In a livestream event for Gakuen The Idolmaster, Hidefumi Komino announced that he will be stepping down as the game’s main producer. While Komino will still be involved with the game in some form, he will no longer have a say in its development.
Komino has been a producer at Bandai Namco Entertainment since 2008. He primarily produced other Idolmaster games, such as IDOLMASTER Million Live. The reason for his departure is currently unknown. Daichi Satō and Ryō Yamamoto, the game’s assistant producers, will now jointly serve as the main producers for Gakuen The Idolmaster.
Gakuen The Idolmaster first launched on May 16, 2024 for Android and iOS in Japan. The game focuses on the setting of Hatsuboshi Gakuen, or Hatsuboshi Academy, and the unique idol candidates that attend the training school. The player takes on the role of a student at the school’s producer department.
Bandai Namco Amusement recently announced the new The Idolmaster Tours game will start rolling out in arcades in Japan on March 26. The Idolmaster Tours will be the first non-pachinko arcade game in the franchise since the first The Idolmaster game in 2005.
Bandai Namco Entertainment also announced a new The Idolmaster: Million Live original video animation (OVA) is currently in the works. Shinya Watada, the director of the anime series, returns to direct the new episode at Shirogumi with Yoichi Kato as the script writer.
The Idolmaster Million Live TV anime series premiered on October 8, 2023, and the anime aired on TV Tokyo, BS11, BS NTV, and other affiliate channels and networks. Alongside the aforementioned staff members, Lantis produced the music as composer. Moreover, Bandai Namco Entertainment planned and produced the anime series. Crunchyroll streams all 12 episodes of The Idolmaster Million Live with English subs.
