DLsite

What DLsite is

DLsite is a Japanese download store for doujin work, and its adult floor at the /maniax/ address is the part that matters for adult games. The site says it is operated by Eisys, part of the 2nd RETAILING Group. Its home page presents the store as the largest selection available from Japan, with over 2,100,000 registered works, and names doujinshi, doujin games, doujin voice works and ASMR as what it sells. The adult floor carries the label R18 in its page title and bills itself as the place to download doujin comics, doujin games, doujin voice works and ASMR.

Games are one format among several. The same floor sells manga, CG and illustration sets, video works, voice and ASMR recordings, and music, so a reader browsing for games will see non-game work in the same lists. The adult floor page itself is written in Japanese. A language and currency picker on the home page offers Japanese, English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese, so a reader who does not read Japanese can switch the interface, though the product titles and descriptions come from the circles that made the work.

What you find there

The top navigation splits the store into floors. Beside the doujin floor sit adult comics, a floor for bishojo games (the store's own name for it, 美少女ゲーム), a floor for smartphone games, production software and materials, and online games. A link leads to an all-ages floor and another to a floor aimed at women. The service selector also has an entry for AI-generated work (AI生成). The pages do not describe an age check, a filter or an account setting that gates the adult floor. What they do say, in the site's terms, is that DLsite makes no guarantee about how appropriate its contents are for a visitor's environment and that users access the site at their own discretion.

Inside the adult floor, work is grouped by format. The format list reads game, role-playing, action, simulation, adventure, shooting, other games, manga, CG and illustration, video works, voice and ASMR, music, and VR-compatible work. Shortcuts cover one-coin works, discounted works, free works, voice comics and new reviews. There are also ranking pages, a page of announced releases and a release calendar. A genre list sits beside them, with a count printed next to each tag and a row of popular keywords above it, all in Japanese. The floor page also carries an event heading, Comiket 108.

The hourly general ranking shows how the catalog looks in practice. Each entry gives the title, the circle, a price in yen, a sales figure, any discount, and a format label. In October 2026 that ranking included KARRYN'S PRISON by Remtairy, labeled role-playing and listed at 2,640 yen with a 20% discount. It also included ASTREIA by おむすびーむ, labeled role-playing at 2,200 yen, and 終末のオルターエゴイズム by ONEONE1, role-playing at 7,920 yen. Most other entries in that ranking were simulation, voice or ASMR work, which is a fair picture of the mix: simulation and role-playing games share the top of the list with audio works.

A second floor at the /pro/ address shows sale campaigns and pre-orders from brands. In October 2026 it listed brand discount campaigns with end dates from October into December, and a pre-order section that gives a planned release date for each title.

How buying and playing works

DLsite delivers digital goods only. The store's legal notice says delivery is by download, streaming or browser viewing, that delivery happens immediately upon payment, and that nothing is shipped by mail. Purchases are tied to an account: the header has registration, login, a cart, favorites, purchased works, reviews and ratings, coupon management and purchase history. A reader needs an account to buy.

For playing, the footer of the adult floor names several DLsite services: a web viewer, DLsite Play, a PC client and DLsite Nest, plus a smartphone version of the site. The store also runs a separate smartphone games floor, which presents itself as the place for doujin and bishojo games that support iOS and Android, and the works in its new-arrivals list carry an Android-version label and a smartphone-only mark. The legal notice says products, including discontinued ones, stay available for download, streaming and browser viewing for an indefinite time, with exceptions for creators who have closed their account and for products removed on request. Its note about the operating environment points to a separate page, and it adds that the company bears no responsibility for support on issues that stem from a customer's own setup. The adult floor recommends the latest Microsoft Edge, Safari, Chrome or Firefox with JavaScript and cookies allowed for the site itself. The adult floor names no operating system beside the games in its lists, so the platform answer for any title has to come from that title's own page.

The copyright notice states the store's position on sharing. Products are the copyright of their creators, DLsite sells them under contract with those creators, and reselling or redistributing a purchased product without the creator's approval is treated as illegal activity that DLsite reports. The notice adds that buying or obtaining unauthorized copies also exposes the buyer to penalties. Buying through the store is the legitimate route it describes.

Paying

Prices are shown on each product page in Japanese yen, including consumption tax, according to the store's legal notice. The currency picker on the home page lists others, among them US dollars, euros and pounds. The payment guide for the adult floor lists several routes. Card payment is shown with the JCB mark and is a single payment, the card details are held by a payment agent, the card statement shows DLsite rather than the title, and the store uses 3D Secure. Points can be bought in advance, and coupons can be applied. Deferred payment is offered through two services: atone, which bills the following month at a convenience store or by account debit, and Paidy. Both total a month of use and bill in the next month. E-money options include BitCash and Rakuten Edy, with WebMoney accepted only for buying points. Convenience-store prepayment works at Family Mart, Lawson, Ministop, Seicomart and Daily Yamazaki.

In October 2026 the payment guide set a few minimums. Rakuten Edy needs a basket total of at least 330 yen and a phone with the Japanese wallet function, and the guide says it cannot be used from iOS devices. Convenience-store prepayment needs a total of at least 1,000 yen, and the guide says the download becomes available about 5 to 15 minutes after paying.

Refunds are narrow. The notice says completed purchases cannot be refunded or canceled because of the nature of the product, and points used in a completed payment cannot be refunded. If a product cannot be viewed by download or stream, DLsite investigates, and if it is found defective and the creator leaves it unfixed, a refund is issued within 10 days of the purchase. The customer bears the telecommunication fees of that refund.

For developers

The header of the home page carries a circle registration link, and the adult floor footer lists a page for people who want to sell work, a community translation program and an affiliate program among its services. The site's pages do not state a revenue share, a fee or the rules for what a circle may publish.

Who it suits and its limits

DLsite suits a reader who wants Japanese doujin games and related work from the circles that make them, and who is comfortable paying through a Japanese store account. The ranking and format filters make it easy to see what sells in role-playing and simulation games, and the sale pages show discounts openly. The limits are plain. The adult floor is written in Japanese, the platform for any single game sits on a product page rather than on the floor, and completed purchases cannot be refunded. A reader who wants an English-language catalog with one install method for everything should expect to read each product page before buying.