Is It Too Late to Start Making Visual Novels?

Ever sit at your desk late at night, polishing a chapter of your visual novel, and quietly wonder:

"Is anyone actually going to read this?"
"Is the visual novel format even a thing anymore?"
"Should I really keep making these?"

Yeah, I've been there too. So today let's actually look at the numbers behind that worry. Short version up front — visual novels are quietly, but very clearly, growing.

🌱 The market is actually growing at double digits

So why does it feel like visual novels are fading? Probably because the genre doesn't do big AAA-style trailers and noisy launches. The wave is quiet.

But the actual numbers say something else. The global visual novel market was about $1.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $3.5 billion by 2033 — that's roughly 12% annual growth. That is not the shape of a dying format. That's the shape of a medium that's steadily climbing.

🏆 An indie visual novel just hit one million copies sold

Here's the clearest case. Slay the Princess — a horror visual novel made by a tiny two-person studio called Black Tabby Games.

Watch the trajectory:

1️⃣ March 2024 — 200,000 copies
2️⃣ November 2024 — 500,000 copies
3️⃣ Early 2026 — over 1,000,000 copies

A "niche indie" visual novel crossed a million sales. Their other game, Scarlet Hollow, has crossed 100,000 too.

What this really tells you is: there is already an audience of millions out there for a well-made small visual novel. That chapter you're polishing alone tonight — there's that much potential reach sitting at the other end of it.

🌍 The audience is shifting toward English

Another quiet shift: the language gravity is moving.

Look at otome — a closely related genre. The global otome market is around $5.7 billion in 2025. The English-speaking slice alone is projected to grow from $0.6 billion (2025) to $1.1 billion (2033) — almost doubling. North America already holds over 40% of the market.

There's a demographic shift too. In 2020, almost no men played otome regularly. By 2025, roughly 12% of monthly active otome players are men — doubled in five years, mostly thanks to Steam/Switch ports and streamer playthroughs broadening who shows up.

Whether you're writing in Korean, English, or anything else, your potential audience is bigger this year than last year. And the people reading visual novels in 2026 are a much more diverse crowd than they were in 2020.

🎮 The indie scene keeps releasing more every year

itch.io runs an Interactive Fiction Showcase each year — a collection of every interactive fiction and visual novel finished that year. The 2024 showcase had 263 entries. The 2025 and 2026 versions are running right now.

itch.io's own blog literally said it out loud: "Visual novels are having a moment."

Small studios are succeeding more often. Western creators are joining in force alongside the Japanese scene. Critical respect is finally catching up. This isn't the curve of a fading format. It's a renaissance curve.

💭 You don't have to feel alone making this

If polishing your chapter late at night feels lonely, it's not because the medium is dying — it's because the wave is just quiet. Fewer flashy announcements, fewer trending tweets. But the number of people making visual novels and the number of people reading them is going up every year.

It was better to be making this in 2026 than in 2023. It will almost certainly be better in 2029 than today. So finish that chapter. You really don't need to worry about the market disappearing before you do.

If anything — you're one of the people arriving early, before the wave gets loud. 🌱

May 15, 2026