Here’s a (non-exhaustive, but pretty thorough list) of BL games that exist! I was going to write something about trends and whatnot but wanted to do at least some cursory fact checking to make sure I wasn’t just basing my observations on a skewed data set (i.e. only games I actually pay attention to), so I threw this together since VNDB and EGS are both shit when it comes to 女性向け titles (VNDB surprisingly had listings for almost all of these, but the way the tags are, pulling a list like this out of VNDB would have been awful). I already forgot what I was going to write about/got distracted by interesting things while putting the list together, so I’ll probably get to that later!
This is like 95% straight from Cool-B’s list of titles eligible for their BL Game Awards (I’d link the page but they took it down!). It’s not a perfect list. It does not feature literally every (Japanese produced) BL game ever produced, the coverage of doujin titles is quite spotty (ex. not listing Gakuen Handsome until the recent re-release is a bit deceptive if you want to look at this as a timeline of major releases), fandisks and console ports are included pretty haphazardly. A few gay (“bara”) titles also have fairly inconsistent inclusion here as well (There are definitely a couple in here, but they’re not consistently included. It might be a doujin/commercial distinction going on or it could be related to marketing classification, I’m not sure, Cool-B didn’t really share their criteria for inclusion). Cell phone games are also not included unless they got a (Japanese) PC port. That said, I think it’d be pretty fair to say this is a list of just about every significant Japanese BL game release (and then some).
I’ve gone ahead and added titles released since the last title listed on the original list (Omerta Code Tycoon) and announced, but not yet released titles to make it a bit more up-to-date. The inconsistent inclusion of doujin titles has also resulted in the pretty glaring absence of the Love&Destroy’s titles, so I went ahead and added those. I’ll probably go back and clean it up some more going forward (and have been considering adding some failed/never released projects, although that’d be more limited to my own knowledge of that sort of thing).
Anyway! I hope someone else finds this interesting/useful in some way. I think the little summary chart I threw together at the end (I really hope I didn’t miscount any of that, lol) illustrates just what a weird, tiny niche BL games are right now pretty well though.
Some Notes:
Activity status: Brands/developers are listed as Defunct, Active or Unknown. Defunct brands have not produced or announced a title in several years. Active brands are brands which have either released a game recently or have a new title in development. Brands listed as Unknown are of questionable status, they may have released a game somewhat recently, but have no new projects in development (that are public knowledge at least).
Some specifics: I have Fareast Blade listed as Unknown because Ouka Otsu‘s status has become a bit questionable as of late. It’s dropped out of Cool-B since Kusunoki Yashiki no Monogatari was announced, the official site hasn’t been updated in over a year and the development team has gone rather quiet on the subject of the game. The drama CD they announced over the summer never materialized either. (Perhaps they’re having trouble securing a publisher/funding?).
Pil/SLASH is also in the Unknown category since they appear to have gone mostly dormant since Pigeon Blood with no new titles announced and the main staff are working under PIL-VAMP now. They haven’t officially retired the brand or disbanded it or anything (not that most of the defunct brands do that either), so there might be hope of them returning some day.
The latest issue of Cool-B confirms that Pil/SLASH is back! They have a new game in the works called Paradise with Love&Destroy’s writer.
I also have MesuDanshi listed as Unknown since, well, to be frank most brands don’t make it past their first release and they have nothing else announced yet. The creative team sounds pretty optimistic though. Also, admittedly MesuDanshi is arguably not exactly a BL brand, but it seemed close enough to warrant listing.
Age rating classification: This is just pulled straight from the Cool-B chart. There are some weird ones though! Like you might notice a handful of titles listed as just “18+” and not “18+ Adult Only” those I believe are CERO Z rated titles rather than the PC game 18+ that isn’t regulated by a board like CERO.
Developer/Publisher/Brand listing: Again, this is pulled from what Cool-B listed titles as. I think their choices are a bit strange in the case of some console ports (crediting them to the port company, not the original devs), but I was too lazy to change it. Might do that later when I figure out a better way to list ports in general. Ports and this listing convention has inflated the game/active devs count per year in the summary table at the bottom a little bit depending on how you want to look at that.
AxBL’s Chain Blood removed since it turns out it’s a mobile game!
