The team was reunited thanks to blogger 4rak, who worked on MiSide's fan animations. Here's what he wrote:

Hello!

I'm now helping make

MiSide: ZERO ! ! !

I made a commemorative render for this occasion!

I do appreciate kojo for giving me the opportunity to help with this project!

Link to his channel

After the development of the story mode (new endings) was completed, new information about the game began to flow in a steady stream. I have gathered my strength and decided to organize all the information that is worth knowing for you today. The main source of information is the official Discord server of the game, which is available to everyone, as well as the Boosty platform for developers (similar to Patreon, which helped the game reach its initial release). If you want to see everything for yourself, please subscribe. If you do not have any financial resources, I will tell you what the developers have revealed to their most loyal fans. Finally, let me remind you that this is the second part about the peaceful mode. You can watch the first footage here. So, in order!

1. >!Let's remember how the developers describe this mode: "The Peaceful Mode" will consist of several days spent with Mita, and each day will be filled with various games. There will also be options for choosing actions that will determine the outcome. And one of the many mini-games is a clapping game. I looked it up online, and it was said that this game could be described as "Pat-a-cake." From a gameplay perspective, you'll need to press the buttons rhythmically while Player and Mita are clapping. An important addition. Earlier, the developers said, "we are thinking about releasing the game on other platforms, but we haven't really thought about the mobile version." And this post has a postscript: "It's also a gamepad game, I'm slowly rewriting controls for other platforms everywhere (especially in mini-games)." That is, work for the console version is already actively underway!!<
2. >!The second screen. Interaction with Mita. In addition to the test version of ladushki (Pat-a-cake) a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors, but played for foreheard flicks — the loser gets flicked on the forehead.!<
3. >!In the third post, we see Chibi versions of Cappie, Mila, and Sleepy Mita. In Peaceful Mode, there will only be Crazy Mita. So my conclusion is that they are for new endings and the story.!<
4. >!New. Now it's going to be much more difficult to explain. This is something completely new, so you have no idea what it is. Use your best imagination to describe and explain what it is. Have you seen the video game Crash Bandicoot? Not the new one, but the one for the PS1? Well, this has similar low-poly models and a similar cartoonish feel. First, the first screenshot shows a psycho dog on two legs, wearing jeans, bandaged, and with a crooked look in its eyes... It gets more interesting from here, so gather your courage. Next, there are two Neko (like Cappie, they have cat ears) combat medics. One is a boy in blue and a girl in pink, both in combat positions. The third one is a masterpiece of design. It's a shrimp from the SpongeBob cartoon. But this is a surgeon octopus with blood-stained gloves. His body, arms, and legs are twisted tentacles, and one of the tentacles holds a sign with a bag of blood instead of a sign... That's the imagination of the developers! And more than that, I see the point. Without laughing, these are characters from numerous mini-games. They are truly in unusual styles and completely unexpected.!<
5. >!This and the following (6) are the cut content.!<
6. >!Developers try different options in the form of prototypes, and not everything makes it to the final release. Here we see a clown cat with large hands. It has been brought to a 3D model. Its sketches are very good. It resembles a fighter for a fighting game. It is mysterious, with its eyes hidden and its fists emphasized. The original sketch includes a note about the need for a bang. It has a medieval style. Next, we see a crocodile knight with a halberd and two tails, also a sketch. Then comes the last sheet, which shows a female version of the jester with the caption Jester-Mim and Eyes hidden. Earlier, the developers have already shown something in the steampunk style (some mechanisms), and these guys fit in quite well.!<
7. >!The developer was asked to show the new Mita. I've already made a separate post about her, and I've also included it in my review of the new endings.!<
8. >!Her flip-phone is also shown in detail.!<
9. >!And now some information from the developers. He's asked about DLC. He replies that there is no DLC! (Not everyone understands that the game will simply be updated like a patch; it's not called DLC; the game will simply be updated and new endings and a Peaceful Mode will be added.) But the gamer asks, "Don't you dare! How do we save all the Mitas? So they'll all be alive?" To which the developer replies, "That's not DLC, it's just something that's ALREADY done in the main storyline, when Peaceful Mode is released." So you can rest assured, the good ending is ALREADY ready and will arrive with the final update. The developers have been talking about a good ending for a very long time, literally from the first interviews after the release.!<
10. >!And perhaps one last question for the developer: What's currently planned and what's the main development task? Answer: A simulation with Mita.!<

The wait is long, but seeing how much content is being prepared... I'm really curious what the final version will look like.

