- 🦋Rats, Revelry, and Revelations at Save the Villainess! - 31 August 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses,How has the August heat been treating you? This is Tanya and Emily, your friendly neighborhood developers. We’re excited to share our summer updates with you, including birthday art for Edmund Alpin by the amazing Rui. We also have this month’s character cards which are available through our newsletter that ask each of our characters: “What would you get Edmund Alpin for his birthday?” Come end the summer with us!This month, on August 20th, we celebrated Edmund Alpin’s birthday! Since both astrology and the tarot were popular late Victorian pastimes, we have connected Edmund’s birth date to his personality. People born on August 20th are said to be passionate, generous, and determined to meet their goals. They often use their status to draw attention to issues that they find important while combining their interests with a great sense of humor and optimism…
- 🦋Save the Villainess Serves Up Baby Ben, Baking, and Brouhaha! - 30 July 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses,This is Tanya and Emily, your friendly developers of Save the Villainess. During this heated July, we’re excited to share new game updates and a new character model - Young Ben Buren! We also have this month’s character cards (available exclusively through our newsletter) asking each of our characters “What does your country mean to you?” Come join the fun!This month, we programmed Ben’s teenage self! Completing this work necessitated the export of hundreds of Photoshop (PSD) file layers that we recombined in various ways during an 80+ hour programming process. The complete process of programming Ben is not yet complete, as he only has a “neutral” facial expression and we have yet to finish his full roster of facial expressions (such as happy, laughing, angry, nervous etc.). Still, isn’t he a complete cutie so far? Here’s a little video featuring young Ben…
- EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN - 1 July 2026
We have something special for you...Throughout the month of July, TELLURICENE is teaming up with ten other incredible indie games to encourage you to Embrace the Unknown, a curated event featuring romantic VNs that push the boundaries of romance and mystery.Across this collection, you'll experience unfamiliar worlds filled with heartpounding encounters, mysterious atmospheres that pull you in and refuse to let go, and love stories that defy your expectations.We hope you find something that surprises you.Only one question remains, Dear Player: will you... Embrace the Unknown?
- 🦋Cooking Up Clues & Kitchen Critters over at Save the Villainess! - 29 June 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses,This is Tanya and Emily, your friendly developers of Save the Villainess. This month, we’re ready to reveal a new background, a new character, and new lore about what our characters eat! We programmed a wonderfully sinister kitchen, animated a friendly little rat who is important to the story, and programmed/wrote more scenes filled with romantic choices, mayhem, and mystery. We also want to share Emily’s History Corner with glimpses of the history of Victorian food and kitchens that inspired aspects of our game. Come into our kitchen to see what we’re cooking! First, we programmed a new kitchen background (created by Karel Kok) that will appear throughout the game, particularly in scenes involving a certain fan-favorite character. This beautiful background was created from hundreds of combinable layers. The kitchen has both day and night variations so we…
- 🦋Celebrating Duke Izel Kuzey's Birthday with His Teen Terror! - 29 May 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses,This is Tanya and Emily, your friendly local villainesses and devs of the upcoming otome isekai game, Save the Villainess. This month, as the flowers of May bloom, we’re celebrating the birthday of our favorite neurodivergent Duke of the North, Izel Kuzey. He’s got a brand new animated teen character sprite, a brand new teen character video, and a new set of character cards for you to request through email. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the kind of boy Izel was before he became an icy Duke of the North, come read this update!First, we are wishing a happy birthday to Izel Kuzey, who officially turns a year older every May 15, by animating his teen character sprite. This beautiful model was created by Somate Studio and took dozens of hours of work to complete. Let’s see the results in the birthday video we’ve created for Teen Izel (and a special s…
- 🦋Save the Villainess is in the Storyteller's Festival! - 18 May 2026
Come join Save the Villainess in celebrating story-rich games during Steam's Storyteller's Festival, hosted by Two and Half Studios!Want to read a free prequel novel to Save the Villainess that lets you solve the mystery of your own murder?Try our free detective novel "The Villainess Wants Her Prince to Live!" - Available Online, as a PDF, and an Ebook file.
