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Sol Press to Launch Digital Light Novel, Manga, Visual Novel Platform
posted on by Karen Ressler
Publisher Sol Press announced at Kumoricon on Saturday that it plans to launch a new light novel, manga, and visual novel digital distribution platform titled Project Hyourin. The platform has been in planning and production for about six monthes and will launch in "about two weeks."
At launch, the platform will have Sol Press' own titles, but the staff plan to allow anyone to distribute over the platform. The staff described the platform as similar to Steam in terms of what it will accept in terms of content rating. (Valve announced in June that it would accept any content on Steam that is not illegal or "straight up trolling.") However, Hyourin will focus on anime-style content.
The platform will also be similar to Steam in that it will allow users to purchase and collect a library of titles. The platform will also offer merchandise for sale.
Hyourin will ultimately have a mobile app, but it will not be available at launch. The app will have manga and light novel readers; the staff have not planned for the visual novel aspect on mobile yet, but Sol Press President and CEO Michael Valdez said that the company would work with developers to integrate their games into the system if they have made versions for iOS and Android.
Sol Press also announced a partnership with Japanese publisher Entergram to bring console ports of visual novels to the West.
Sol Press formed in February 2017 as a light novel, manga, and visual novel publisher.
Source: Sol Press' Twitter account
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