| Title | Developer | Dev Status | Release Date | Platform | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Mermaid ～SILVER CHAOSⅡ～ | VividColor | Defunct | 2004/02/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 愛と欲望は学園で | あまなっとうぱふぇ | Defunct | 2006/12/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 蒼の刻印～BLUE TEMPEST～ | マリンハート | Defunct | 2002/03/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 紅い夜、星の囁きを聴け | Moon Parrot | Defunct | 2003/10/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| アニマムンディ終わりなき闇の舞踏 | 花梨エンターテイメント | Defunct | 2005/01/28 | PC | All Ages |
| Apocripha/0 | STACK software | Defunct | 2001/07/27 | PC | All Ages |
| 妖恋愛奇譚～神サマの堕し方～ | マリンハート | Defunct | 2005/06/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| invisible sign-イス- | lapin | Defunct | 2005/03/18 | PC | All Ages |
| invisible sign-イス- 眠れる森 | lapin | Defunct | 2005/11/25 | PC | All Ages |
| Wings Innocent | Blue Crescent Moon | Defunct | 2004/01/16 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| AM2：00～猫と月夜のブランコ～ | あまなっとう | Defunct | 2005/11/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| S.S.D.S ～刹那の英雄～ | STACK software | Defunct | 2005/05/20 | PC | All Ages |
| S-TRIPPER 岳生Disc | Monoceros | Defunct | 2004/12/17 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| エトワールの方程式 | ClearColor | Defunct | 2004/09/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ESCAPE | Adel | Defunct | 2001/09/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Lしたいね！ | unicorn-b | Defunct | 2002/08/08 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Angel’s Feather | BlueImpact | Defunct | 2003/04/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Angel’s Feather -琥珀の瞳- | BlueImpact | Defunct | 2005/07/29 | PS2 | 15+ |
| Angel’s Feather -黒の残影- | BlueImpact | Defunct | 2005/06/30 | PS2 | 15+ |
| Angel Knight | フェレット | Defunct | 2003/08/22 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 冤罪 | 郎猫儿 | Defunct | 2002/10/11 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 冤罪 ファンディスク | 郎猫儿 | Defunct | 2003/08/15 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 王子さま Lv1 | Alice Blue | Defunct | 2001/06/22 | PC | All Ages |
| 王子さまLv1.5 | Alice Blue | Defunct | 2002/02/22 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 王子さまLV1 | キッド | Defunct | 2002/03/20 | PS | All Ages |
| 王子さまLV1.5～王子さまのたまご～ | キッド | Defunct | 2003/02/20 | PS | All Ages |
| 王子さまLv2 | Alice Blue | Defunct | 2004/04/16 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 逢魔の森～異能者の学園～ | マリンハート | Defunct | 2002/04/06 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 漢のためのバイブル THE 友情アドベン チャー～炎多留・魂～ | D3 PUBLISHER | Active | 2003/10/30 | PS2 | All Ages |
| オメルタ～沈黙の掟～ | 花梨シャノアールΩ | Active | 2011/04/22 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| オメルタ CODE:TYCOON | 花梨シャノアールΩ | Active | 2013/12/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| オメルタ ～沈黙の掟～THE LEGACY | 花梨シャノアールΩ | Active | 2014/11/20 | PSP | 17+ |
| オメルタ CODE:TYCOON戒 | 花梨シャノアールΩ | Active | 2016/03/17 | PS Vita | 17+ |
| 俺の下であがけ | Alice Blue | Defunct | 2002/11/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 俺の下でAGAKE | D3 PUBLISHER | Active | 2007/06/21 | PS2 | 17+ |
| 花蝕の罠 | フェレット | Defunct | 2004/03/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 隠れ月 | Alice Blue | Defunct | 2000/03/24 | PC | All Ages |
| 夏幻の恋 | PAPILIO | Unknown | 2013/09/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 翳りゆく教室 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2007/11/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 籠ノ中の愛想曲 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2005/01/21 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| カフェ・リンドバーグ ～ぼくらの恋愛心理学2～ | アイン | Defunct | 2002/08/09 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 神様（仮）-カミサマカッコカリ -学園騒乱編 | easy-peasy | Unknown | 2013/05/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 神様（仮）-カミサマカッコカリ -路地裏繚乱編 | easy-peasy | Unknown | 2013/05/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 神無ノ鳥 | すたじおみりす | Defunct | 2002/11/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| GUISARD ～僕らは想いを身に纏う～ | SandalDash | Defunct | 2003/04/18 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| GUISARD・SHUFFLE ～僕らは想いを解き放つ～ | SandalDash | Defunct | 2003/12/12 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| GUISARD ファンディスク ～僕らの想いを詰め込んで～ | SandalDash | Defunct | 2004/03/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| GUISARD Revolution ～僕らは想いを身に纏う～ | キッド | Defunct | 2005/03/03 | PS2 | 15+ |
| 学園ヘヴン BOY’S LOVE SCRAMBLE！ | Spray | Active | 2002/08/02 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 学園ヘヴン ～BoysLoveScramble!～ | プロトタイプ | Active | 2003/11/27 | PS2, PSP, PS Vita | 18+, 15+ |
| 学園ヘヴン おかわりっ! BOY’S LOVE ATTACK! | インターチャネル | Defunct | 2005/02/24 | PS2, PSP | 15+ |
| 学園ヘヴン2 ～DOUBLE SCRAMBLE！～ | Spray/プロトタイプ | Active | 2014/07/11 | PC,PSP, PS Vita | All Ages |
| 学園ハンサム Special | チーム欲求腐満 | Active | 2015/10/23 | PC | All Ages |
