commonly shortened to SciADV, is a video game series and media franchise consisting of interconnected science fiction stories created by Mages, initially in collaboration with Nitroplus. The main entries mostly take the form of visual novel video games.
The series currently consists of six mainline entries: the first entry of the series, 2008's Chaos;Head, is followed by Steins;Gate, Robotics;Notes, Chaos;Child, Occultic;Nine, Anonymous;Code, as well as the upcoming Steins;???. The series also includes several spin-off games based on Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, Robotics;Notes, and Chaos;Child, as well as spin-offs in other mediums including anime, manga, light novels, audio dramas, and stage plays. All main entries except Anonymous;Code have received anime adaptations.
The main entries and their spin-offs all take place in the same fictional universe, focusing on several different science fiction themes. Chaos;Head and Chaos;Child focus on perception, Steins;Gate focuses on time travel and science, Robotics;Notes focuses on robotics and augmented reality, and Anonymous;Code focuses on hacking, time leaping, simulated reality among concepts from other games in the franchise. The player can affect the course of the story by making certain choices: in Chaos;Head and Chaos;Child this is done by choosing what kind of delusions the player characters experience. The choices in the Steins;Gate games and Robotics;Notes are made via messages set by the player via an in-game cell phone and tablet computer, respectively. The choices in Anonymous;Code are made using the save/load ability.
The series is created and planned by Chiyomaru Shikura, founder of Mages and Chiyomaru Studio, composed by Takeshi Abo and Zizz Studio, written by Chiyomaru Shikura, Naotaka Hayashi along with other writers, and features character designs by artists including Mutsumi Sasaki, Huke, and Tomonori Fukuda. The developers aimed to make the series set within reality, as Shikura felt it made it more relatable and believable. The series has been commercially and critically successful both in Japan and internationally, far exceeding sales expectations for the genre and establishing Mages (previously 5pb.) as a game developer.
The series is published by Mages and Nitroplus in Japan, and by JAST USA, PQube, Mages, and Spike Chunsoft internationally.
Main entries
The Science Adventure series consists of six core entries, along with a seventh in development. Some of the games have received updated editions with added content, and there are compilations collecting several games, such as Chaos;Head Dual (collecting both Chaos;Head games) and Steins;Gate: Divergencies Assort (collecting Steins;Gate 0, Darling of Loving Vows, and Linear Bounded Phenogram).
The main entries are as follows: Chaos;Head is the first entry in the series. It was originally released as a visual novel in 2008; a director's cut version of the game, Chaos;Head Noah, was released in 2009. The game follows Takumi, a shut-in otaku who unwillingly becomes caught up in a series of brutal murders dubbed the "New Generation Madness." Steins;Gate is the second entry in the series. It was originally released as a visual novel in 2009. A later release replacing the artwork with visuals from and inspired by the anime adaptation, Steins;Gate Elite, was released in 2018. The game follows Okabe, who accidentally invents time travel; he and his friends use this to send emails into the past, altering the present. A remake of the original visual novel, titled Re:Boot, has released in August 2026 with new artwork and story additions. Robotics;Notes is the third entry in the series. It was originally released as a visual novel in 2012; an updated version, Robotics;Notes Elite, was released in 2014. The game follows Kaito and Akiho, founding members of a high school robotics club who are trying to build a giant robot; meanwhile, they uncover a large-scale conspiracy. Chaos;Child is the fourth entry in the series. It was originally released as a visual novel in 2014. It is a thematic sequel to Chaos;Head, and follows Takuru, the president of the high school newspaper club, attempting to uncover the truth behind a new series of brutal deaths occurring in Shibuya. Occultic;Nine is the fifth entry in the series. Unlike the other main entries, it was originally a light novel series, initially made to be separate from Science Adventure. It started in 2014, but has been on an indefinite hiatus. It was adapted into a manga series, anime series, and visual novel, each with separate story additions. The story follows Yuta, who runs the occult blog Kirikiri Basara. Anonymous;Code is the sixth entry in the series. It was released as a visual novel in 2022. The game follows a young hacker named Pollon, who discovers he has a mysterious ability allowing him to "save and load." Steins;??? (name subject to change) is planned to be the seventh entry in the series. It will be a thematic sequel, described by Mages as being to Steins;Gate what Chaos;Child is to Chaos;Head.
Side entries The series contains eight spin-off games: one based on Chaos;Head, five based on Steins;Gate, one based on Robotics;Notes, and one based on Chaos;Child. It also contains several more side entries spanning several different mediums other than visual novels, such as manga, drama CDs, short stories, and novels.