- 🦋Celebrating Jane's Birthday & a Suspicious Silhouette at Save the Villainess! - 30 April 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses,Greetings again from your duo of villainess devs, Tanya and Emily! We hope that April has brought you only a few rain showers, even as we look forward to May’s gorgeous flowers. In the meantime, we’re excited to celebrate Jane’s birthday with gorgeous art from Rui and a new video. We’re also pleased to share more updates with you, as well as cards sharing what our characters would give Jane for her birthday. Feel free to share some thoughts on birthday gifts for Jane yourself!First, we want to celebrate the April 6th birthday of our amnesiac villainess, Jane. All Jane wants for her birthday is for people to stop murdering her, but we have a few other wishes for her special day. May Jane always have shiny hair, a never-ending supply of genius and apples... and you.After all, you're the only one who can Save the Villainess.As a surprise for Jane’s birthday,…
- 🦋Save the Villainess is in the Backed by Backers Fest! - 16 April 2026
Come join Save the Villainess in celebrating detective games on Steam during Crytivo's Backed by Backers festival on Steam!Want to read a free prequel novel to Save the Villainess that lets you solve the mystery of your own murder?Try our free detective novel "The Villainess Wants Her Prince to Live!" - Available Online, as a PDF, and an Ebook file.
- 🦋Save the Villainess Celebrates Women's Day & the Greatest Album Cover of 1888! - 31 March 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses,This is Tanya and Emily, the friendly neighborhood developers behind Save the Villainess! As the year marches forward, we wish you the loveliest spring weather possible… even if some of us are still braving blizzards! We’re here to celebrate International Women’s Day with commissioned art from Rui and showcase more updates, including new character models. In addition, our mailing list this month is offering a glimpse of what advice changed our characters’ lives. This month, we focused on programming two different character model variations for Jane and Izel to get them ready for their future action scenes! First, we programmed Jane’s action sprite, which will allow her to do something dangerous drawn from the life of the original villainess. At long last, Jane will get to flex her abilities in this strange new world where she has been trapped. Can she disc…
- 🦋Save the Villainess is in Steam's Women's Day Sale! - 7 March 2026
Come join Save the Villainess in celebrating detective games on Steam during the Women's Day Sale!In the meantime, if you'd like to read a free prequel novel to Save the Villainess starring an independent young woman who saves her man...Try our free detective novel "The Villainess Wants Her Prince to Live!" - Available Online, as a PDF, and an Ebook file.
- 🦋Love, Life, and Lilies from Save the Villainess! The February 2026 Update! - 26 February 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses, This is Tanya and Emily, the dashing duo behind Save the Villainess, wishing you a great Lunar New Year, a wonderful start to Ramadan, and all the romance you enjoy during this just-passed Valentine’s Day! Though we’re in the midst of a blizzard, we hope you stay toasty and are excited to tease you with more game progress, a glimpse of a gorgeous new background, and mailing-list-exclusive Valentine’s cards. We also hope you enjoy Rui’s Valentine’s Day art, featuring our prince of hearts. Would you choose him over the chocolates? This month, we got the pleasure of programming a fantastic new location - the solarium! The solarium is an important background that Jane will revisit continually throughout the game, depending on the choices you make. The upcoming scenes 36 to 41 take place in this magical and plant-filled space, which is why we needed to animate…
- 🦋Happy Valentine's Day & Save the Villainess is in the Love & Romance Ball! - 14 February 2026
Happy Valentine's Day to all of Save the Villainess' sweet players! May you forever savor all the chocolates and sweets you can eat! (Commissioned art by sorin.otsori).Interested in more celebrations of love? Come join Save the Villainess and other romance games on Steam at the Love, Romance, and Heartbreak Debutante Ball on Steam! If you want more romance, you can read a free try out our free romantic murder mystery novel "The Villainess Wants Her Prince to Live!" - Available Online, as a PDF, and an Ebook file.
- 🦋Ringing in the New Year with Servant's Birthday & Other Surprises! - 27 January 2026
Dear Villains and Villainesses,This is Tanya and Emily, the dynamic duo behind Save the Villainess, wishing you a great start to 2026! Though the weather may or may not be chilly where you are (personally, we’re freezing!), we hope you have much good fortune ahead of you. We’re here to celebrate Servant’s birthday, share our game progress, and share our focus on mysteries. Plus this month, our mailing list is offering cards that share what our characters expect to experience in the coming year. Will you be as optimistic, or grimly determined to survive, as them?This month, we're celebrating the birthday of Servant, our extremely-normal and not-at-all-unsettling butlermaid! Beyond Rui’s gorgeous commissioned artwork of them, we have the following message containing their preferred present.Won’t you do them a favor and listen in?We started off this year with a bang! First off, we programm…
- 🦋Save the Villainess is in Steam Detective Fest! - 17 January 2026
Come join Save the Villainess in celebrating detective games on Steam during Steam Detective Fest! Want to read a free prequel novel to Save the Villainess that lets you solve the mystery of your own murder?Try our free detective novel "The Villainess Wants Her Prince to Live!" - Available Online, as a PDF, and an Ebook file.
