YouTuber "Senior Knight Naruni," known for his game analysis and story commentary videos, has released a video discussing the behind-the-scenes details, the truth, and future plans for the action game *The Abyss of Vows*, which is currently in development after raising over 50 million yen through crowdfunding.
What happened during those six years of development…
Naruni, who wrote the scenario for *The Abyss of Vows*, raised approximately 50.85 million yen through a 2023 crowdfunding campaign, but the development team left the project at the end of 2025.An external investigation revealed a shocking reality: after four years of development, the portion of the game that actually worked was “0–1%, or at best 3%.”
In this video, Naruni-san discussed the details of the development process. He met his former director (nicknamed “Goburo-san”), who was his development partner, while he was active as a YouTuber. He explained that the project began when Goburo-san invited him to “make a game together,” and the project started with Naruni-san handling the scenario and promotion, while Goburo-san took charge of development and personnel.
However, Naruni reflects that he “made several fatal mistakes.”He lists these mistakes as: “starting development without establishing a clear hierarchy”; “believing that a hierarchy wasn’t necessary among teammates and therefore failing to draw up a proper contract”; “having an agreement on compensation but no provisions regarding deadlines or what to do in case of failure”; “failing to update the contract even after the crowdfunding campaign”; and “relying solely on verbal agreements even after receiving everyone’s money.”
In the early stages of development, Naruni would throw out ideas like “Let’s implement the heroine’s poop time,” throwing the development into chaos and leading to complaints that “development isn’t progressing because of Naruni.” Ultimately, they agreed to “not interfere with each other’s work,” and he left the game development entirely in the hands of his team.
The Shocking Contents of the Development Data: “Nothing but a Pot and Water”
However, even after a year, nothing functional was delivered, and whenever progress was requested, the response was consistently, “It’s just mundane work, so there’s no point in showing it.” Furthermore, and even more puzzlingly, direct contact with the programmer became completely impossible.I was told, “Naru is the type who has social anxiety and tends to rub people the wrong way,” leading to a situation where even the programmer’s existence was called into question.
Ultimately, we had the former director step down, and upon analyzing the remaining development data, we found that—contrary to the claim that “60 percent was complete”—the reality was “about three weeks’ worth of work” and “code at a student level.” Naru-nii described it as follows: “To use a pot as an analogy, when I opened the lid, there was nothing inside but the pot and water.The broth was there, but there were no ingredients.”
When asked why he hadn’t verified the situation despite feeling something was off, Naruni confessed, “I didn’t want to lose either you all or my partner,” adding, “I’m the type who fears losing people more than anything else.” He explained that since confirming the truth would mean losing his partner, he chose to cling to hope and believe the best.
Development to Continue Through Corporate Partnership—Veteran Writer Also Joins
More than half a year has passed since the massive backlash, and Naruni explained the current situation. He said that after the backlash, they received numerous offers of cooperation, and after careful consideration, they decided on a policy to “find a company willing to take on development as an organization.” To avoid the risks of working on an individual basis, they have been in discussions with a game company for several months regarding production cooperation and stated that the talks are now in the “final deliberation stage.”
Additionally, it was announced that Chika Nagai, a veteran scenario writer with nearly 30 years of industry experience, will join the project as a supervising writer.Ms. Nagai has worked on titles such as *Kamikaze Night ×3*, *Machiyama: Crossroads of Destiny*, *428: Shibuya Lockdown*, *Hayarigami*, *Digimon Survive*, *Bravely Default II*, and *FF15: Episode Arden*.
Refunds to Be Processed at 50,000 Yen Per Month—“I’m So Glad You’re Here”
Regarding refunds, while noting that an immediate full refund is impossible because all development funds have been allocated to development, Naruni announced a policy whereby he will contribute 50,000 yen monthly from his personal funds to the company to refund those who request it. He stated that it “may take quite some time” to complete the refunds.
To those requesting refunds, he expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you so much for your investment,” “You’re a kind person, so you might feel guilty, but please don’t worry about it,” and “I still remember the hope you gave me. It hasn’t been wasted. I’m truly glad you were there.”
He stated that future development costs will be covered by revenue from video uploads, and that he is considering bank loans to cover any shortfalls. He also called on viewers to add Mr. Nagai’s new title, *To 666 Deliver or Die*, to their wishlists, and reiterated that *The Abyss of Vows* is scheduled for release on Steam.
In closing, Naruni-san sent words of encouragement to the former director, saying, “We went through a lot, but I’m glad you were there,” and “Keep doing your best wherever you are.” He also expressed his determination, stating, “I will absolutely never give up until we succeed,” and “I want to leave behind works that can enrich everyone’s hearts, even just a little.”
