The concept of a virtual romantic partner has been around for several years. In 1994, Ken Akamatsu explored this idea in his “AI Love You” series, right at the height of the rise of personal computers. Years later, in 2018, the Japanese adult games brand Illusion launched “VR Kanojo,” a virtual reality girlfriend simulator. Although Illusion closed its operations last year, part of the team that worked on “VR Kanojo” came together again to create a new company called Illumination (no relation to the American animation studio).
This company now promises to evolve the VR Kanojo concept for the new generation of VR with a game under a slightly modified name: “VR-Kanojo (VR-na Kanojo or VRな彼女)”.
On June 27, the official Illumination Twitter account announced the new game, which will be available on the SteamVR platform and is planned for winter 2024. In the game, players will once again “date” a girl named Sakura Yuhi. Since the initial announcement, not many additional details have been revealed about the game or its exact release date, but on August 29, the company revealed that it would be launching a crowdfunding campaign on the Campfire platform starting September 2.
As of writing, the funding campaign already has 443 backers and has surpassed its initial goal of two million yen, accumulating more than 12.3 million yen. This means that all the initially planned additional objectives have been achieved, and a new objective has been added: a maid outfit and an omelet rice event, if the campaign manages to reach 750% of its initial goal. There are still several options available for those who wish to support the project.
The crowdfunding campaign included a brief preview of the game, where, although not many gameplay elements are shown, you can hear the voice of Sakura Yuhi, the virtual protagonist of the game.
Fountain: Official Site
