Voltage Inc (ボルテージ) is a Japanese developer and publisher of interactive story apps, such as

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

s and

otome game An , is a story-based video game that is targeted towards women. Generally one of the goals, besides the main idea/goal, is to develop a romantic relationship between the female player/main character and one of the second-lead male characters. His ...

s, for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android devices. They also previously developed games with their

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

based subsidiary Voltage Entertainment USA.

History

The company originated in 1999, based in Tokyo, and began to expand to English-speaking audiences in 2011, releasing English-language versions of their games through the

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad tablet computers, Apple Watch smartwatches, Apple ...

and

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

. They went on to establish a US subsidiary company, Voltage Entertainment USA, in 2012. Expanded versions of several of their games were previously released through

GREE GREE (derived from an abbreviation of the "Six degrees of separation" concept) is a Japanese social networking service founded by Yoshikazu Tanaka and operated by GREE, Inc. GREE focuses primarily on mobile games and over ninety percent of its ...

, however support for the

platform ceased in 2014. Voltage's American subsidiary, Voltage Entertainment USA, have released adaptations of existing Voltage games which have been localized to appeal to Western audiences. Beginning in 2013 the subsidiary began producing original games marketed directly to their English-speaking audience. By 2014 it was reported that Voltage had an audience of 22 million across all its games. In 2017, Voltage Entertainment USA launched the multi-series app ''Lovestruck: Choose Your Romance'' and transitioned its AmeMix series into the app. In July 2020, Voltage Entertainment USA's writing staff went on strike and won increased wages and greater workplace transparency. In December 2021, Voltage announced they would be shutting down Voltage Entertainment USA in 2022 to allocate resources more efficiently.

Games

Voltage Entertainment USA

Adaptations

Original titles

Augmented & Virtual Reality

On January 13, 2017, Voltage Inc. released their first augmented reality title made available to users through the App Store and Google Play, entitled “Let’s Snuggle! AR”. The app is a unique first edition to the company's game portfolio, permitting fans of the Visual Novel romance apps to interact and talk with popular characters in a more personal setting. Following the release and success of the augmented reality app, Voltage Inc. created Voltage VR Inc., a subsidiary of Voltage Inc., dedicated to ensuring and providing fans high quality AR and VR games in the future

https://www.voltage.co.jp/en/p-release/170410.html]

Notes

References

External links

* * https://www.voltage-ent.com
Lovestruck: Choose Your Romance
Mass media companies of Japan Japanese companies established in 1999 Mass media in Tokyo Internet technology companies of Japan {{media-company-stub