What are you expecting the most from Peaceful Mode?

Mita is coming out of the screen.

So, if we look at the official Kickstarter appeal, they write:

[Shipping Update

We know that you are all eager to know when your order will ship, so here's the latest status update on the merch products across all tiers:

1. If you ordered the keycap or soft merch pack, we expect to start rolling out the products around July.
2.  As for the two figures and deluxe pack, we learned from the merch production studio that they are currently estimated to start shipping in September.

We will stay in touch with our partners and closely track all upcoming production and shipping arrangements. Any new progress will be updated on Kickstarter as soon as possible.

In the End

We want to thank you again for your support of our MiSide merch project. The crowdfunding page on Kickstarter will be closed on June 30th, and we will keep updating you on the production progress.

We hope that when these merch products that we designed with care and love arrive at your door soon, you will be reminded of the precious memories you shared with Mita ❤️]

As you can see, there are only three days left until the Kickstarter order closes. There's no time to put it off. And as a bonus, here's an exclusive from me (I asked for some footage) and the merch manufacturer. A video of the finished merch and the production process. Thanks for watching.

One of the new Mitas will have the style of an E-girl, Gyaru, or Altushka. One of the developers previously teased her (you can see it HERE). Now we can see her in full body. And one more interesting detail... Her breasts will be larger than those of other Mitas.

And in the comments, suggest your own name for her, the one you think is most suitable!

A lot of MiSide fans know the game, the characters, the theories...

But many people probably haven't seen the story behind how this whole thing was created.

I found this interview with AIHASTO — the two developers behind MiSide — and translated it into English so the international community could finally read it.

Originally published by IPQuorum, written May 27, 2025 by Ivan Afanasyev, the interview covers:

• how AIHASTO started as a two-person team

• why they chose horror + anime style

• where Mita's concept came from

• how MiSide unexpectedly became a worldwide success

• the truth behind the "1% of sales" rumor

• advice for beginner developers

• Peaceful Mode and future plans

• the possibility of MiSide 2

English is not my first language, so I tried to keep the meaning as close to the original interview as possible:

MiSide received extremely high praise from players all around the world, becoming popular incredibly quickly. Within a week, the game had already gathered more than 10,000 reviews, and now it has over 90,000 (today even more so), maintaining an average approval rating of around 98%.

Players were drawn in by the main heroine, who has a huge number of secrets, a well-developed backstory, and a lot of charisma. The game also constantly changes its gameplay style — at one moment you are playing a visual novel, then suddenly it turns into a horror game with stealth and hiding, and later it becomes almost a shooter similar to Quake. This continues all the way until the end.

The game was actively streamed by some of the biggest content creators, clips from it went viral across social media, and it already has its own fan wiki.

In January 2025, it was revealed that the game had achieved incredible sales numbers for an indie project — earning more than $28 million.

The most surprising thing about all of this is that AIHASTO, the studio behind the game, is a team consisting of only two people: Umeerai and MakenCat (their real names are unknown).

We spoke with them about their studio and their experience in game development.

(Umeerai answered the questions.)

— How did your studio come together?

— We became friends back in school because we had similar interests and topics to talk about. Both of us were interested in how games are made. Eventually, we decided to team up and try to create something cool. So I would say we are more of a creative duo rather than a traditional studio. I work on models, textures, and illustrations. Almost everything else — programming, animations, music, and the entire work inside the engine — is handled by MakenCat.

We discuss the story together, plan scenes, and think about how everything should roughly look.

When an important part of the models is finished, MakenCat starts working on the scenes, creates the scripting foundation, and makes the animations. Level design is also usually planned by MakenCat, after which I take over the art direction.

— Why horror, and why specifically with an anime art style?

— Horror games are very popular among streamers.

That is why we also started with horror — because this genre is very popular among influencers, and even now we still believe it is a very good genre to start with. But at the same time, horror is quite limiting in some ways, and we wanted to give our creative ambitions a chance. As for the anime style — in recent years, games with this kind of visual style have been growing extremely quickly in popularity (for example, games from HoYoverse — editor’s note), so we had no doubts about using an anime-inspired style. In the end, we hoped that the contrast between cuteness and horror would work.

