Developer CyberConnect2 is perhaps best known for its anime arena brawlers based on franchises like Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, and Naruto, but since 2021 it's also been pursuing an original project: a series of tactical RPGs about anthropomorphic animals who also happen to be child soldiers. Three entries later, Fuga: Melodies of Steel has crossed 500,000 units sold, and CyberConnect2's boss says furries are a big part of the reason why.
"When it comes to furry games, there actually aren’t that many options out there," Hiroshi Matsuyama, who serves as CEO and head of production at CyberConnect2, tells Automaton. "That’s part of why our Fuga series has seen such a strong response in the US and gained recognition both for its setting and its gameplay."
The devs are "well aware" of the way Fuga has been embraced by furries, and so they've "made it a point to participate in furry and anthro-related conventions in the US, such as Anthrocon, which draws over 9,000 visitors every year. These kinds of activities are a clear-cut part of our strategy for growing Fuga’s fanbase."
Fuga is actually an offshoot of a series that goes back much, much further – all the way to Tail Concerto, CyberConnect2's very first game, which Matsuyama served as a level designer on. You might think the furry folks that've been with the studio from the start might be spared the kinds of fates they can suffer in the infamously tragic Fuga series.
But Matsuyama says he just wants these furries to live in peace, after all. "It’s precisely because I want them to live in peace that they have to fight for it," he says. "That’s why they have no choice but to march through the flames of war, even if it means suffering." An inspiring message in these trying times, to be sure.
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