The meeting lasted for about an hour. After going through the tests conducted by Akane Kosaka's development team, they concluded that the engine was easy to pick up, well-optimized in every aspect, and entirely capable of being used directly for the game they had planned.
With that conclusion made, Akane Kosaka stood up and extended her hand toward Ichin.
"Then, Ichin-kun, I look forward to working with you."
"Same here."
Ichin smiled as he shook her hand, and the two quickly signed an agreement.
Although the agreement was settled, there were still some modifications pending on the engine, so it was scheduled to be delivered to them within a week.
That timing worked out perfectly—it would give them enough time to get the official website up and running. Once launched, the engine could be downloaded directly from the site, all data connected to the company's servers.
After seeing Akane Kosaka off, Ichin turned to Sakura Nene, gently patting her head.
"Right now it's just one company, and they haven't officially started renting it yet. But once our engine spreads through promotion, and when games developed with it are released—if even one or two titles go viral—you'll become quite the little rich lady."
Hearing that, Nene couldn't help puffing up with pride. After all, the engine she developed was finally going to be promoted. And she had confidence—it was an engine independent developers would definitely find useful.
The others gathered around as well. Aoba, her childhood friend, beamed.
"That's amazing, Nene! Your engine is going to be used by so many people!"
"Hehehe… it's not that impressive," Nene said, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Getting the engine to this level is thanks to Umiko-nee and Ichin-kun. I couldn't have done it alone. Ah, right! I need to call Umiko-nee and tell her the good news properly!"
Ichin nodded.
"Yeah, definitely let her know. She'll be thrilled. Go on."
Watching Nene dash off excitedly with her phone, Hazuki muttered softly,
"That's really wonderful."
Ichin agreed with a nod.
"It is. But Hazuki, we can't stop here—the website isn't finished yet. Let's get back to work."
"Right, right, back to work then. Oh, Ichin, by the way—the company's snack stash is running low. Want me to have HR restock?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Although the recent recruitment had increased the number of male employees a little, the company was still female-majority, and most of them were easy on the eyes.
One natural side effect of having more women in the office was that snacks—the little perk of company welfare—disappeared quickly, requiring frequent restocking. But with the company operating smoothly, snacks were a minor expense. If such a cost could keep morale high during work, Ichin was more than willing to cover it.
The only pity was the limited office space. If the place were bigger, he would've set up more facilities—like an in-house cafeteria staffed with chefs.
Unfortunately, the current office didn't allow for that.
Glancing around the office floor, Ichin estimated that within three years—once Dark Souls and Titanfall released and the company expanded further—they could move into a bigger place, perhaps even their own standalone building.
A five-story office sounded ideal: the first floor as a reception lobby and cafeteria, the upper floors divided into departments with their own workspaces, plus a lounge area and a fitness section.
"Clicking my tongue… maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. A place that big isn't needed right now."
His muttering was overheard by Utaha, who had silently appeared beside him.
"What isn't needed, Ichin?" she asked curiously.
"Ah, I was talking about the company's future office building."
Taking her hand, he led her back to the office while explaining his vision in detail.
After hearing him out, Utaha chuckled.
"Isn't that a great idea? The future office can definitely be designed like that. In Tokyo, there are plenty of office buildings of that size, so finding one isn't impossible. And even if there isn't a perfect match, don't forget—Yukino's family is in construction. As long as we have the land, we could commission them to build it. With our relationship, it wouldn't even be that expensive."
"That's true, finding one wouldn't be difficult," Ichin admitted with a smile, pinching her cheek. "But at least not until a year and a half later, once the two games we're developing release. Only then will we have enough cash flow to move."
Although Persona had brought in a massive profit, between ongoing development, daily operations, and the current team size, relocating wasn't necessary yet.
At most, planning ahead now would make future execution easier.
"Alright, I need to get back to work. Utaha, if you get bored, go hang out with Ko and the others."
"Mm. If I get bored, I'll head out."
Settling back down, Ichin immersed himself in work again, while Utaha quietly pulled out a textbook to read.
A week passed in the blink of an eye. The official website was successfully launched, featuring introductions, trailers, and platform links for all their released games—alongside the download for their self-developed engine.
After some discussion, the engine's name was decided: they used Sakura Nene's surname and simply called it "Sakura." The current release was version 1.0, with future updates planned for improvements and feature expansion.
Once everything was set, the company announced the website launch on social media, along with details of the engine's release and its revenue-sharing policy for commercial use.
Game engines were always a hot topic among players, but for indie developers, understanding them was a necessity.
Soon, word spread. Independent developers quickly took notice of the engine. Upon learning that The Binding of Isaac and BattleBlock Theater had both been made with it, they rushed to download it for research.
After tinkering with it, heated discussions broke out in indie dev chat groups about its scope of use.
Easy to pick up. Highly adaptable. Low hardware requirements. Not suited for 3D—but most indie games weren't 3D anyway.
"This engine… might really work!"
Almost immediately, several indie studios planning new titles decided they'd develop with the Sakura Engine.
*
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