| 学園番長 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2002/12/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 学園Prince ～学園征服宣言～ | boy’s software | Defunct | 2004/07/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 学園Prince～ファンディスク～ | boy’s software | Defunct | 2005/02/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| GALTIA | GRISEDGE | Active | 2015/09/18 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 鬼畜眼鏡 | Spray | Active | 2007/07/20 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 鬼畜眼鏡R | Spray | Active | 2009/03/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| きみスタ～きみとスタディ～ | プリマヴェーラ | Defunct | 2006/04/27 | PS2 | 15+ |
| 君と恋におちる季節 | SWALLOWTAIL | Defunct | 2001/06/15 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 君の中のパラディアーム | Chat Errant | Defunct | 2009/10/02 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| キラル盛 | Nitro+CHiRAL | Active | 2008/01/25 | PC | All Ages |
| 銀のエクリプス | Nines fox | Defunct | 2008/07/31 | PS2 | 17+ |
| 黒の十字架 ～per aspera～ | フェレット | Defunct | 2004/07/16 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 華鬼 | フェレット | Defunct | 2003/12/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 月下の契り | マリンハート | Defunct | 2006/03/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 恋色の絵具 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2005/09/22 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 恋時雨～八百八町夢物語～ | マリンハート | Defunct | 2001/11/09 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| コイビト遊戯 | PIL/SLASH | Active | 2007/08/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 仔羊捕獲ケーカク! スイートボーイズライフ | アイディアファクトリー | Active | 2006/11/24 | PS2 | 15+ |
| Cox-Bax | GIZMO | Defunct | 2003/09/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 最強彼氏。 | Spray | Active | 2001/04/20 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 催眠の奏 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2004/11/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| サイレントムーン | SWALLOWTAIL | Defunct | 2002/07/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 桜坂一丁目一番地 | unicorn-b | Defunct | 2006/02/17 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 桜雪 | ピックス | Defunct | 2004/12/03 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Si-Nis-Kanto | Ands | Unknown | 2013/10/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 死神修行はじめました。 | Monoceros | Defunct | 2005/12/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 私立大成学園物語 | SWALLOWTAIL | Defunct | 2000/10/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| SILVER CHAOS | VividColor | Defunct | 2002/07/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| SILVER CHAOS FANBOX ～ ETERNAL FANTASIA～ | VividColor | Defunct | 2003/05/23 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 少年達の病棟 | Singing Canary | Defunct | 2001/06/15 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 修業旅行～古都迷走地図～ | MERRY BOYS | Defunct | 2005/05/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 修羅の筆 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2002/07/05 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 新婚さん ～Sweet Sweet honeymoon～ | BaseSon SPICE* | Defunct | 2007/12/21 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 神学校 -Noli me tangere- | PIL/SLASH | Active | 2011/03/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 神学校-The Gift- | PIL/SLASH | Active | 2012/02/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| SHINSENGUMI ～幕末幻想恋愛奇譚～ | BARON | Defunct | 2005/07/01 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| JACKIN－ジャックイン－ | アイン | Defunct | 2004/08/13 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| jewel garden | Whiteplum | Defunct | 2002/11/08 | PC | All Ages |
| Gian Carlo’s Lucky Happy Life | Tennenouji | Active | 2011/08/05 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ジャンのためなら世界を壊す | Tennenouji | Active | 2012/04/08 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 純情ロマンチカ ～恋のドキドキ大作戦～ | マーベラスエンターテ イメント | Defunct | 2008/11/27 | PS2 | 15+ |
| sweet pool | Nitro+CHiRAL | Active | 2008/12/19 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| スーツを脱いだあと… | RECIPIE | Defunct | 2002/08/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! ～First Limit～ | プラチナれーべる | Defunct | 2000/08/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! -TARGET†NIGHTS- | プラチナれーべる | Defunct | 2001/05/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! ～Rain～ | プラチナれーべる | Defunct | 2002/05/17 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! ～FAN DISK～ | プラチナれーべる | Defunct | 2003/04/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! +White Flower+ | プラチナれーべる | Defunct | 2003/07/31 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! -FIRST LIMIT&TARGET†NIGHTS- Sukisyo! Episode #01+#02 | インターチャネル | Defunct | 2004/03/25 | PS2 | 18+ |
| 好きなものは好きだからしょうがない!! -RAIN- Sukisyo! Episode #03 | インターチャネル | Defunct | 2004/10/21 | PS2 | 18+ |
| スキャンダラスラプソディ | マリンハート | Defunct | 2001/09/07 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| スクエアな関係 -ぼくらの恋愛心理学3- | アイン | Defunct | 2007/09/21 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| STAMPOUT | Monoceros | Defunct | 2005/06/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| STEAL! | Spray | Active | 2009/11/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Spell Down | Monoceros | Defunct | 2006/08/11 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 星海宝烈伝 | Lucina | Defunct | 2003/04/11 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| セレスティン～光と影と宇宙海賊～ | サイバーフロント | Defunct | 2002/08/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| セラフィム・スパイラル－少年の檻－ | b_works | Defunct | 2001/06/22 | PC | All Ages |
