Contrary to popular belief, Ikaruga was far from the last Dreamcast game, but undoubtedly one of the last major projects. Treasure pulled out all the stops and once again managed to deliver a shoot 'em up with innovative gameplay where getting shot was just as important as shooting yourself.
Even today, it frequently appears on lists of the world's best games of all-time, but Treasure very rarely makes official sequels to its games, and just like ultra-classics such as Mischief Makers, Silhouette Mirage, Radiant Silvergun, and Sin and Punishment, Ikaruga lacks a sequel.
But in 2014, we reported that a spiritual successor was actually in the works from developer M2, led by Ikaruga creator Hiroshi Iuchi. The game was to be called Ubusana, but we never found out how similar it was to the game that inspired it, and apparently, it will remain that way. M2 has now announced via Bluesky that development has been cancelled. M2 executive Naoki Horii writes, among other things, that "difficult circumstances led to Mr. Iuchi's submission of his resignation, which we have accepted, under a mutual agreement and understanding." M2 wanted to continue development, but ultimately concluded that it wasn't possible:
"Although we explored ways to continue this project following Mr. Iuchi's departure, we came to the conclusion that, given the nature of the work, it would be difficult to bring "Ubusuna" to its complete form without him. We have therefore decided that we must abandon further development."
The studio apologises to all fans and has removed all video material, but hope is not entirely lost that we might see the game released at some point in the future, as Iuchi is still interested in completing it:
"However, to avoid misunderstanding, I would like to clarify that Mr. Iuchi has not given up all hope of completing "Ubusuna," independent of M2. It is my sincerest hope that he will find an opportunity to resume the project in some form, be it different from the current one, and that you may one day be reunited with the finished work."
They conclude by encouraging people not to speculate or be unnecessarily mean. Even though fans have obviously been looking forward to this, there are people behind the scenes who are negatively affected by unwarranted attacks.
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