{"id":30992,"date":"2026-04-05T19:13:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T19:13:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=30992"},"modified":"2026-04-05T19:13:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T19:13:03","slug":"shibuya-scramble-successor-encounters-doubt-amid-crowdfunding-fiscal-mismanagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=30992","title":{"rendered":"Shibuya Scramble Successor Encounters Doubt Amid Crowdfunding Fiscal Mismanagement"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shibuya-scramble-successor-encounters-doubt-amid-crowdfunding-fiscal-mismanagement.jpg\"><\/div>\n<p>Spike Chunsoft\u2019s *428: Shibuya Scramble* became a beloved classic upon its launch in 2009. Created by Jiro Ishii, *Scramble* revolves around a kidnapping scheme set against the backdrop of one of Tokyo\u2019s most chaotic districts. Its notoriety and over-the-top appeal led to its localization in the West a decade later. Last year, Ishii revealed a follow-up, *Shibuya Scramble Stories*, on the crowdfunding site Ubgoe. It amassed a substantial 54 million yen, far exceeding its target. However, when Ishii attempted to access the funds, he encountered a bizarre situation that might be too ludicrous even for him: Ubgoe misplaced the money.<\/p>\n<p>As reported by Automaton Media, Ishii is seeking legal advice regarding some extraordinary events. Skeleton Crew Studio claims that Ubgoe has retained the funds collected through the campaign, which were set to be disbursed by September of 2025. Upon inquiry, Ubgoe only delivered half of the funds, while CEO Kazuo Okada personally conveyed that the rest would be impossible to transfer due to an error in sending the funds to the incorrect account.<\/p>\n<p>Not exactly encouraging news from a crowdfunding platform (unless you\u2019re the fortunate person whose account just received a six-figure boost)! Even less promising is that Ubgoe seemingly refuses to cover the costs or supply any records of where the money went. Ishii\u2019s team is understandably doubtful of this narrative and fears the funds may have been misappropriated in another way.<\/p>\n<p>This is not the sort of scramble Ishii intended, but his studio insists that despite the situation, the game\u2019s development remains in progress. Their greater concern lies with the extra pledge rewards promised during their campaign. The enjoyable trinkets like stickers and tote bags which, as any crowdfunding participant can attest, often turn into larger headaches than the primary project. The fine print on Ubgoe states that all these promised items are guaranteed, though it\u2019s absurd to think that this is more legally binding than the platform\u2019s own commitment to disburse the funds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/shibuya-scramble-successor-encounters-doubt-amid-crowdfunding-fiscal-mismanagement.jpg\"><\/div>\n<p>Spike Chunsoft\u2019s *428: Shibuya Scramble* became a beloved classic upon its launch in 2009. Created by Jiro Ishii, *Scramble* revolves around a kidnapping scheme set against the backdrop of one of Tokyo\u2019s most chaotic districts. Its notoriety and over-the-top appeal led to its localization in the West a decade later. Last year, Ishii revealed a follow-up, *Shibuya Scramble Stories*, on the crowdfunding site Ubgoe. It amassed a substantial 54 million yen, far exceeding its target. However, when Ishii attempted to access the funds, he encountered a bizarre situation that might be too ludicrous even for him: Ubgoe misplaced the money.<\/p>\n<p>As reported by Automaton Media, Ishii is seeking legal advice regarding some extraordinary events. Skeleton Crew Studio claims that Ubgoe has retained the funds collected through the campaign, which were set to be disbursed by September of 2025. Upon inquiry, Ubgoe only delivered half of the funds, while CEO Kazuo Okada personally conveyed that the rest would be impossible to transfer due to an error in sending the funds to the incorrect account.<\/p>\n<p>Not exactly encouraging news from a crowdfunding platform (unless you\u2019re the fortunate person whose account just received a six-figure boost)! Even less promising is that Ubgoe seemingly refuses to cover the costs or supply any records of where the money went. Ishii\u2019s team is understandably doubtful of this narrative and fears the funds may have been misappropriated in another way.<\/p>\n<p>This is not the sort of scramble Ishii intended, but his studio insists that despite the situation, the game\u2019s development remains in progress. Their greater concern lies with the extra pledge rewards promised during their campaign. The enjoyable trinkets like stickers and tote bags which, as any crowdfunding participant can attest, often turn into larger headaches than the primary project. The fine print on Ubgoe states that all these promised items are guaranteed, though it\u2019s absurd to think that this is more legally binding than the platform\u2019s own commitment to disburse the funds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30993,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}