| 絶対服従命令 | 郎猫儿 | Defunct | 2005/04/22 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 蒼黒の月 | Moon Parrot | Defunct | 2001/05/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 蒼黒の月外伝～幻夜の書～ | Moon Parrot | Defunct | 2002/05/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 蒼天の扉 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2005/03/04 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| そして僕らは、…and he said | Spray | Active | 2004/01/31 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| そして僕らは、…and he said | インターチャネル | Defunct | 2005/06/30 | PS2 | 18+ |
| それが僕等の恋愛生活 | OPERAHOUSE | Defunct | 2003/06/06 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| それが僕等の恋愛生活 Fan Disc | OPERAHOUSE | Defunct | 2005/04/01 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| それが僕等の恋愛生活 温泉に行こう！ | OPERAHOUSE | Defunct | 2006/01/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 空の森～追憶ノ棲ム館～ | すたじおみりす team L←→R | Defunct | 2004/04/02 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 大正メビウスライン | LOVEDELIVERY | Active | 2012/12/21 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 大正メビウスライン PORTABLE＆Vitable | dramatic create | Active | 2014/02/27 | PSP,PS Vita | 17+ |
| 大正メビウスライン 帝都備忘録 | LOVEDELIVERY | Active | 2015/12/18 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 大正浪漫事件簿 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2002/10/18 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 体育教師 極 | エフジー | Defunct | 2012/01/16 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 玉響 | パルミエ | Defunct | 2006/11/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 揺蕩う刻 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2004/05/21 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Cherryblossom ～チェリーブロッサム～ | TAKUYO | Defunct | 2004/03/26 | PC, Dreamcast, PS2,PSP | All Ages |
| 喰蝶花 | α－アルファ－ | Defunct | 2006/03/31 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 憑神 -ツキガミ- | LOVEDELIVERY | Active | 2007/03/02 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 帝国千戦記 | 郎猫儿 | Defunct | 2004/04/23 | PC | All Ages/18+ Adult Only |
| Take off！～これが僕らの選ぶ道～ | b-Wings | Defunct | 2003/08/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 東京陰陽師～天現寺橋 怜の場合～ | TYRANT | Active | 2014/06/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 東京陰陽師～天現寺橋 怜の場合～ V Edition | dramatic create | Active | 2015/09/17 | PS Vita | 17+ |
| 咎狗の血 | Nitro+CHiRAL | Active | 2005/02/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 咎狗の血 True Blood | KADOKAWA | Active | 2008/05/29 | PS2, PSP | 17+ |
| Daylight-朝に光の冠を- | Senz | Defunct | 2008/03/28 | PC | All Ages |
| Debt～危ないプレジデント～ | Saucy Soft | Defunct | 2006/03/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ドーリィナイト | パペット | Defunct | 2004/04/09 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| DRAMAtical Murder | Nitro+CHiRAL | Active | 2012/03/23 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| DRAMAtical Murder re:connect | Nitro+CHiRAL | Active | 2013/04/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| DRAMAtical Murder re:code | デジターボ | Defunct | 2014/10/30 | PS Vita | 17+ |
| NA-RA-KU～芸術的陵辱レッスン～ | マリンハート | Defunct | 2003/01/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 弄り遊戯 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2004/02/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 憎しみのRosette | マリンハート | Defunct | 2003/03/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 新田祐克マルチメディアBOX GIGOLO | ビブロス | Defunct | 2001/08/09 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 24時、君のハートは盗まれる ～怪盗ジェイド～ | PINK CLOVER | Defunct | 2004/03/19 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 熱砂ノ楽園 | VividColor | Defunct | 2010/08/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| NO,THANK YOU!!! | parade | Active | 2013/06/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| HEARTNER HEARTS | unicorn-b | Defunct | 2005/01/20 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 花町物語 | VividColor | Defunct | 2005/08/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 花陰 – 堕ちた蜜華 – | VividColor | Defunct | 2009/11/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ハンクス・ワークショップ！ | エフジー | Defunct | 2004/12/17 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 裸執事 | マーダー工房 | Active | 2011/09/16 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 裸執事ファンディスク ～やらしつじ＆やさしつじ～ | マーダー工房 | Active | 2013/11/15 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 薔薇ノ木ニ薔薇ノ花咲ク | サイク・ロゼ | Defunct | 2003/02/21 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 薔薇ノ木ニ薔薇ノ花咲ク ファンディスク | サイク・ロゼ | Defunct | 2003/09/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 薔薇ノ木ニ薔薇ノ花咲ク -Das Versprechen- | インターチャネル/ クインロゼ | Defunct | 2006/06/15 | PS2, PSP | 15+ |
| birdie～ぼくらの恋愛心理学～ | アイン | Defunct | 2001/10/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ひとつや物語 | アイン | Defunct | 2005/11/21 | PC | All Ages |
