Kotaro Uchikoshi recently sat down for an interview with Famitsu on October 26, discussing the recent Crash Keys ARG and his plans for the future.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the story about Uchikoshi's most recent project getting cancelled was absolutely true. After founding Crash Keys with The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy writer Akira Takashi and game designer Muri Sasaki (Zero Time Dilemma, AI: The Somnium Files) in March 2025, work had proceeded on the title for about a year before the decision was made. This included many assets and an almost completed scenario.
Uchikoshi was coy about whether or not this was a new entry in the Zero Escape series. He describes the project as one that would make fans "have a nosebleed and go crazy for three days," but offered scant few details. Feigned ignorance continued when asked about the cryptic hints embedded in the Crash Keys website.
"I don't know about that. I don't even know how to fix it," he remarked.
Even though Uchikoshi already clarified his relationship with Tookyo Games founder Kazutaka Kodaka on X, he offers more details here. He apparently remains an employee of the company while working on Crash Keys and hopes to continue collaborating in the future. One of the reasons why he decided to branch out was because of independence, describing Kodaka as an "older brother" who makes you self conscious because of how perfect and talented he is.
Finally, Uchikoshi feels a considerable amount of pressure from independent creators in the adventure game space due to the proliferation of AI. He feels that the technology allows smaller teams to work more efficiently in a way that wasn't possible before, even going as far to call himself an adherent. Just how this will affect his future output remains to be seen.
