TOGUM to be delisted on Steam three days into Early Access release [UPDATE]

[UPDATE 03/07/21] Dieggo Masamune posted to Steam on March 6th explaining his absence and why the game was removed from sale so quickly. Having recently lost his father to coronavirus complication, there is a lot to deal with that doesn’t involve the game. Our condolences to Masamune and his family. I’ll have a page up on the site soon and look forward to marking it as ‘relisted’ one day in the future. Our original post from February 26th continues below.

Dieggo Masamune, the one-man developer behind Guaiamu Studio, announced just three days after the Early Access release of TOGUM that the title would be delisted from Steam “soon”. Despite the questionable quality of its gameplay, TOGUM showed ambition with a promised 5-episode storyline — two of which are said to be included in the current release — and a nicely modeled cast of playable characters. That last part isn’t so surprising as Masamune has been creating 3D models for Poser for some years. TOGUM launched on Steam on February 22nd and Masamune made the brief announcement on the 25th:

Hello guys, I’m here to tell that TOGUM will be removed from the STEAM store soon. I’m sorry for the people who are disappointed and thanks for the support in the last days.

Masamune later mentioned that there will not be a farewell sale and that he’d already requested the game to be removed from Steam. If you’re at all intrigued, right now might be your last chance. So, why suddenly stop a 5-part game that’s been in the works for over a year after just three days? It’s unclear but there are a few possibilities that stand out. 

The game does feature some amount of licensed music that may not have been fully approved for use. Also, the day before release the publisher was changed from Dieggo Masamune himself to Guaiamu Studio. I’m not familiar with the intricacies of being a Steam developer versus a publisher but it seems like there might have been some financial or legal shortcomings there.

And of course, there’s always the possibility that Masamune just isn’t happy with the turnout around the game. Few sales, negative reviews, and sparse community response can all be pretty crushing on a solo developer. I reached out for comment on TOGUM’s particularly brief existence but haven’t heard back yet. Thanks again to @Linoano for pointing out the news.