| 比翼は愛薊の彼方へ ～未了の因～ | SandalDash | Defunct | 2006/11/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 比翼は愛薊の彼方へ ～久遠の想～ | SandalDash | Defunct | 2007/08/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 比翼は愛薊の彼方へ ～連理の夢～ | SandalDash | Defunct | 2008/09/12 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| PigeonBlood | PIL/SLASH XXX | Active | 2014/10/03 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ピヨたん ～ハウスキーパーはCuteな探偵～ | Spray | Active | 2006/04/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ピヨたん～お屋敷潜入☆大作戦！～ | プロトタイプ | Active | 2008/08/14 | PS2 | 17+ |
| FANATICA | CORE | Defunct | 2004/11/04 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| フレグランス・テイル | TAKUYO | Defunct | 2001/02/16 | PC | All Ages |
| ぷり・プリ ～PRINCE×PRINCE～ | あまなっとう | Defunct | 2005/06/17 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Plastic Boys～水色のキモチ～ | GAIA | Defunct | 2002/08/23 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| PLEASURE☆ | BARON | Defunct | 2004/04/16 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 星のまほろば | ジョルダン | Defunct | 2002/08/01 | PS | All Ages |
| 紅色天井艶妖綺譚 | LOVEDELIVERY | Active | 2008/08/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 紅色天井艶妖綺譚 ～藍丸捕物帳～ | LOVEDELIVERY | Active | 2010/08/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 炎多留 | T＆M | Defunct | 2000/12/01 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 炎多留II 魂 ～男子局アナマル秘衝撃スクープ～ | T＆M | Defunct | 2002/10/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 炎多留III 潮－USHIO－ | T＆M | Defunct | 2005/09/11 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| BOY×BOY ～私立光稜学院誠心寮～ | キングレコード | Defunct | 1999/04/09 | PC | All Ages |
| bois～機械じかけの街～ | 花梨エンターテイメント | Defunct | 2002/08/23 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ボクの彼氏はジュリエット | SandalDash | Defunct | 2002/10/11 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 僕の独裁者 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2005/08/12 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ぼくらの恋愛心理学fan’s disc | アイン | Defunct | 2003/06/20 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ぼくらはみんな、恋をする | pekoe | Defunct | 2006/05/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| マギア・ミスティカ－精霊魔術士－ | b_works | Defunct | 2007/12/14 | PC | 15+ Only |
| マスカレード ～地獄学園SO/DO/MU～ | PIL/SLASH | Active | 2006/05/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 迷家の檻 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2005/04/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 身代わりの館 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2003/10/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| みらくるのーとん | Tennenouji | Active | 2006/12/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Miracle No-ton Tadaima Zouryou Chuu! | Tennenouji | Active | 2007/09/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| みらくるのーとん 願いを打ちこんで！ | Tennenouji | Active | 2008/04/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ミラクルハート | マリンハート | Defunct | 2001/08/03 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| みずたま | BLT | Unknown | 2015/05/03 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 紫の焔 | アイディアファクトリー | Active | 2008/11/27 | PS2 | 12+ |
| MESSIAH | CORE-DUSK | Defunct | 2006/08/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| MESSIAH Paranoia ∞ Paradox | CORE-DUSK | Defunct | 2008/08/08 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| メイド★はじめました ～ご主人様のお世話いたします～ | VividColor | Defunct | 2007/12/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 召しませ王子サマ | マリンハート | Defunct | 2002/09/13 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 森の記憶 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2002/05/31 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ライジングビート | マリンハート | Defunct | 2001/12/07 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Live×Evil 灼熱のエデマ | EDGE | Defunct | 2005/10/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Live×Evil 熱砂のプロメテウス | EDGE | Defunct | 2007/02/09 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 楽園行 | Alice Blue | Defunct | 2002/03/07 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ラシエルの箱庭 －少年と解放の呪文－ | b_works | Defunct | 2004/07/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ラッキードッグ1 | Tennenouji | Active | 2009/06/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Love Songを君に… | フェレット | Defunct | 2003/07/25 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Love Mission | マリンハート | Defunct | 2006/01/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ラブミーテンダー | VividColor | Defunct | 2008/10/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Lamento -BEYOND THE VOID- | Nitro+CHiRAL | Active | 2006/10/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Laughter Land | 郎猫儿 | Defunct | 2006/10/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 臨海合宿 | βｐ- ｉｎｋ | Defunct | 2007/10/26 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Refine バラエティパッケージ | Monoceros | Defunct | 2003/01/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 恋愛破局請負人 | マリンハート | Defunct | 2004/09/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 彼女を寝取ったヤリチン男を雌堕ちさせるまで | メス男子 | Unknown | 2016/07/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Room No. 9 | parade | Active | 2016/09/30 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 古書店街の橋姫 | ADELTA | Active | 2016/08/13 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 罪ナル螺旋ノ檻 -Whispers of Iscariot- | Spray | Active | 2016/05/27 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 貴方日記 Euforia | BLobby | Active | 2016/05/27 | PC | 17+ |
