Gakuen Idolmaster

Gakuen Idolmaster is a Japanese video game spin-off of The Idolmaster developed by QualiArts and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released in Japan on May 16, 2024, for both iOS and Android.
The game takes place at the Hatsuboshi Gakuen, an idol training school. The player acts as a student in the Producer Department of the school, and produces one of the ten idols studying in the Idol Department.
It is a roguelike deck-building game. In a round of the raising simulation, the player raises the idol's stats through lessons with a deck of skill cards, such that she can pass the mid-term and final exams, and perform in a live concert at the end of production. Each skill card in the deck has a different effect including increasing status or energy, and costs stamina when the player uses it. The player can also improve the deck, and acquire P-items and drinks through consultation with the teachers, etc.
The game requires the player to repeat the simulation. In the process, the player can raise their affection level with the idols and their account level. They can also obtain new support and skill cards, and strengthen their existing ones.
On July 25, 2023, during the franchise's 18th anniversary live stream, it was announced The Idolmaster franchise would release a new brand, starting with a mobile game. It was also revealed that Hidefumi Komino was the producer of the new brand, and the project had been started almost five years ago. The then-untitled brand would be the sixth brand of the franchise, following the original brand, Cinderella Girls, Million Live!, SideM and Shiny Colors.
The title of the game, Gakuen Idolmaster, as well as the first promotional video, were revealed in a live stream on March 5, 2024. In the live stream, the staff and cast were revealed as well. The scenario is written by light novel writers Tsukasa Fushimi, Yū Shimizu and Kazuki Amamiya. The character drafts were created by Aki Minamino and Hechima. The game was set to be released in Q2 of the same year.
The audition for the cast of the idols was held in 2021. On March 5, 2024, three of the nine idols and their voice actresses were revealed.
The ten idols who appear in the game are as follows:
Besides the idols, other cast members include Akio Ōtsuka as Kunio Jūō, the school headmaster, Aoi Koga as Asari Neo, a teacher from the Producer Department, and Minami Tanaka, Yūki Wakai and Yu Serizawa as trainers.
The music works are released under Asobinotes, a record label owned by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The soundtracks in the singles released are different from those used in the live concert scenes in the game, which was the idea from QualiArts.
"Campus mode!!" is the ending theme song of the game, and the player can first listen to it when the affection level reaches ten for any idol. When the game was launched, it was difficult to raise the affection level to ten, so within the fanbase mentioning the song itself is considered as a spoiler of the story plot.
According to Hidefumi Komino, the 3D model of a character consists of 60,000 polygons.
It was the first time The Idolmaster franchise had notable light novel writers joining the production from the beginning of a project. Tsukasa Fushimi, the author of Oreimo and Eromanga Sensei, not only wrote the story but also was involved in the character design. The stories of Saki, Temari, Kotone, China and Hiro are written by Fushimi, while those of the other characters are written by Yū Shimizu and Kazuki Amamiya.
Gakuen Idolmaster was released on May 16, 2024, for iOS and Android devices.
The first live concert tour "Gakuen Idolmaster: Debut Live Hajime Tour" began in August 2024, and will conclude in February of 2025.
A manga adaptation written by Smile Down the Runway's author Kotoba Inoya and illustrated by Yuu Okino was announced on May 8, 2024. The manga series began its serialization in Weekly Shōnen Champion in the same year. The protagonist is Kotone Fujita.
A radio show titled Hatsuboshi Gakuen Ongaku-bu (初星学園音楽部, lit. 'Hatsuboshi Gakuen Music Club') premiered on Apple Music on May 18, 2024. The host is Akihiro Tomita.
According to Oricon, Gakuen Idolmaster ranked first in the weekly ranking of the number of downloads among free-to-play games on the App Store platform in its first week of release.