My love for 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors is so great that not even a disappointing follow-up could keep me from wanting a third game in the Zero Escape series. Virtue’s Last Reward felt like all the worst parts of 999 with even more obtuse garbage, but it was just crazy enough to keep my interest in the franchise.
So it genuinely saddens me to report that Zero Escape 3 might not happen, according to franchise director Kotaro Uchikoshi.
Recently, Uchikoshi created a Twitter account for the purpose of communicating with his English-speaking fans. His first tweets were on the topic of Zero Escape 3, and were less than positive.
A lot of budget is needed to make ZE series. We have to persuade the managers in order to obtain it.
— Kotaro Uchikoshi Eng (@Uchikoshi_Eng) February 13, 2014
The managers know that ZE series is especially valued by many users outside Japan.
— Kotaro Uchikoshi Eng (@Uchikoshi_Eng) February 13, 2014
But, “in Japan”, 999 and VLR are in the red. They are not selling more than people think.
— Kotaro Uchikoshi Eng (@Uchikoshi_Eng) February 13, 2014
After these posts, numerous users took to social media in the hopes of convincing Uchikoshi to make Zero Escape 3. He’s currently looking into a Kickstarter or Indiegogo for alternative funding.
If the Zero Escape games are as popular overseas as Uchikoshi claims, there’s a good chance they’ll get to end the story of Zero. We’ll post an update if anything changes regarding this story.
