10 years of waiting, a new world of indie games I created myself

Night-Runners, a game created by a small Japanese indie development team called PLANET GEM.

Development began in 2018, and after being first released on YouTube in 2021, only a demo has been released on Steam.

It is one of the games that is currently attracting attention from racing game fans, boasting a high degree of completion that is comparable to that of most AAA racing games and a charm derived from the unique retro sensibility unique to the so-called millennium period.

Actually, there is a game that had a very big influence on the development of this game.

It is a game called Sudo High Battle Series made by Genki Co., Ltd. People who played racing games during the PlayStation 2 era probably know this.

However, there has been no sequel to this series since X came out on Xbox 360 in 2006.

In the end, the creators, who were fans of the Sudo High School Battle series, got tired of waiting and started development, saying that this was the right thing to do.

Anyway, the demo was released, but it was evaluated as being quite complete and received positive reviews and expectations from racing gamers.

Development was progressing smoothly, with the goal of an official release in April 2025, while receiving support from YouTubers specializing in various racing games.

However, on August 22nd, a very funny situation occurred for the production team of Night-Runners.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/v2Nw5qwnuac

Genki, the producer of the Sudo High School Battle series, has announced a new Sudo High School Battle game for the first time in 18 years (…)

Even this one is scheduled to be released in 2025, unless the release is postponed or something, so it’s a bonus that the two of them suddenly end up having a battle of souls.

Of course, racing game fans are inclined to buy both, unless there is a rare opportunity for these games to come out.

From the producer’s perspective, it must be a very strange feeling in many ways.