And it seems like we were right.

— Did you have any sources of inspiration? Especially for the main character Mita — a virtual girl who gradually becomes unstable?

— Honestly, we didn’t really have the goal of making Mita some completely unique character.

She is more like a combination of different villain archetypes, with some traits inspired by a popular type of anime character — yandere. (Characters with unstable mental states whose affection often becomes obsessive and even dangerous — editor’s note.) As for direct inspiration — six years ago we created a simple horror game called Umfend. The story of that game was about a guy being haunted by the ghost of his love interest. I also had an idea, probably partially inspired by Doki Doki Literature Club!, about a Tamagotchi-like game where eventually “everything goes wrong.”

We combined these two ideas, and that became MiSide. We wanted to make sure the game never became boring. Many of our decisions were focused on surprising the player and making them unsure what would happen next. The concept of a “game inside a game,” the contrast between moods, sudden genre changes — we hoped this approach would make the experience entertaining.

— How did the game manage to sell such an incredible amount? And is it true that you only received 1% of the sales?

— Honestly, we still don’t fully understand how it happened ourselves.

The game sold especially well in China, where anime-style games are extremely popular right now (again, games from Chinese studio HoYoverse are a good example — editor’s note). Maybe the combination of romance and horror creates a very unusual mix that teenagers especially enjoy. The game also became popular during the demo stage without any marketing at all. Perhaps the visual style and the way the game was presented were also things that attracted players. Overall, we also released the game during a period when the market was relatively quiet and there were not many major standout releases.

The rumor about receiving only 1% of the sales is false. Even in a difficult situation, nobody would ever sign a contract under those conditions. I assume this rumor came from a joke where one of us made a sarcastic comment while answering a question about whether the project had paid off.

— What is the fastest way for a beginner developer to enter the industry and start earning money from their work?

— There is no way for a beginner game developer to just “jump into” the industry.

Even if someone comes up with a very interesting idea, they will most likely struggle to properly execute it. Even with the experience we already have, we often abandon many ideas. And the reason is not always that something is too difficult to create.

Very often, everything comes down to another resource:

Time. And time is money. If someone has a lot of free time, or has enough resources to hire other people, then of course they have a better chance. But someone who has never developed games before will still need to learn certain skills along the way. If we are talking about simple games or visual novels, those can be learned relatively quickly. In some cases, you might not even need special knowledge or programming skills. However, if we are talking about good and interesting games with unique mechanics, then programming is unavoidable. For example, MakenCat started with GameMaker (one of the most popular free game engines — editor’s note) and learned its own programming language through the built-in documentation. Eventually, he was able to create quite interesting games on his own.

— What kind of feedback did you receive from players? What are your plans for expanding the game? Is there any chance of releasing MiSide on mobile platforms? It feels like it would fit, considering the nature of the game.

— Feedback came from almost everywhere.

Most of it consisted of people thanking us because MiSide brought back their interest in games after they had already lost it. Some people said the game helped them emotionally or gave them the motivation to change something in their lives. Others said it made them look at their own life differently. Regarding these kinds of stories — I actually have someone in my own life who started helping me without expecting anything in return. I can always talk to her about different things, and that has made both my life and my work better and more enjoyable. Relationships like that help me stay on track, doubt my work less often, and that is important because the development of the game is still far from finished.

As for future development — we are thinking about releasing the game on other platforms, but we have not seriously considered a mobile version. We are also planning to add what we call “Peaceful Mode” to MiSide. In it, we want to introduce different types of entertainment content, new gameplay mechanics that have not appeared in the game before, and additional endings (The endings have already been completed today, look here). Peaceful Mode will consist of several days spent together with Mita, and each day will be filled with different activities and games. There will also be choices that affect the outcome. (You can see some footage of the mode HERE)

Discussion about a new project is not really on the agenda right now, but I can say that the ideas for our next game are quite ambitious.

We are thinking about creating a full-scale simulator where we want to implement freedom of action and many different story branches.

— Is Mita’s story finished? Will there be a continuation?

