Why development is paused — and a path forward

A pause to protect the project

After the demo release, MHA Beyond became far more popular than I expected. I’m incredibly grateful for that response—and for everyone who helped make it happen.

Development is paused as a precaution against the risk of a cease-and-desist. Before taking the game further, I want to explore a properly licensed path that respects the creators and rights holders of My Hero Academia.

A look at the project

What licensing would involve

A licence is permission from the relevant rights holder, or an authorized representative, to use intellectual property in specified ways. A game based on an existing series needs the appropriate rights cleared; releasing it for free or calling it a fan project does not automatically provide that permission.

For a franchise like My Hero Academia, the original manga, the anime adaptation, branding, music and other material can involve different rights and approvals. We would need to establish who can authorize the particular game we want to make and what rights are available. There is no single public fee that automatically buys permission to make a My Hero Academia game.

A negotiated agreement would define its scope—such as platforms, territories and duration—and any creative approvals and financial terms. Those details would need to be worked through with the authorized licensors and qualified legal advice. As one concrete example, KLab’s 2022 announcement of a My Hero Academia online game explicitly described permission from the My Hero Academia Production Committee. That agreement does not grant rights to other projects.

Can you help us find a path forward?

If you would like to sponsor the licensing effort, or have contacts who could introduce us to the appropriate rights holders or licensing representatives, please reach out to me—BeyondDev—on our Discord server or on X.

Funding and introductions could help us explore the process; a sponsor cannot grant rights they do not control, and neither guarantees a licence. Thank you for your patience, your enthusiasm and everything you have put into this community.

Further reading

U.S. Copyright Office: permission and using someone else’s work
KLab’s My Hero Academia game licensing announcement