"Wizardry Variants Daphne," making its debut at TGS, discussed with General Director Kanayama on the past year and what's next [TGS2025]
Note: the original Japanese article can be found at:
https://www.4gamer.net/games/540/G054095/20250926078/
Editorial Department: Oritaka | 2025/09/27 03:19 (UTC)
“Wizardry Variants Daphne,” a 3D dungeon RPG, made its debut exhibition at Tokyo Game Show 2025. The booth recreated an adventurer’s tavern and offered visitors the chance to take commemorative photos with cosplayers dressed as adventurers.
“Wizardry Variants Daphne” will celebrate its first anniversary on October 15, 2025. At the TGS venue, we spoke with General Director Keisuke Kanayama about reflections on the past year and future plans.
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Facing players’ expectations with cost-inefficient development—Hearing from the developers of “Wizardry Variants Daphne,” which also launched on PC, about their journey so far and future goals
The PC version of “Wizardry Variants Daphne” was released on March 6, 2025. After initial issues and server troubles right after the smartphone launch, everything has now stabilized, making the game much more enjoyable. We interviewed General Director Keisuke Kanayama to discuss reflections on past developments and future goals.
[2025/03/06 16:00]
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- Interview
- Writer: Tsukihii
- Photographer: Akira Oosu
4Gamer:
This is your first appearance at TGS. How do you feel about exhibiting here?
Keisuke Kanayama (hereafter, Kanayama):
I never thought we’d actually get to exhibit, so it’s deeply moving. We’ve kept developing and operating for a long time, but there weren’t many tangible outcomes visible until now—so seeing all our efforts materialize into this booth is truly rewarding.
Especially the message board where people post notes—seeing countless handwritten messages really brings home the reality of everything we’ve achieved.
Handwritten messages posted on the board Thumbnail image No.006 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025
4Gamer:
What prompted you to decide to exhibit here?
Kanayama:
We’ve reached a stable point, so our goal was to expand awareness and get more people to play. When brainstorming how to make an eye-catching booth, we settled on creating a compact tavern theme.
Also, we’re showing a video re-edited from past teaser trailers and promotional videos—there are some exclusive snippets in there too. Definitely worth watching if you visit the venue.
4Gamer:
The game will hit its one-year anniversary on October 15, 2025. How would you reflect on this first year?
Kanayama:
It was extremely tough. We’ve been walking through hell since launch, and we’re still in constant trial and error.
4Gamer:
There were rumors about the game being around a 50-point score at six months post-launch—how is it now?
Kanayama:
The game’s state has gradually improved. We’ve made continuous improvements and added new content, while also establishing better systems to reduce bugs.
In that sense, I’d say we’re approaching the 60-70 point range—but lately, things have been unstable in the Ancient Ruins area.
4Gamer:
The Ancient Ruins are entering Beta Season 3—what’s your outlook for a full release?
Kanayama:
We can’t measure progress accurately due to ongoing bugs. But once we see players genuinely enjoying it, we’ll aim to roll out regular updates as the official version. There are still some parts under trial and error—we’ll assess feedback from this round before moving forward.
4Gamer:
How have players received the ranking events in Daphne?
Kanayama:
They’ve been more receptive than expected—though they’re less PvP-focused, leaning toward solo time attacks or score challenges. Still, some players say things like “I don’t need rankings—I want to keep adventuring at my own pace,” so I’d like to create options for those types too.
4Gamer:
Expansions beyond the main story are progressing quickly as well.
Kanayama:
Exactly. We often have ideas about what players would love, but due to development constraints, we sometimes reluctantly cut or delay features.
4Gamer:
Which update in this past year received the strongest reaction?
Kanayama:
When we added something quirky that’s uniquely Daphne-themed—like recent examples, I can’t go into details without spoilers—but content tied to the quest “Uncover the Identity of the Suspicious Person” after advancing beyond a certain point in Garde Castle, as well as new systems introduced at other taverns, have all been met with positive player reactions.
4Gamer:
You’ve also released unique merchandise like bath salts themed around adventurers’ ashes.
Kanayama:
We do have standard merchandise, but we wanted to create items only possible within Daphne. It would be even better if players shared and enjoyed them with each other.
4Gamer:
So you’re focusing more on building a fanbase?
Kanayama:
Yes—expanding such initiatives is our goal. That said, content for new players remains somewhat limited, so we’ll definitely work harder in that area moving forward.
4Gamer:
What kind of measures do you have planned to welcome new players?
Kanayama:
Rather than lowering difficulty, I want to give them the information and motivation needed to face it. For example, a system where experienced players can guide newcomers.
4Gamer:
So is this more about sharing tips, or actual in-game rescue operations?