Chaos;Head Chaos;Head -Blue Complex- is a two-volume manga series that serialized from 2008 to 2009. It is an adaptation of the events from the original Chaos;Head visual novel, shown from the perspective of the original game's character Aoi Sena. The Parallel Bootleg is a drama CD released by Nitroplus in December 2008. It is a spin-off about an ominous creature that appears in Shibuya, whose powers and intentions are unknown. Chaos;Head H is a single-volume manga that was released in March 2009. It is a romantic comedy retelling of Chaos;Head's story. Delusion of Zero is a short story that came exclusively with the Chaos;Head Audio Series Complete Box, which released in August 2009. It is a prologue to the main Chaos;Head visual novel, set in another character's perspective. It is meant to be read after finishing the main Chaos;Head story. Chaos;Head Love Chu Chu! was originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2010, and later ported to PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. It is a romantic comedy spin-off and direct sequel to Chaos;Head Noah. A three-volume manga adaptation was released from 2011 to 2012.
Steins;Gate Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace was originally released for Xbox 360 in 2011, and later ported to PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows. It is a romance-themed "what if?" type of game, where Okabe builds a relationship with Steins;Gate characters. Steins;Gate: Octet of Shifting Space was released for Microsoft Windows in 2011. It is a sequel to Steins;Gate, presented as a text-based adventure game with 8-bit art, where the player types commands to perform actions. Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram was originally released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2013, and later ported to PlayStation Vita iOS, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and Nintendo Switch. It is a collection of eleven side stories set in different world lines, written by several different authors. Two of the stories follow Okabe, while the rest focus on other characters. Steins;Gate 0 was originally released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2015, and later ported to Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. An updated version, Steins;Gate 0 Elite, is in development. It is centered around the events that Okabe experienced in an alternate timeline prior to sending a video D-mail which appears near the conclusion of the original Steins;Gate. An anime series also titled Steins;Gate 0 aired in 2018, which serves as a continuation and finale to the visual novel's story. 8-bit ADV Steins;Gate was released for Nintendo Switch in 2018. It is a retelling of Steins;Gates story in the style of 1980s adventure games for the Famicom. It is actually a real Famicom game, and is run on the Switch with a built-in emulator.
Robotics;Notes The Unpublished Memoirs of Senomiya Misaki is a manga spin-off published in November 2012. It details the past of Misaki Senomiya. Robotics;Notes DaSH was released for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2019. The game is a direct sequel to Robotics;Notes and a side entry in the Science Adventure series. It follows the former members of the robotics club several months after the end of the original game. Robotics;Notes DaSH also features Daru from Steins;Gate as its main protagonist, alongside Kaito from Robotics;Notes. Due to this fact, Robotics;Notes DaSH contains many story relevant links to Steins;Gate.
Chaos;Child Far Too Late - Slumbering Fools is a drama CD that came with the PlayStation Limited Edition release of Chaos;Child in June 2015. It focuses on the past of Mio Kunosato. Memoirs of a Certain Wrong-Sider is a light novel spin-off that released in December 2015. It presents The Return of the New Generation Madness from the original visual novel from a different character's perspective. Chaos;Child ~Children's Collapse~ is a spin-off manga series, made up of three volumes that were released from 2017 to 2019. It serves as a prequel to Chaos;Child, following the life of Mio Kunosato before the events of the main story. Chaos;Child Love Chu Chu!! was released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in 2017. It is a spin-off from Chaos;Child while being a direct sequel to its events, in which Takuru does not have any interest in the strange events going on around him, and instead spends time with the game's female characters. Chaos;Child -Children's Revive- is a light novel that serves as an epilogue for the story of Chaos;Child. It released in March 2017, a day after Chaos;Child Love Chu Chu.
Other Chaos;Gate is a short story crossover between Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate, released in the Nitroplus Complete magazine in September 2009, two weeks before the release of the Steins;Gate visual novel. It takes place during the events of Chaos;Head, and depicts an encounter between Chaos;Head heroine Sena Aoi and Steins;Gate protagonist Rintaro Okabe at Shibuya Station. Triptych of an Abrupt Chain is a drama CD for the series that was released in December 2013. It has three tracks, titled Manatsu no Hiru no Caprice, Guuzou Kaimu no Stage, and enigmatic ward, which are drama CDs for Robotics;Notes, Steins;Gate, and Chaos;Head, respectively. Tomorrow In The Box''' is a short story from SCIENCE ADV SERIES 5 Years Jubilee, a book celebrating the series' fifth anniversary, which released in January 2014. It is a crossover between the first three entries in the series, Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and Robotics;Notes.
Common elements
The Science Adventure entries all feature stories in the science fiction genre. They make use of real scientific concepts and theories, but also cross over into fictional territory, using fringe science and urban legends. Chaos;Head and Chaos;Child focus on individuals with the power to alter reality, and discuss topics such as perception, reality, and antimatter, while Steins;Gate focuses on time travel. Robotics;Notes focuses on several technologies such as robotics and augmented reality, as well as borrowing some concepts from the previous two entries. Occultic;Nine focuses on the paranormal. Anonymous;Code has a heavy focus on futuristic computer technology, such as brain-computer interfaces, blockchains, internet of things, and world-simulating supercomputers, as well as reusing and re-contextualizing existing series concepts.