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Sony Music Entertainment Japan announced that it terminated the contract of Alba Sera, a Vtuber who debuted with VERSE and transferred to VEE. Her activities ended as of April 30, 2025, though she made one last statement on social media in both Japanese and English. The company cited her going against policy, and noted it will stop selling her merchandise and accepting fan letters on June 30, 2025. 

Here is the full statement that Alba Sera shared on her official social media : 

“I think I have surprised you and saddened you with my suddenness. I am truly sorry. 

“I would like to thank Kane Mama, Labyrinth Explorers, everyone who ed my activities, all the creators and activists who helped me in my activities, everyone who knew me and got involved with me, thank you for everything you have done for me.

“If I have been able to stimulate your daily lives even a little, I believe that my existence was worthwhile. I sincerely apologize that this is the way I have to leave you. And thank you for all the love.”

Alba Sera debuted as a Vtuber back in October 2021 with VERSE, before that agency was absorbed into Sony’s VEE in April 2024. She’s been incredibly active since then and is known for her original songs and covers. In fact, she just performed a cover of the Kagamine Len Vocaloid song by *Luna, “Attract Light,” on April 29, 2025. Holostars member Banzoin Hakka shared that on social media, and you can hear that below:

Her last original song and music video was “Frontier,” which appeared in September 2024. You can watch that below:

This is one of many graduations, terminations, and departures that happened in the Vtuber space in April 2025 and May 2025. Hololive Vtubers Nanashi Mumei and Gawr Gura both left Cover. Nijisanji English lost Fulgur Ovid and Ike Eveland. Matara Kan will leave VShojo and continue as an indie. Former Production Kawaii Vtuber Lua Asuka, who went indie, will graduate. 

Vtuber Alba Sera is now no longer with Sony Music Entertainment Japan and performing, following the contract termination on April 30, 2025.

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Sony Music, Aniplex, and Pocketpair have established Palworld Entertainment as a t venture. It will focus on expanding Palworld as an IP, including the release of merchandise on Aniplex Online.

So far, the Aniplex Online storefront does not contain any Palworld goods. But they will appear in time. You can follow the official Palworld X (Twitter) so that you don’t miss it.

According to the description on the Palworld Entertainment website, Sony Music Entertainment and Aniplex will focus on expanding the IP and focus on various tasks in licensing. This will likely mean more collaborations down the line between Palworld and other companies or IPs.

As for Palworld, it is an online survival game that came out in early access in January 2024 and saw over 5 million s by the end of the month. A huge part of the game also focuses on capturing Pals, which you can use for various survival tasks in the world. Even before it came out, Palworld has had its share of controversies, between the depiction of animal cruelty and its plagiarism of Pokemon designs or assets. Despite these issues, its high sales and concurrent players make it one of the more successful PC games in recent years.

Palworld is readily available on the Windows PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One. It’s still in early access and a macOS version will come out some time in 2024.

The post Pocketpair Forms Palworld Entertainment With Sony, Aniplex appeared first on Siliconera.

Sony Music Entertainment announced that Prism Project will cease operations from March 31, 2024. The website did not mention the reason behind its closure. 

According to the statement, Prism Project will cease to exist from March 31, 2024, and all of the VTubers will become independent from April 1, 2024. They will be able to keep their current identities. So if, for example, you’re a big fan of Tsubame Kou, you will still be able to follow her and she will retain the exact same model, name, and story. They will also keep their current YouTube channels and other social media s.

As for the transfer process, Sony encourages fans of the group's VTubers to pay attention to their favorite talents’ streams and social medias. This is so that they know what their future plans on. The official s will remain as an archive even after March 31, 2024. Sony adds that fans don’t ask the talents about this closure, and to e-mail management directly.

Prism Project started in 2021 and became partners with Sony Music Entertainment Japan from 2022. It debuted seven generations of VTubers since it began. As of the time of writing, there are around twenty VTubers with Sony Music Entertainment.

Prism Project will cease operations from March 31, 2024, with all the VTubers going indie under their current identities and models.

The post Sony’s Prism Project to Close, Its VTubers Will Go Indie appeared first on Siliconera.

Prism Project from Sony Music Entertainment has opened up auditions for all genders. Auditions close on September 9, 2022. Though Prism Project’s agency is in Tokyo, VTubers for Prism primarily speak English. However, those who can communicate and stream in other languages are welcome as well. [Thanks, ANN!]

Those who are interested need to apply through Prism Project’s website. You also must live in one of these countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, , , Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Peru, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Republic of Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, or Singapore. Similar to other agencies such as Nijisanji EN, the job is much more home-based and you will not need to physically visit the office in Tokyo.

Applicants do not need to provide their own avatar, as Prism Project will make one for those who . Sony will also provide equipment if you need it. Additionally, you will become a Sony Music talent. According to the website, Sony will help applicants with career goals such as live performances, voice acting, merchandising, and more.

Prism Project first appeared in 2021. All of the VTubers in the agency are female-presenting in the sense that their avatars look female. This means that if any male-presenting VTubers this particular audition, they will be the first male VTubers to debut from Prism. Some VTubers in the agency include Miyoshino Shiki, Hoshifuri Iku, and Kamizuki Naki.

Prism Project is open for auditions until September 9, 2022.

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Ex-Final Fantasy brand manager and Square Enix executive Shinji Hashimoto announced he is ing the Sony Music Entertainment subsidiary ForwardWorks. Starting June 16, 2022, Hashimoto will serve as a senior advisor at Sony Music Entertainment and as a board member at ForwardWorks. Hashimoto notes that this new endeavor will allow him to continue focusing on the "creation of entertainment."

Hashimoto was a long-term employee at Square Enix up until his announced departure last month. The Square Enix veteran worked on numerous high-profile series such as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and The World Ends With You, among many others. Hashimoto is also the co-creator of the Kingdom Hearts series and is frequently credited for the Disney crossover's inception.

https://twitter.com/shinjihashimot3/status/1537277133101629440?s=20&t=oP8OluwPDQbjz8889OK7eQ

In an announcement tweet, Shinji Hashimoto revealed that he has started working at ForwardWorks, the company behind games like the Disgaea RPG and Everybody's Golf app games. It's unclear whether Hashimoto will continue to have a hand in producing games. However, Hashimoto does share that he will continue working in the creation of entertainment in some form or another. To this, Hashimoto asks fans to wait until "the time is right" for him to share further updates.

Notably, ForwardWorks is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Sony Computer Entertainment originally founded the company back in 2016, before transferring ownership to SME. In 2020, it teamed up with Kadokawa Corporation and the developer Cave to release World Witches United Front.

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Sony Music Entertainment has launched a new game label called Unties, that will be in charge of publishing games, including Tiny Metal, Last Standard, and Deemo Reborn.

The post Sony Music Entertainment Kicks Off A New Game Publishing Label Called “Unties” appeared first on Siliconera.