— I wouldn’t say that Mita’s story ends with any of the current endings in the game. As for a continuation — we have thought about MiSide 2. We discussed what it could be about and what ideas we could potentially implement. But we are not seriously planning a sequel at the moment.

I would say the possibility that MiSide 2 could become our next project someday is around 50%.

The end

• There are also a couple of other interviews that I translated and there are also a lot of interesting and hidden facts for most people:

We Were About to Quit Game Dev — Then MiSide Blew Up: Full Interview with the Developers (Lore, Endings, Secrets)

• And:

MiSide Developer On-Camera Interview (English Translation) — Insights, Decisions & Hints at a New Game

I pray for you 🙏 Oh great victorious Mita 💝

• The animator loves her iconic crazy smile, so she's always there when needed.

You can watch the video version (high quality) here: This post

Over the past couple of weeks, people have been asking more and more questions about producing products on Kickstarter.

Questions like:

• "Do we have any updates?"
• "Has anyone seen new photos?"
• "Is production actually moving forward?"

Since June was listed as the production period and there haven't been many public updates recently, I decided to go directly to the source.

I contacted the head of Rooar Studio, the company producing the official MiSide Kickstarter merchandise, and asked if there was anything they could share with the community.

They kindly sent me photos and videos of the current production samples.

I edited some of the footage together so everyone can take a look at the current state of the merch.

Looks like things are moving along quite nicely.

And yes...

The holographic 3D screen somehow looks even cooler than I expected.

For comparison, here's an older preview that was shown before the final polishing process:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MiSideReddit/comments/1ol0dlz/miside_magical_3d_screen/

Hope this helps answer some of the questions people have been asking lately.

Thanks to the attentive Reddit user u/fathianaconda This is his find.

Some shots and sketches of the new endings (spoilers):

https://www.reddit.com/r/MiSideReddit/comments/1srud78/new_miside_ending_in_progress_early_models/

A surprising number of fans still don't know that MiSide has an official manga.

Even fewer know that the manga received a series of fully voiced promo trailers featuring the original voice actors from the game.

I combined all 6 official trailers into a single 1 minute 43 second video and added English subtitles myself so more people could finally see them.

The manga itself tells a completely original story. Aside from the protagonist, it's not just a retelling of the game's plot. The Player tries to escape from Crazy Mita, opens a manga on a shelf, and finds himself inside it...

I think this manga is perfect for passing the time until the new endings and peaceful mode. Enjoy reading it if you purchase it!

A GIRL CALLED ME CUTE INSTANTLY ASSUMED THIS WAS A PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR GAME

So… the official MiSide café collab in Japan is even more detailed than I expected.

Every drink is themed around a specific Mita - and honestly, they nailed the personalities way too well.

Crazy Mita literally gets a violent-looking cherry dessert drink covered in red syrup and crushed cookies like some kind of emotional disaster in a cup.

Mila’s drink is almost pitch black because of bamboo charcoal espresso.

Sleepy Mita’s is basically a warm comfort hug turned into tea.

And Cappie’s drink looks like it consumed pure gamer energy.

The attention to detail here is genuinely crazy.

I also love how they didn’t just slap character art onto random drinks — the ingredients themselves actually reflect the personalities.

Here’s the full menu breakdown:

Crazy Mita — “Screaming Cherry Love Frenzy”

Strawberry syrup, cranberry juice, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate cookie

Kind Mita — “Honey-Lemon Spark”

Honey, lemon syrup, sparkling water, lemon slices, mint

Cappie — “POWER UP!!!!!! Sparkle Cola Float”

Cola, marshmallows, vanilla ice cream, blueberry sauce, waffle cookie

Mila — “Cozy Reader's Mint Espresso”

Black espresso with charcoal powder, whipped cream, chocolate cookie

Sleepy Mita — “Gentle Hug: Chamomile Milk Tea”

Chamomile tea, mascarpone cream, honey, mini marshmallows

I also made another post showing how the actual café setup looks in Japan:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MiSideReddit/comments/1tgwnt7/mitas_really_escaped_the_game_and_entered/

So now I genuinely need to ask:

Which one would YOU order first?

I bought 2 official MiSide manga copies.

One is mine.

The second one stays sealed because I’m giving it away to the FIRST MiSide fan who messages me about wanting one.

