i get that character design is very fun, and that a brand new character gives you freedom an established character can't anymore, but spending a huge chunk of every update introducing a new side character with a few scenes seems like a poor decision...especially since half the side characters you've introduced in previous updates are just kind of sitting there doing nothing, some for a year or more.
someone above said they think the devs are afraid to progress the main girls/main story because they don't want people to lose interest, but i don't think that's the case. the devs are smart enough to know that the number one reason for declining interest in games like this is a lack of progression. i think it's more likely that the devs themselves aren't interested anymore, but don't want to abandon and start a brand new project, so they're stringing themselves along hoping they rediscover the spark or something.
these past couple updates, COVID and personal life problems notwithstanding, don't seem like the work of people passionate about their game.