Kanayama:
I’d prefer to integrate it into the game’s core mechanics if possible. Direct help would inevitably lower difficulty, so I want something that strengthens a player’s ability to fight—rather than lifting them up directly, we aim for supportive encouragement from one step back.
4Gamer:
The PC release coincided with Chinese language support—how was the global reception?
Kanayama:
There was some effect since there are players who only play on PC. However, it didn’t explode in numbers as expected—the core user base remains smartphone players.
On a global scale, our current promotions focus mainly on domestic audiences. In the future, we plan to strengthen international outreach efforts.
4Gamer:
With the first anniversary approaching, there are major updates planned—like adding “Zong Kegixin” and improving two-handed weapons. These will have significant impact on existing players—are you feeling pressure?
◆Standardization and Style Change Adjustments
Regarding style changes, as previously mentioned, we used standardization to enable switching between styles—but several barriers emerged that made gameplay feel clunky. We’ve addressed these issues accordingly.?? Addition of “Zong Kegixin” … pic.twitter.com/nrZEv6dkrE
— Wizardry Variants Daphne (Wizardry Variants Daphne) (@Wizardry_Daphne) September 18, 2025
Kanayama:
Of course there’s pressure. I’m anxious about criticism, but we can’t ignore dissatisfaction—we must strive to make the game more enjoyable.
Regarding “Zong Kegixin,” our original idea was allowing separate cultivation for different styles—but in practice, it turned out too difficult. We concluded that combining them would be more fun and implemented accordingly.
We also want all adventurers to have meaningful roles, and players seem to prefer this approach too. Of course, we’re constantly balancing player feedback to find the best possible solution.
As for two-handed weapons—we want players to feel a sense of romance. Ideally, they’d be able to choose their weapon based on personal preference—like pursuing their own path with any weapon type they love.
4Gamer:
With more characters and deeper side quests being added, which character’s quest received the most response?
Kanayama:
Probably Lannavie—the one that stood out. Her original popularity might explain it.
Unlike other quests, this one was intentionally made more complex—like joining the Good Party, then the Evil Party, and finally returning as a normal party. But since everyone loves Lannavie anyway, I figured it would be fine. Plus, her story touched on themes like good vs evil and various philosophies—so we were able to align narrative with gameplay effectively.
4Gamer:
Interestingly, in our previous interview article, many readers commented that you look similar to the character “Jan.” Did you serve as a model?
Kanayama:
No—actually, the designer and modeler who worked on that look were people I’ve never met. It was purely coincidental. Only after completion did others start saying it looked like me. But this kind of thing happens all the time in game development.
Game industry folks will probably nod—they’re familiar with how characters from other titles somehow end up resembling someone involved, almost like a paranormal occurrence.
4Gamer:
Ah, I see. Since you’re here—could you share your favorite character?
Kanayama:
I personally love Gandolf—he’s completely blunt and doesn’t care about me at all—but gradually becoming closer to him is something only possible in games.
4Gamer:
Indeed, the adventurers do have quite a few quirks.
Kanayama:
We put real effort into character design—none of them are trying to make players feel good. Instead, we want players to truly sense the vibrant lives and struggles of these people living desperately in Daphne’s world.
4Gamer:
Looking ahead toward the second anniversary, what do you hope “Daphne” will achieve?
Kanayama:
There are still many imperfections, which we aim to fix. Specifically, development speed for the main game—the Abyss—hasn’t met expectations, so we’ll work on making it more consistent and steady.
Of course, we want fewer bugs, faster feature expansions, and continuous improvements—to ensure players can always feel secure.
To achieve this, we’ve expanded our team and will maintain that size while raising staff expertise to create a truly elite group. The better the team becomes, the more of our ambitions—what players desire—we’ll be able to bring to life.
4Gamer:
Finally, any message for visitors coming to TGS?
Kanayama:
I’m deeply grateful just for people making it through crowds to visit our booth. In a tough market, we’ve kept developing and launching. After about one year, seeing players leave words of congratulations—this means the world.
Please sit at the tavern, take photos, enjoy raffles or merchandise sales. And if you’d like, please leave your own message—it would mean everything.
4Gamer:
Thank you very much today.
A联动 campaign is ongoing between the “Wizardry Variants Daphne” booth (Hall 4, 04-N05) and the “Wizardry SHOP” booth (Hall 9, 09-W119). Visitors can receive random stickers. Thumbnail image No.005 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025
Thumbnail image No.017 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025 Thumbnail image No.016 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025 Thumbnail image No.013 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025 Thumbnail image No.014 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025 Thumbnail image No.015 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025 Thumbnail image No.012 / “Wizardry Variants Daphne” making its TGS debut, discussing the past year and future plans with General Director Keisuke Kanayama at TGS2025