{"rewrite":{"id":"r_6b64b1f8a26be42f3cc6d17e","clusterId":"c_96e9cf46d0e1719f9861caf8","slug":"kotaro-uchikoshi-opens-up-on-crash-keys-and-the-project-that-fell-through","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"Kotaro Uchikoshi Opens Up on CRASH KEYS and the Project That Fell Through","summary":"Kotaro Uchikoshi, the writer behind the ZERO ESCAPE and AI: The Somnium Files series, established CRASH KEYS in March 2025 while still at Kazutaka Kodaka's Too Kyo Games, intending to reveal the company alongside a new title in 2027. That project was cancelled, the expected money fell to zero, and he announced the studio early on October 15, 2026. He says he spent three days and nights in bed after the cancellation.","whyItMatters":"The interview lays out the practical reason the studio went public ahead of schedule: with the cancelled project's funding gone, Uchikoshi is now openly soliciting work and investment for CRASH KEYS.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe company was already registered when the project collapsed. Uchikoshi says the announcement was pulled forward because the money expected a few months later dropped to zero, and he needed a public way to seek work and funding.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe remains at Too Kyo Games, the studio headed by Kazutaka Kodaka, and describes the motivation for a separate company plainly: outside clients who want to work with him tended to approach through Too Kyo\u0026#39;s name, which is associated with Kodaka. CRASH KEYS is named after an organization in the ZERO ESCAPE series, and its tagline about a door that only a broken key opens is meant to signal work outside conventional methods.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Kotaro Uchikoshi founded CRASH KEYS in March 2025 while still at Too Kyo Games, then lost the title that was meant to launch it. The studio went public without the work it was built to carry.","twitterPost":"Kotaro Uchikoshi set up CRASH KEYS in March 2025, but the game meant to launch it was cancelled. The studio debuted without its flagship.","threadsPost":"Kotaro Uchikoshi registered CRASH KEYS in March 2025 while still at Kazutaka Kodaka's Too Kyo Games, planning to reveal it with a new title in 2027. That title was cancelled, and he announced the studio on October 15, 2026 without it.","newsletterBlurb":"Kotaro Uchikoshi has explained why CRASH KEYS, the company he registered in March 2025, was announced on October 15 instead of alongside a new game in 2027: the project was cancelled and the funding he expected disappeared. He remains at Too Kyo Games and says the new company exists so clients who want to work with him specifically have a place to bring it.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Game Spark\",\"url\":\"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/26/174088.html\",\"title\":\"「天才たちのまぶしさで目がやられた」-打越鋼太郎氏が明かす新会社「CRASH KEYS」設立の真意。新作中止の苦境と今後の挑戦【インタビュー】\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":6153,"outputTokens":668,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1793006380,"createdAt":"2026-10-26T09:15:23.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-26T09:18:35.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T09:18:35.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_96e9cf46d0e1719f9861caf8","canonicalTitle":"「天才たちのまぶしさで目がやられた」―打越鋼太郎氏が明かす新会社「CRASH KEYS」設立の真意。新作中止の苦境と今後の挑戦【インタビュー】","representativeArticleId":"a_58741fb227b7ba52cd47e29d","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[\"CRASH KEYS\"],\"people\":[\"Kotaro Uchikoshi\",\"Kazutaka Kodaka\"],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-26T08:30:03.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-26T08:30:03.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T09:18:34.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Game Spark","url":"http://www.gamespark.jp/article/2026/10/26/174088.html","title":"「天才たちのまぶしさで目がやられた」―打越鋼太郎氏が明かす新会社「CRASH KEYS」設立の真意。新作中止の苦境と今後の挑戦【インタビュー】"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":["CRASH KEYS"],"people":["Kotaro Uchikoshi","Kazutaka Kodaka"],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null,"pageLinks":{"healthSlugs":["crash-keys","kotaro-uchikoshi","kazutaka-kodaka"],"storySlugs":[],"entities":[{"slug":"crash-keys","supported":0,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":5,"overall":"unverified","story_count":3,"has_dossier":true},{"slug":"kotaro-uchikoshi","supported":0,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":7,"overall":"unverified","story_count":4,"has_dossier":true},{"slug":"kazutaka-kodaka","supported":0,"disputed":0,"contradicted":0,"unverified":2,"overall":"unverified","story_count":6,"has_dossier":true}],"stories":[],"entitiesOk":true,"storiesOk":true}}