Thank you for 30 years! DLsite Anniversary 2026 Event Page

In 1996, when PC network communications were still the mainstream, "Soft Island" was launched as Japan's first doujin download shop! The glorious (!?) first step of DLsite's history started right here.

Coinciding with a complete revamp of the official website, the English service was launched. This was the moment DLsite took a major first step toward international expansion, spreading Japanese creator culture across the world!

In addition to doujin works, we began digital sales of commercial games. There was a little incident on launch day... Check out the Dark History page for details.

We participated in Comic Market, one of the world's largest doujinshi conventions. Over the years we have continued to support doujin culture through the sale of a variety of original merch and by handing out novelty items at events.

The prototype for the section now familiar to users as "DLsite Garumani" was created 20 years ago. At the time, we launched our selection of otome doujin works under the site name "DLsite Hanamaru"!

The provision of official translation services began on DLsite, and the "DLsite Official Translation" page was published to make it easier to find these works.

TAIWAN G2 Corporation launched "DLsite.com Taiwan Version".

During this period, Korean language support covering almost the whole site was launched.

DLsite English was closed and integrated into the multi-language format of the main DLsite.

We launched a service where doujinshi translated by fans can be sold with the creator's permission, with participants able to earn profits.

The service, which allows users to download and enjoy ASMR—a highly popular genre on DLsite—on their smartphones, received Korean language support.

We launched our official comic book viewer app that allows you to comfortably enjoy your purchased manga, WEBTOONs, and voiced comics on smartphones. Users can also create their own original bookshelf. This project was born from a desire to let users easily enjoy creators' works anytime, anywhere.

Through our Partner Shops, works can be distributed to over 100 stores. DLsite staff supports the distribution and sales process completely free of charge. We want to be a bridge between creators and users, and strive to deliver works all over the world without any unnecessary hassle.

An updated user agreement in October 2025 was accompanied by the addition of mainstream comics to the fan translation service.

By taking on various broad challenges including overseas expansion and the publication of books based on works originating from DLsite, we have continued to grow and grow. As we welcome our 30th anniversary, we are still continuing to grow. To lovers of otaku content in Japan and overseas, we will continue striving to improve our services so that both users and creators can be satisfied.

When Soft Island, the predecessor to DLsite, first launched, a real name and address were required to register as a user. Of course, the registration information was strictly managed, but it would be unimaginable now to choose to link your preferences to your personal info!

We once sent out postcard-sized direct mail using the addresses and real names provided during registration. They looked like ordinary pressure-sealed postcards at first glance, but when opened, they featured pictures of girls with tantalizing looks on their faces. If a family member were to open it instead of the user, it might have raised some eyebrows...

A failure occurred during a website revamp and the site went down. While we worked to get it up and running again, the CEO at the time sent an apology email to the users, but a typo led to a message that translates to "We are working hard and getting drunk," causing a massive uproar.

As far back as 22 years ago, we offered a doujin work subscription service where you could read 100 works for 2,700 JPY a month. The works changed monthly, and staff manually swapped them out every month. We might have been ahead of our time with this idea.

On the very first day we started handling commercial games, unbelievably, the person in charge overslept and was late to work. The release was delayed from the originally scheduled time, and the person in charge had no choice but to apologize profusely to the publishers.

DLsite staff made regular appearances on Sun TV's late-night adult program "Konya mo Hustle" (Hustle Tonight)! They were in charge of a corner showcasing adult games on the show, but since it was an adult program, the introductions weren't exactly serious...

A rare incident from the era before we had marketing roles. As a result of an amateur interacting with the system for data analysis, the site unexpectedly went down. It was more a time for learning lessons than for scolding. "Leave it to the pros" became a golden rule for beginners... Thanks to our excellent staff, the site was restored in a flash and the event didn't become a major disaster...! Thank goodness.

As an April Fools' Day project, a (poorly drawn) illustration by a staff member was adopted as the site's mascot and posted at the top of the site. However, the site happened to be difficult to access that exact same day. Combined with the poorly-drawn illustration displayed at the top of the site, it resulted in a situation where users worriedly asked, "Have you been hacked?"

In 2016, which some called the first year of VR, we opened a page specializing in VR works! However, perhaps this was also way too ahead of its time, just like "Premium100." It was quietly closed down...

We launched a service where you could rent PC games entirely online. DLsite Rental allowed you to play games at an affordable price for a fixed period. Download cards with rental codes on them were also sold at GEO storefronts.

In April 2026, a countdown started on DLsite's main top page... However, no one, not even the staff, knew what it was counting down to. There was no plan. We had started running before we knew where we were running to. The anniversary celebration plans proceeded on a tightrope, driven purely by a desire to do something big for our 30th year. Looking back, it was a huge success (we hope)! All's well that ends well, right?