Cyber Sleuth Producer Habu Kazumasa Celebrates International Launch

January 29th, 2016. In celebration of Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth's international launch in North America on February 2nd and Europe on February 5th, producer Habu Kazumasa has sent out a special announcement through Bandai Namco Entertainment's European branch, thanking fans for their enthusiasm in supporting the Operation Decode petition. Stating that Cyber Sleuth is a game not just for Digimon fans, but for fans of role-playing games as a whole, Habu outlined how his aim was to capture an adult audience with the latest Digimon title, rather than its traditional child demographic. Ever since the financial problems of the Xros Wars era, Digimon has skewed increasingly towards a young adult demographic, targeting both fans that were children at the time of the franchise's height and newcomers with no prior familiarity to the series.

Habu has been an outspoken advocate of the fans in the past, repeatedly pointing out the importance of Operation Decode to Sleuth's localization across many interviews with different publications. While Digimon has been backed into a corner for more than a decade by its failure to attract new audiences, Habu has hinted that the international success of Cyber Sleuth could lead to a franchise revival, including simultaneous worldwide launches of future games.

Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth will launch on the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 in North America on February 2nd, 2016, and in Europe on February 5th, 2016. First print copies of the game will come with downloadable content for Beelzebumon Blast Mode and Cherubimon Vice, two new Digimon exclusive to the international versions of Cyber Sleuth. While the Vita edition in North America and Europe is digital-only, the launch DLC will be available through the end of the month, and import seller Play-Asia is stocking a physical Asian-English edition of the game. The game is rated T in North America, and PEGI 12 in Europe.