| Rakka Ten | LOVE&DESTROY | Active | 2010/04/01 | PC | 15+ |
| Cage -Open- | LOVE&DESTROY | Active | 2011/08/12 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Cage -Close- | LOVE&DESTROY | Active | 2012/08/10 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Psychedelic | LOVE&DESTROY | Unknown | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| オメガヴァンパイア | 花梨シャノアールΩ | Active | 2016/12/02 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| きんとうか | GRISEDGE | Active | 2017/3/17 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 復讐帝国 | hobibox/fetish | Active | 2017/11/24 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 櫻華堕つ -神州機巧戦記- | 極東ブレイド | Unknown | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Heimskringla | TYRANT | Active | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| スロウ・ダメージ（仮） | Nitro+CHiRAL | Active | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 患者Ｓの救済 | マーダー工房 | Active | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| New World Order | LoveDelivery | Active | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| ノンケ一発食べ放題 | Astray | Active | 2017/04/28 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 聖・CRAIN学園 | Tennenouji | Active | 2000/10/29 | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| Paradise | Pil/SLASH | Active | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
| 魔法使いと天使と悪魔 | Varenyett | Active | TBA | PC | 18+ Adult Only |
A summary of releases and active developers by year
| Year | Games | Active Devs | Developers | New Brands | Dead Brands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1 | 1 | キングレコード | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | 4 | 4 | Alice Blue, プラチナれーべる, SWALLOWTAIL, T&M, Tennenouji | 5 | 0 |
| 2001 | 16 | 13 | TAKUYO, Spray, プラチナれーべる, Moon Parrot, SWALLOWTAIL, Singing Canary, Alice Blue, b_works, STACK software, マリンハート, ビブロス, Adel, アイン | 10 | 3 |
| 2002 | 28 | 20 | Alice Blue, キッド, マリンハート, Moon Parrot, プラチナれーべる, SWALLOWTAIL, VividColor, ジョルダン, Spray, unicorn-b, アイン, GAIA, 花梨エンターテイメント, RECIPE, サイバーフロント, 郎猫儿, SandalDash, T＆M, Whiteplum, すたじおみりす | 12 | 6 |
| 2003 | 25 | 19 | マリンハート, Monoceros, キッド, サイク•ロゼ, Luchina, SandalDash, BlueImpact, プラチナれーべる, VividColor, OPERAHOUSE, アイン, フェレット, 郎猫儿, b-Wings, GIZMO, Moon Parrot, D3 PUBLISHER, プロトタイプ | 9 | 6 |
| 2004 | 27 | 22 | Blue Crescent Moon, Spray, VividColor, マリンハート, PINK CLOVER, インターチャネル, フェレット, SandalDash, TAKUYO, すたじおみりす team L←→R, パペット, Alice Blue, BARON, 郎猫儿, boy’s software, b_works, アイン, ClearColor, CORE, ピックス, Monoceros, エフジー | 11 | 9 |
| 2005 | 30 | 22 | unicorn-b, マリンハート, 花梨エンターテイメント (spun off 花梨シャノアールΩ), インターチャネル, boy’s software, Nitro+CHiRAL, キッド, lapin, OPERAHOUSE, 郎猫儿, STACK software, MERRY BOYS, あまなっとう, BlueImpact, Monoceros, BARON, VividColor, T&M, EDGE, アイン | 6 | 8 |
| 2006 | 20 | 20 | OPERAHOUSE, マリンハート, unicorn-b, Saucy Soft, α－アルファ－, プリマヴェーラ, Spray, pecoe, PIL/SLASH, インターチャネル/ クインロゼ, Monoceros, CORE-DUSK, Nitro+CHiRAL, 郎猫儿, アイディアファクトリー, パルミエ, SandalDash, あまなっとうぱふぇ | 6 | 10 |
| 2007 | 13 | 13 | EDGE, LOVEDELIVERY, D3 PUBLISHER, Spray, SandalDash, PIL/SLASH, アイン, Tennenouji, βｐ- ｉｎｋ, マリンハート, b_works, BaseSon SPICE*, VividColor | 3 | 7 |
| 2008 | 13 | 12 | Nitro+CHiRAL, Senz, Tennenouji, KADOKAWA, Nines fox, CORE-DUSK, プロトタイプ, LOVEDELIVERY, SandalDash, VividColor, マーベラスエンターテ イメント, アイディアファクトリー | 3 | 8 |
| 2009 | 5 | 4 | Spray, Tennenouji, Chat Errant, VividColor | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | 3 | 3 | VividColor, LOVEDELIVERY, Love&Destroy | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | 5 | 5 | PIL/SLASH, 花梨シャノアールΩ (spun off from 花梨エンターテイメント), Tennenouji, マーダー工房, Love&Destroy | 2 | 0 |
| 2012 | 6 | 6 | エフジー, PIL/SLASH, Nitro+CHiRAL, Tennenouji, LOVEDELIVERY, Love&Destroy | 0 | 1 |
| 2013 | 8 | 7 | Nitro+CHiRAL, easy-peasy, parade, PAPILIO, Ands, マーダー工房, 花梨シャノアールΩ | 4 | 3 |
| 2014 | 6 | 6 | dramatic create, TYRANT, Spray/プロトタイプ, PIL/SLASH XXX, デジターボ, 花梨シャノアールΩ | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 5 | 5 | BLT, dramatic create, GRISEDGE, チーム欲求腐満*, LOVEDELIVERY | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 6 | 花梨シャノアールΩ, Spray, BLobby, メス男子, ADELTA, parade | 3 | 0 |
| TBA | 10 | 10 | GRISEDGE, hobibox/fetish, 極東ブレイド, TYRANT, Nitro+CHiRAL, マーダー工房, LoveDelivery, Astray, Love&Destroy, Pil/Slash | 3 | n/a |
Red: last year with a release for a brand (presumed/possibly defunct or no longer producing BL titles after this year’s releases)
Green: first year a brand appears (if they died the same year they’re just red)
Blue: port company (mostly)
*- Team Yokkyu Fuman should really be listed much earlier, but that’s where it shows up on this particular list
Some notes on companies & their relations
Note: this is not an exhaustive list or analysis of all brands mentioned in the list above. The notes are really just my observations, there’s a fair chance I’ve failed to notice some important and/or interesting things. Also the number of titles to a brand’s name is more of a ballpark number since it kinda depends on what you want to count (should ports/all ages versions count? what about content patches/add-ons? should I only count completed games or in-dev too? etc). Also this isn’t really in any particular order.
