Sekai Project Lays Off Staff, Announces Restructuring

Some unfortunate news coming out of Sekai Project this hour. After several now former employees announced they have been let go on social media, the company has released a statement confirming they’ve released most (if not all) of their marketing staff including Project Manager and developer of Highway Blossoms Josh Kaplan and Brand Manager Frances Delgado. There are also continuing reports that the office staff of their Los Angeles headquarters were also let go today.  The company notes that the teams responsible for their ongoing projects are still intact and that they will soon be undergoing a restructuring, so it will remain to be seen what changes at one of the leading publishers of visual novels in the West.

Here’s a piece of the statement from the current CEO, Christopher Ling:

Today, as many of you may have heard, we have had to make a very difficult decision in laying off many of our employees, co-workers, and friends from Sekai Project. The decision was difficult and we are sure it will impact many of them in the days to come and we wish them the best in their future endeavors.

Regarding the Status and Future of Sekai Project

Most of the staff that was let go over the course of the year was in marketing, whereas translation, programming, editing and QC are still diligently working on current and future projects. In the coming days, the company will be going through a restructure so we can be more nimble, focused, proactive and more like the company we were when we first started.

Regarding the Status of Current Projects

Many of you are likely concerned about the status of our projects, including our crowdfunding campaigns but we want to reassure you that they will continue although there may be more delays coming as we try to streamline our processes.

I encourage everyone to read the full statement here. At this time, I have not reached out for Sekai Project…mostly because the person I would reach out to for comment has been let go. I’ll analyze what I can about Sekai Project’s current situation in due time. For now, VNs Now wishes nothing but the best for everyone laid off today by Sekai Project. JP3: OUT.