MAGES. Inc.

A Japanese video game developer and publisher known for visual novels and the Phantom Breaker fighting game series.

Role-playing (RPG)

Adventure



Website

Founded

2005

Acquired

2020

HQ

Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

Parent

Colopl

Known for

Visual Novel / Adventure / RPG

11

Games

2009–2022

Years

8

Platforms

$41.88

Ø CIB

-9%

24M change

About

MAGES. Inc. (formerly 5pb. Games) is a Japanese developer and publisher recognized for its work on the Science Adventure series, including Steins;Gate. The company also developed the Phantom Breaker fighting game franchise, including Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds and Phantom Breaker [Limited Edition]. Additionally, they have published shoot 'em ups like Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst and titles based on The Quintessential Quintuplets franchise.

The developer's rise to prominence is deeply tied to the Xbox 360 era, where several of its key titles found their initial audience. The release of Steins;Gate (2009) and its sought-after Steins;Gate [Limited Edition] (2009) established a benchmark for narrative-driven visual novels, utilizing intricate time-travel mechanics and phone-trigger systems. This success allowed the company to diversify into other genres, notably fighting games and shoot 'em ups.

In 2011, the company expanded its portfolio with Phantom Breaker (2011) and Phantom Breaker [Limited Edition] (2011), introducing a competitive 2D fighting system that featured guest characters from their visual novel properties. This universe expanded further with the cooperative beat-'em-up spin-off Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds [Limited Edition] (2014), which offered stylized pixel art and RPG-like progression. Concurrently, the studio catered to arcade enthusiasts by publishing Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst (2014) and its Bullet Soul: Infinite Burst [Limited Edition] (2014), which refined the bullet-hell mechanics of the original release with rebalanced modes. The company also adapted popular anime properties, developing visual novel adaptations within The Quintessential Quintuplets franchise that focused on multiple-choice branching narratives.