| Alicesoft | |||||
| Alice Blue | 2000-2004 | Defunct | Commercial | 6 titles | |
| Best known titles are probably Oujisama Lv. 1 and Ore no Shita de Agake. Many staff show up later at Pil/SLASH working on Masquerade and and Koibito Yuugi. Jinnai, who wrote Ore no Shita, went on to work with Tennenouji (scenario writer on Luckydog) and form otome brand Kalmia8. | |||||
| Amuse Craft (parent brand of several other eroge brands including Unison Shift) | |||||
| Platinum Label | 2000-2006 | Defunct | Commercial | 5 titles (one series) | |
| They made Sukisho! and that’s about it (not to suggest that it wasn’t a very successful/important series though). If the core creative staff went on to do other things in the industry, they did it under different handles. | |||||
| Visual Art’s (parent brand of Key, etc) | |||||
| Spray | 2001-present | Active | Commercial | 10 titles | |
| One of the oldest still active BL game brands. Best known for the Gakuen Heaven series and Kichiku Megane. They went dormant for about five years after STEAL! but returned with a sequel to Gakuen Heaven (an unusual move in modern BL games as it was an all-ages only release) and a darker 18+ title, Tsuminaru. They produce pretty traditional style BL. | |||||
| WillPlus (a huge umbrella brand encompassing a lot of companies) | |||||
| Langmaor | 2002-2006 | Defunct | Commercial | 4 titles | |
| Shares some staff with Tennenouji (most notably Yura) and Amanatto. Probably best known for Enzai and Absolute Obedience. | |||||
| Amanatto, Amanatto Parfait | 2005-2007 | Defunct | Commercial | 3 titles | |
| Blue Crescent Moon | 2004 | Defunct | Commercial | 1 title | |
| Hobibox (another big umbrella brand/distributor) | |||||
| easy-peasy | 2013 | Defunct | Commercial | 2 titles (one series) | |
| Unfortunately seems to have been a failed experiment. Their only release was the two halves of Kamisama (Kari) which was notable for a couple things: one, it was a split release as was fashionable for some reason in 2013 (game split into two half-price thematic units released at the same time or in short succession, another Hobi brand, Pure-Wool, did this with Jooubachi no Oubou too) and two it had some interesting gameplay mechanics from being able to chose from two different age versions of the MC in each half of the game and having seme/uke options for every scene. I guess it failed to impress though. | |||||
| Holicworks | |||||
| LoveDelivery | 2007-Present | Active | Commercial | 6 titles | |
| Their recent title Taisho Mebiusline has been a massive success. Has very close creative ties with its sister brands. | |||||
| TYRANT | 2014-Present | Active | Commercial | 2 titles | |
| Dunno what to say beyond Tokyo Onmyouji not being nearly as popular as Taisho Mebiusline. | |||||
| hobibox/fetish | 2016* | Active | Commercial | 1 title (in development) | |
| Hasn’t released anything yet, but they announced their first title, Fukushuu Teikoku, in 2016. The stated objective of the brand is to produce more sex-focused works. They hired noted male eromanga artist Kei Mizuryu to illustrate their first title. | |||||
| Some general notes about Holicworks: I have to go look up the interview I vaguely recall reading this in again to double check this but I *believe* this entire sub-group under Hobi is helmed by a single producer who’s (a/the?) creative lead in LoveDelivery. LoveDelivery and TYRANT have a very close relationship though (iirc Tokyo Onmyouji and Mebiusline‘s stories are related?). Both LoveDelivery and TYRANT lean more traditional, while hobibox/fetish (seems to be at least) leaning more into the 男性向け-style side of things. | |||||
| ClockUp (under Hobi through ~2014, now independent) | parade | 2013-Present | Active | Commercial | 2 titles |
| Probably the most noteworthy thing about parade in general is that, unlike most BL brands under 男性向け eroge companies, parade shares all of its staff with ClockUp. It’s not isolated from the rest of the company. The staff all do regular work with ClockUp as well. Why’s this noteworthy? Well, I think it’s a big contributing factor to parade’s somewhat unique approach to BL. | |||||
| Astray | 2016* | Active | Commercial | 1 title (in development) | |
| Not 100% confirmed that they’re under Hobi, but the HobiGirls Twitter account keeps RTing them, so it seems like a reasonable assumption. | |||||
