we want you to build a connection with Reina through the days you spend together.
We want what happens next to feel personal to you, and for the experience to stay with you long after you finish the game.We have decided that we need more time to develop and refine the game to deliver that experience.
We take responsibility for underestimating how much time this would require.We, too, want to share this story with you in its entirety as soon as we can. We are currently working toward a release in 2027.
Our next milestone is a major update to the demo, planned for early 2027, which will include additional story content.
With your feedback in mind, we hope to continue sharing our progress on Rain98 through updates you can play for yourselves as we work toward release.We will announce a firm release date when we can give you a more reliable timeline.
Through the demo, we have begun to see the world we’ve been creating becoming a personal experience for each of you.
Together with the team, I will continue developing and refining the game, piece by piece, so that we can bring you the rest of this story, all the way to its end.Director Shoon T
In more positive news, the development team also made a post in their Discord server announcing that Rain98 had officially reached 100,000 Wishlists on Steam. To celebrate this milestone, C#4R4CT3R will be creating the first ever Rain98 merchandise. More information about this will be revealed at a later date on the official C#4R4CT3R Discord server.
About Rain98
Rain98 is a lo-fi psychological suspense adventure set in Tokyo in 1998, following your days with heroine Reina Amehara, voiced by Rio Tsuchiya. After finding yourself mysteriously transported back in time, you’re met with a woman who isn’t too impressed by what your future has to offer and claims to have the power to end the world.
The game combines visual novel storytelling with mini-games, collectibles, and adventure sections where you can interact with Reina and explore the city. With an intent to reflect emotion in every scene, an emphasis on visual design, animation, immersive audio, and a lo-fi soundtrack draw you into a world steeped in a lingering sense of unease.
Key Features:
- Sharing an Apartment with Reina: Spend time together in a nostalgic 1998 Tokyo apartment and draw closer to the secrets she’s hiding.
- Ending the World is a Costly Affair: Earn money doing odd jobs at home to support your living expenses – and if you earn enough, your days with Reina might get even more fun!
- Walking Through 1998 Shibuya: Head out into the rainy metropolis with Reina. Explore the Shibuya of the past, steeped in the unique retro atmosphere of the turn of the millennium.
- Shadows Creeping over Beautiful Days: Blurry blue lights and lo-fi music layered over the sound of rain offer a special kind of comfort, but Reina’s secrets quietly cast a shadow over that simple, cozy life.
Rain98 is currently scheduled to release in 2027 on Steam.