A while ago, I made a post about how many overseas fans still don’t even know MiSide has an official manga.

That post exploded harder than I expected (86K+ views), and seeing so many people genuinely interested honestly made me really happy.

So I decided:

why not actually help fans get one?

The manga is officially printed in Russian and is basically unknown outside Russian-speaking communities. It is not officially sold overseas.

So this is probably the start of my:

“sending official MiSide manga to fans worldwide” arc.

A few important things:

• It exists only in Russian and shipping costs 3 times more than the manga itself. According to preliminary estimates, for example, to Canada, it should cost at least 30 euros together with delivery. And I think that's the bare minimum. But everything is individual and I will be able to announce the exact cost only knowing the delivery point.

• After that, I’ll make a small queue for people still interested later.

• I can only ship 1–2 copies at a time, so please be patient.

• Shipping depends on your country.

Right now I decided to take only around 3 people total for the beginning, so don’t be shy about messaging me.

Honestly, I just want more MiSide fans around the world to own something official physically.

MiSide deserves that kind of global fan culture.

Imagine walking into Akihabara and seeing THIS MiSide setup.
MiSide just got an official collaboration café/drink stand in Akihabara, Japan.

And honestly… this is one of those moments where you realize how huge the game has become.

Limited themed drinks.
Exclusive merch.
Full MiSide decorations everywhere. Mmmm
Actual Akihabara anime café energy.

Event period:
May 15 - May 31

The collab is being held at:
AKIBA Amusement Hall (6th floor)

Seeing an indie psychological horror game reach THIS level feels surreal. 😍

Price: ¥990

Dessert Menu:

1. Crazy Mita: "Screaming Cherry Love Frenzy" Ingredients: Strawberry syrup, strawberry sauce, cranberry juice, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate cookie
2. Kind Mita: "Eureka! Honey-Lemon Spark" Ingredients: Honey, lemon syrup, sparkling water, fresh lemon slices, mint
3. Cappie: "POWER UP!!!!!! Sparkle Cola Float" Ingredients: Cola, colorful marshmallows, vanilla ice cream, cherry, whipped cream, chocolate waffle, blueberry sauce
4. Mila: "Cozy Reader's Mint Espresso" Ingredients: Bamboo charcoal powder (for that signature jet-black hue), espresso, whipped cream, chocolate cookie, feuilletine (crispy golden puff pastry crumbs)
5. Sleepy Mita: "Gentle Hug: Chamomile Milk Tea" Ingredients: Chamomile tea, milk, mascarpone cream (whipped cream cheese), mini marshmallows, flower-shaped chocolate, honey

[Allergens listed below ingredients.]

Which drink are you choosing first?

Artist: shokobr.

Nah This Shirou Emiya x MiSide Art Series Is Actually Peak, All The Previous Art In One Post Here: https://www.reddit.com/r/MiSideReddit/comments/1rp9izr/shirou_emiya_in_miside_artist_shokobr/

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U1Br6iqnko
Listen to the original on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy8j8mhbBJU

Saw this on social media and honestly… this looks exactly like something I would’ve bought from a random mall kiosk in 2009

*Comes with free malware and a broken crack
*Don't forget to pay attention to the fact that this is a meme, and there is no official disc version of the game

Buyer's photo before reading. Manga in standard and paperback.

What’s funny is that a huge part of the community still thinks MiSide only has the game itself.

Meanwhile there’s already:

• official manga
• official merch
• plushies
• accessories
• Kickstarter campaigns

The franchise got way bigger than most people realize.

Judging by this video interview, we're in for a whole universe of video games. How many more will there be? I'm very excited:
https://www.reddit.com/r/MiSideReddit/comments/1t2rf11/miside_developer_oncamera_interview_english/

This somehow went unnoticed by most of the community - a full on-camera MiSide developer interview that hit Top 10 on Bilibili when it released. I translated the whole thing into English so you can finally see what was said - including dev insights, decisions, story thoughts, and hints about future projects. And how do you like the peaceful mode cadres? Have you seen them before?

If you understand Russian, you can watch it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-qfhJLe_Mk&t=103s

I also have a translation of an exciting text interview from the developers for you: https://www.reddit.com/r/MiSideReddit/comments/1rz7f8a/we_were_about_to_quit_game_dev_then_miside_blew/