Steins;Gate and its divergence-meter time travel

Screening Room Games
, , ,
1

A self-styled mad scientist in Akihabara discovers his microwave can send text messages into the past, and tracks the consequences on a “divergence meter” that measures how far the current worldline has drifted from the original.
Medium Game
Year 2009
Creator 5pb. / Nitroplus
Runtime visual novel
Mode Fiction
Reviewed 2026-07-26

poster
poster250×358 74.5 KB

One of the cast operates online under the name John Titor, taken directly from the 2000–01 posts. Originally released for Xbox 360 in October 2009; later ported widely and adapted into anime.

2

The divergence meter is the mechanic: every message to the past moves the worldline by a measurable percentage, and the plot is spent trying to steer it.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters
3

Okabe alone retains memories across divergences, so the cost of every change is carried entirely in his perception.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters
4

A character posts online as John Titor, taken directly from the 2000–01 posts — the claim enters fiction under its own name.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
0 voters