To all our dear Digimon Liberator Players,

Happy New Year to all of you. I'm Kazuki, one of the producers.

Time flies, doesn't it? Digimon Liberator is already greeting the start of a new year.

At the venue of last year's Digimon Card Game World Championship, Zenith, who was crowned the World Champion, announced that he would become the top player of Digimon Liberator, right as it was about to be released. I remember that evening like it was yesterday.

Last year, the number of players increased substantially, and we were also active in promoting the game outside of Japan, so Digimon Liberator has made great leaps forward.

There are already many card games in this genre that you can play face-to-face, as well as various ways to battle remotely, but we think that the massively-multiplayer metaverse that we offer—with our Transportive Another Life system—represents a big step forward in the development of T.A.L.E.

All of our staff will continue to work hard this year, making continuous improvements to both the game systems and story to provide you all with a card gaming experience that is even better than the real thing, as we strive to make the T.A.L.E. Metaverse reach its full potential.

Below, I'll outline the updates we will be introducing this year, as well as the events we have planned.

We would be thrilled if you would continue to support Digimon Liberator going forward!

- Tournaments for Casual Players / Improving Events' Communal Aspects

By sending out regular user surveys within the game and listening to players who gather in the central Jewel district, we were able to confirm a number of reasons why people play the game. We now know that a large number of users play Digimon Liberator despite not being hugely committed to the Digimon Card Game because they want to hang out with their favorite Digimon in a VR environment, while others are nervous about battling but want to play through the main story.

There are players in this group who find the prospect of participating in tournaments daunting, and the community tournaments that we regularly organize, while aimed at the casual level, do not fully cater to these players either.

So this year, we plan to upgrade these events to keep more casual players in mind, creating battle events with a higher entertainment value.

Specifically, this means:

- Limited battles that focus on only one type or color of Digimon.

- Special rule events that combine card battles with quests to test your bond with your Digimon.

- Large-scale team battles where all players are divided into two teams and the winner is decided by the overall win ratio in a limited period of time.

This is only part of what we have planned. We are working hard to find a way to let more players feel the excitement of battling alongside their partner Digimon.

- Organizing Teaching and Challenge Events

We have previously mentioned Teaching and Challenge Events, to be run by GMs. The first of these is scheduled to take place over the course of three days.

The GM in charge will be Yao Qinglan.

She serves on I.D.E.A.'s dev team as its young chief engineer, making adjustments to the systems and graphics for Digimon Liberator, but she's no slouch as a player.

In fact, even the world's #2 player Owen Dreadnought holds her in high regard!
The events planned are as follows.

Outline: This session will explain deck-building, how to battle and more to beginners. It is aimed at people who have had little or no experience with the Digimon Card Game before playing Digimon Liberator. There will be a deck-lending service, so even if you have not yet managed to collect any cards, please come and join us.

GM Comment: There's no need to be scared! Come and learn about the game with us and have a good time ♪

Outline: A tutorial aimed at intermediate players who have some familiarity with the game, as well as players who are thinking about taking part in their first tournament. Tournament etiquette and commonly misunderstood rules will be covered. Yao will also be running a deck clinic between classes.

GM Comment: Hey, you there! Yes, you! Your game is coming along pretty well. But are you sure you're tournament-ready? Join us to make sure you know everything you need to.

Outline: Aimed at advanced players, this will consist of serious battles against Yao and her aquatic control deck. Now that you've refined your own deck, bring your partner Digimon along and duke it out! Those who manage to defeat the GM are granted a special title.

GM Comment: I'll sink all-comers.

We have prepared free gifts for all participants, so please join us!

A few days ago, we released an update that improved the game interface and fixed a number of bugs. Thank you very much for your patience while we performed this essential maintenance.

Lacuna is vast, and there are limits to how many bugs the GMs and the debugging team can find on their own. We would be very grateful if you continued to report bugs when you see them.

We also noticed that a certain notorious NPC, Sam the Clown, has been the topic of much discussion lately. We've heard comments like "Gee, he sure loves to talk," "Every time I talk to him, he just goes on and on," and even "Does that guy ever shut up?" We tried to fix the problem, but we couldn't find any bugs—his software is in full working order. However, our chief administrator and lead GM Cool Boy had a few words with Sam in person, encouraging him to be a bit more succinct. I think you'll all be able to judge the difference for yourselves.

We're currently holding a special event, "Adventure in the Shrine Maiden's Forest," to celebrate the New Year. It will run up until January 31st, with a special area set up in the Emerald Coast area called "Shrine Forest." When inside the Shrine Forest, players' decks will have Fortune-Telling cards mixed in. These trigger random effects, further increasing battles' unpredictability factor. And deep in the forest you will find an NPC—defeat them and their Sakuyamon: Maid Mode deck to acquire an exclusive item.

During the event it will be possible to acquire a special New Year's avatar outfit as a login bonus. Enjoy the New Year celebrations dressed for the occasion alongside your partner Digimon!

Our current development focus at I.D.E.A. aims to unlock the potential of VR spaces by utilizing our recently announced, world-leading T.A.L.E. Metaverse Pod, to provide a fully immersive gaming experience.

As the breakout app for our T.A.L.E. hardware platform, we are planning to take on several bold new projects in Digimon Liberator, including hosting the World Championship inside Lacuna itself, for simultaneous worldwide broadcast.

As part of that initiative, we will also be hosting fan meetups and live music events in Lapis Marine, the Ever-Sunny Seascape.

Digimon fans will be able to gather and interact with each other, take part in live brainstorming sessions with the development staff to share their own ideas, as well as ask questions about the game at live Q&A sessions at these events. Furthermore, our live music events, which will feature renowned musicians and voice actors who play characters within the game, will allow players to enjoy the full intensity of a concert in a way that only VR can allow. Connect with fans from all over the world and make it a night to remember!

We are also trying a new initiative for business users, involving plans to set up office space in the central district of Jewel. Business events, new product announcements, and meetings to discuss collaborations on Digimon products will all be able to take place in the metaverse. The sale of items and limited cards with your logo, collaborations with fashion brands on avatar accessories, and much more are currently being discussed.

It should go without saying that exploits like data fabrication and cheats are against Digimon Liberator's terms, and undermine the game's fairness. Accounts with repeated infractions have been and will continue to be banned.

There was a significant case of malicious players using a cheat tool (preventing tournament winners from logging out and then making them trade their prizes against their will) which the GMs investigated, resulting in severe punishments being dealt out. Naturally, we deeply appreciate any information players can provide us about suspected infringements like these.

We will continue working diligently to improve the game environment, to make it as safe and enjoyable as possible.

Thank you for reading all the way to the end.

All of the staff here will continue to work our hardest this year so we can ensure that the world of Digimon Liberator remains a fresh and stimulating place for all of you to adventure in.

We hope you continue to have a wonderful time.

Producer Keisuke Kazuki
I.D.E.A. Development Department
Digimon Liberator Project Team