- 🦋Happy Holidays & A First Look at Teen Edmund from Save the Villainess! - 28 December 2025
Dear Villains and Villainesses,This is Tanya and Emily, the dynamic duo behind Save the Villainess, wishing you a very happy end to your year! If you celebrate the holidays, we wish you the best time imaginable… and if you don’t, we hope you stay warm and cozy and hopefully still get a few days off from the hustle and bustle of daily life. We’re here to bring you a little holiday art (courtesy of the great Rui) and display the glories of a teenaged Edmund. We hope you ring in a great end of the year with them! This month, we finished programming the character model of younger teenaged Edmund, which was lovingly created by the artists over at Somate Studio. As you can see below, teen Edmund is adorable and was inspired by another young, dreamy crown prince that set the hearts of young girls afire in his youth. Can you guess who that other crown prince is…?Something else to notice is that…
- 🦋Celebrating Ben's Birthday and Bookish Betrayals at Save the Villainess! - 25 November 2025
Dear Villains and Villainesses,This is Tanya and Emily, the dastardly duo behind Save the Villainess! We hope you’ve been staying warm and getting ready to feast now that we’re in the last few days of November. In this update, we’re excited to share our celebration of Ben’s birthday (with thanks to Rui for the adorable Ben birthday fanart) and talk about our game updates! This month, we’re celebrating the birthday of our dear childhood friend, Ben! As you can see from the video below, Ben has experienced some shenanigans during his birthday… only some of which are tied to Jane. Who else came along to give Ben a birthday surprise? You’ll have to see the video to find out!This month, before the holiday rush, we completed all of our programming for the very lengthy and very important scenes 28 and 29. These scenes contain several important romantic choices and vital information about the p…
- 🦋Save the Villainess is in Steam's Games from Vancouver Festival! - 22 November 2025
Come join Save the Villainess in celebrating Games from Vancouver on Steam! Huge thanks to Vancouver Game Connect and Blackbird Interactive for Hosting this Festival.
- 🦋Shivery Scares and Sensations from Save the Villainess! - 30 October 2025
Dear Villains and Villainesses,Tanya and Emily - the villainous pair behind Save the Villainess - wish a Happy All Hallow’s Eve to our wicked ones! We’re celebrating with more commissioned Halloween fanart from the amazing Rui (of course Servant would suck out your vital fluids while Jane is ready to send you a hex!) and fun updates about our game’s progress. Plus, we have a new segment of Emily's History Corner that reviews the historical haunted houses that have influenced our game’s House. Are you ready for tales of creeping horror from centuries past…?This month, we wanted to showcase a beautiful map created by Saleha Chowdhury, who also worked on the backgrounds and creatures of our game. The wildly talented Saleha created a map that highlights the most important (if unimaginatively titled) locations of the kingdom of Carcosa. She also gave dozens of layers to play around in progra…
- 🦋Save the Villainess is in Steam's Scream Festival! - 27 October 2025
Come join Save the Villainess in celebrating Steam's Scream Fest, which celebrates the hundreds of amazing horror games available on Steam right now!This original artwork of our villianess, Jane Neville, was created by Dokiizutea. Thanks for creating this masterpiece for us!
- 🦋Save the Villainess Celebrates Fall with Izel Fanart and Autumn Updates - 29 September 2025
Dear Villains and Villainesses,Have the winds of autumn treated you well? We here at Best Laid Plans Productions have been enjoying the autumn chill, getting cozy with our stacks of villainess novels, and layering on things like guillotine-deflecting scarves. While we’re at it, we also have some fun updates to share with you all – including a talk we did for the Game Devs of Color expo!First, as a present to welcome the fall, we have some lovely Izel fanart to showcase, commissioned from Rui (@sorin.otsori on Instagram). Won’t you enjoy the beauty of falling leaves with our dizzying Duke of the North?Next, let’s talk about what we did this month. First, we got busy programming a beautiful library that will be used in many future scenes! This background was created by Karel Kok, who gave us over 200 art layers to play with for the library. Emily spent about 20 hours animating this backgr…
