New Higurashi When They Cry Game ‘Higurashi Origin’ Announced in Japan

During the 07th Pasta Kai, a Japanese event dedicated to 07th Expansion, the company and its partner Entergram have announced Higurashi Origin, a new game for Higurashi When They Cry. Details are currently scarce and the official 07th Expansion Twitter account currently only asks readers to wait for more information. As such, we don’t even have platforms announced yet.

The When They Cry series is 07th Expansion’s main franchise, though they have also worked on Rose Guns Days and their main creator/writer, Ryukishi07 has worked on scripts for various other games. For instance, Ryukishi07 is currently working on Silent Hill f with Konami and he has contributed to Visual Arts/Key titles such as Loopers and Rewrite (doing Lucia’s routes).

The first When They Cry game is Higurashi, which was released episodically from 2002 to 2006. The visual novel was adapted into anime, manga and other media, giving it a wide recognition for its horror themes and strong mystery ambience. The series was continued through multiple extra chapters, new stories and games over time, having even received an original anime called Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni GOU in 2020 and 2021.

While 07th Expansion has yet to reveal what Higurashi Origin is meant to cover, the name seems to imply it being related to the cause behind a few details of the mystery. As a fan of the series, I’d be interested to know if this is meant to explore how the Hinamizawa Syndrome came to be with a different group of characters.

While this news is interesting, it’s worth keeping in mind Entergram doesn’t release their titles in English. They’re a very prolific console publisher in Japan but have yet to partner with English publishers or offer their own releases. As such, this could end up as one of those additional materials that only those able to read Japanese will get the chance to enjoy.