Kadokawa-owned Yen Press previously announced their release plans for May-August but those plans are now in flux as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Publisher & Managing Director Kurt Hassler noted that like many businesses across the U.S., shelter-in-place orders are making it difficult to operate and function at normal capacity. As a result, the manga and light novel titles originally scheduled to be released in Q3 (May-August) will now be released from May-September.
In addition, Yen Press stated that their September-December catalog, which would normally be finalized over the next two weeks, is on hold. A revised schedule for May-September will be released next week. The amount of titles that will be released after September likely depends upon the success of state and federal efforts to stem the rise of new COVID-19 cases.
Titles currently being translated and released by Yen Press include BToom!, Chio's School Road, The Devil is a Part-Timer, Goblin Slayer, The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, The Irregular at Magic High School, Konosuba, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Bunny Girl Senpai, Re:Zero Starting Life In Another World and more. As you can see, there are quite a few fan favorites released by Yen Press. At a time when nearly everyone is stuck inside, the delay of a fan-favorite title is likely the last bit of news mags and anime fans want to read.
Some fans are questioning why Yen Press is delaying digital issues due to a problem that seemingly only affects physical distribution. Hopefully, more information will be revealed next week when the new schedule is made public.