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Update []:
Legendary designer Hiroshi Iuchi has spoken for the first time about his departure from M2 and the status of Ikaruga successor Ubusuna (thanks, Automaton Media).
In a lengthy post on his personal site, Iuchi explains that he has no intention of "abandoning" the game, and is "currently working to ensure that everyone involved does not suffer any losses."
He also adds that he owns the rights to Ubusuna's "concept and system specifications" because these were established back in 2006, before he joined M2. However, any assets for the game created during his time at M2 cannot be used "for free" in the final game.
Iuchi also explains that the game isn't 12 years in the making, as some have assumed, and that this is perhaps the third or fourth time that development has stalled on the project.
He also says that his own sense of perfection has contributed to the project's issues:
"The instruction [from M2] was to 'take the necessary time to solve the problem until Inouchi can do what he wants,' so it could be said that the problem was that we continued to try to improve the quality through trial and error without any real purpose. It's not that the planning side wasn't rationalising things, but I also bear some responsibility for taking the words at face value. In any case, it's true that the team became complacent due to the long duration of the project, and there was a vicious cycle of factors, including the fact that the team wasn't assembled until recently."
He compares this situation to "a company that has never made a 3D game before gathering two or three people to create a AAA title like Call of Duty (and occasionally helping out with other projects). They would cover the lack of personnel and technical skills with time."
Iuchi says that when the decision was made to leave M2 at the close of 2025, he decided he "no longer wanted to work in a company structure." He and his wife, who is the main programmer at Ubusuna, briefly considered moving on to another project until he received a proposal from Rin Kususaga, a freelance designer who has contributed to Ubusuna. Kususaga suggested getting funding from another company to continue the game's development, and also offered to help with sales.
This triggered a wave of support:
"And then other people gathered around saying, "If we're going to make Ubusuna, I'll help," and we started moving forward with the idea of resuming Ubusuna production. I can only express my gratitude for having people around me who had such determination and took action. I am truly thankful. Furthermore, thanks to the efforts of [Kususaga], we have begun discussions with companies that have expressed interest."
Before people get too excited, Iuchi notes that, even now, it's not certain that Ubusuna will be completed, and any positive resolution will not come "immediately." But he stresses that he and his team are "working hard to deliver Ubusuna to all of you who have been waiting for so long, so please continue to wait and see. All of the staff will do their best, so we would be very grateful if you would continue to support us."
On a more positive note, Iuchi says that the game is shaping up well:
"While Ubusuna itself is a somewhat unique shooting game and difficult to adjust, the concept itself hasn't changed at all since 2006, and there are no problems. I don't mean to sound boastful, but even after playing the game as it is now, I think it's quite fun. (I think it's probably easier for most people to play than Ikaruga.)"