| Nitroplus | |||||
| Nitro+CHiRAL | 2005-Present | Active | Commercial | 8 titles | |
| It’s N+C, I don’t think they require much introduction. Togainu drastically changed the BL game landscape. One thing I would note is that I have serious doubts that Kabura Fuchii is a single person (at least not anymore). The presentation of staff starting around DMMd shifted pretty drastically from more in-depth, personal comments to broad and generic information from “staff” (not to mention the state of DMMd‘s script itself being highly suggestive of multiple writers (not that multiple writers is a bad thing, I just think “Kabura” is more of a marketing thing than an actual credit)––but that’s a subject for a different post!) | |||||
| Orbit | |||||
| CORE, CORE-DUSK | 2001-2008 | Defunct | Commercial | 4 titles | |
| Probably best known for game’s featuring Carnelian’s art. | |||||
| Karin Entertainment (I think there has to be another company over them but I’m not sure what it is) | |||||
| Karin Entertainment | 2005-present | Active (not in BL) | Commercial | 1 (BL) title | |
| They haven’t done anything resembling BL since Animamundi, presumably shunted any of that off to the Chatnoir Omega sub-brand instead. | |||||
| Karin Chatnoir Omega | 2011-present | Active | Commercial | 3 titles | |
| Best known for the Omerta series and soon Omega Vampire. They are a more “traditional” brand of the current crop of active developers. | |||||
| Cyc (technically the parent company is called something else but for simplicity) | |||||
| Cyc Rosé | 2003-2010 | Defunct | Commercial | 2 titles | |
| Only ever produced Bara no Ki ni Bara no Hanasaku and its fandisk + ports. Matsuri Kusaka (who would later go on to write Shingakkou for Pil/SLASH) wrote and illustrated BaraKi. | |||||
| Palmiers | 2006-2014 | Defunct | Commercial | 1 title | |
| Brand only released one title (and re-released it several times). Tamayura had a bunch of writers on it, including Akihiko Hanada (Hunks Workshop). | |||||
| STONE HEADS (Pil, CODEPINK, etc) | |||||
| Pil/SLASH, Pil/SLASH XXX | 2006-2014 | Active | Commercial | 6 titles | |
| Initially started out with a number of Alice Blue staff, but staff have cycled around several times since then (for example Shingakkou shares essentially no creative staff with Pigeon Blood). Their most famous and critically acclaimed work is Shingakkou by a long shot (Kusaka probably deserves more of the credit for that than P/S tbh). Pigeon Blood seems to have been a horrific production disaster on a lot of levels. They spun off the Pil/SLASH XXX brand explicitly for that release, meaning for it to be more “hardcore” sexual content, but initial plans for the title seem to have been scrapped (possibly related to whatever happened to cause the lead writer to drop out shortly before the game’s release and be replaced with several new writers + causing a lengthy delay). The remaining creative staff at P/S seem to have all moved on to their recently established sister otome game brand, Pil-VAMP, leaving P/S dormant or possibly abandoned. The brand’s future is extremely unclear at the moment. | |||||
| Lune (nukige brand) | |||||
| Mesu Danshi | 2016 | Unkown | Commercial | 1 title | |
| Officially, they consider themselves a 男性向け brand and don’t even consider their game(s) BL. | |||||
| WoGa | |||||
| Tennenouji | 2000-present | Active | Doujin(ish?) | 8 titles | |
| Most famous for the Luckydog series which is perpetually the most popular game in Cool-B. The Luckydog series honestly confuses the shit out of me in terms of what releases are what, so I really don’t know what to make of it other than it’s very popular. Ties to Langmaor. | |||||
| Odessa Project (they’re more of a distributor/publisher than parent brand afaik) | |||||
| Mada Labo | 2011-present | Active | Doujin(ish) | 3 titles | |
| Technically Mada Labo is the umbrella brand for Togo Mito’s projects with Mada Koubou being the actual imprint Hadaka Shitsuji was published under, but the distinction is pretty trivial considering he has no other brands at the moment. In 2013? A sub-brand called Claw/Mark was announced with a game, Tenrin no Guneval, but after years with no updates, it eventually evaporated in late 2015 or early 2016 I can’t quite recall. | |||||
This isn’t quite complete but good enough for now.