Best Mobile Gaming Companies in Japan
The 125 best Mobile Gaming companies in Japan in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: SNK Corporation.
Japan's Mobile Gaming sector has 125 companies tracked here, ranked by disclosed equity funding and recent momentum, with $428M in total capital on the books. SNK Corporation leads the directory at $217M raised, followed by Gumi at $94M and Akatsuki at $14M. No unicorns yet, but the funding concentration tells you something: a handful of studios are absorbing most of the capital while dozens of smaller bets sit below the $5M line. Median install growth across tracked gaming apps is running at roughly +11% YoY, which I'd call a signal worth watching. The global market stood at $15.1B in 2020 with an 11.3% CAGR projected, and Japan's studios are positioned directly in that current.
So what's driving coverage this quarter? Themes around smartphone OS fragmentation, flagship device pricing, and iOS-specific behavior are all heating up, and how the format has evolved explains a lot of the monetization pressure companies here are navigating. Regulatory friction around optimal monetization policy remains a structural constraint, and it's shaping which studios attract institutional backing. Incubate Fund, SMBC Venture Capital, and CyberAgent Capital are the most active investors in this directory, and their presence signals that Japan's mobile gaming pipeline isn't slowing down.
- Un rapport d'App Annie et d'IDC révèle qu'au premier trimestre, les co
- Mobile is projected to account for 56% of gaming revenue in 2023
Ranked: Best Mobile Gaming companies in Japan
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SNK Corporation Developer and publisher of games | $217M | 66 mo ago | Acquired | Koichi Toyama CEO & President | 2001 | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+19 | — | 1 launch · 1 award |
| 2 | Gumi Developer of mobile online games and blockchain technology solutions | $94M | 96 mo ago | Public | Hironao Kunimitsu Founder & CEO | 2007 | WordPressMySQLPHP+11 | — | — |
| 3 | DeNA Social mobile game platform and provider of mobile services | $19M | — | Public | — | 1999 | Apple iCloud MailGoogle WorkspaceNode.js+23 | 518 patents Mobile game delivery, live streaming, and virtual item trading platforms | — |
| 4 | Aiming Mobile game development company | $19M | 111 mo ago | Public | — | 2011 | WordPressApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+17 | — | — |
| 5 | Wonder Planet Developer of mobile casual games designed for global audiences | $18M | 82 mo ago | Public | — | 2012 | WordPressApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+18 | — | — |
| 6 | Akatsuki Indie game development company based out of Japan | $14M | 30 mo ago | Public | Tetsuro Koda Co-Founder & CEO | 2010 | WordPressMySQLPHP+25 | 26 patents Real-time game server platforms with adaptive screen rendering and data processing | — |
| 7 | Mahjong Meta Skill-based blockchain gaming community | $12M | 34 mo ago | Series A | Brice Vong Founder | 2023 | — | — | — |
| 8 | Pokelabo Mobile Games developer | $12M | 192 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2007 | WordPressMySQLPHP+21 | 23 patents In-game incentive and lottery mechanisms for digital gaming platforms and payment services | — |
| 9 | AXEL MARK Mobile game development company engaged in planning and development of games | $8M | 61 mo ago | Public | Junji Oshita CEO & President | 1994 | DNNFacebook LoginGoogle Sign-in+10 | — | — |
| 10 | Mynet Independent core game development company developing role-playing card games | $6M | 133 mo ago | Public | — | 2006 | MathJaxApache HTTP ServerAmazon Web Services+17 | — | — |
| 11 | Translimit Mobile games developer | $3M | 140 mo ago | Series A | Takuma Kudo Co-Founder & CTO | 2014 | STUDIOFirebaseNode.js+8 | 2 patents Video game software focusing on graphics rendering and visual effects | — |
| 12 | Sally Developer of mobile based casual games | $1M | 1 mo ago | Series A | Eitaro Hiraishi CEO | 2018 | STUDIOFirebaseNode.js+12 | — | — |
| 13 | Ateam Provider of entertainment applications, media solutions, and e-commerce services | $1M | 126 mo ago | Public | Takao Hayashi Founder & CEO | 2010 | Hatena BlogSentryFacebook Login+14 | — | — |
| 14 | Almaprism Developer of casual games | $1M | 14 mo ago | Seed | Tomihiro Ono Co-Founder & COO | 2022 | — | — | — |
| 15 | 3rdkind Developer of multiple apps and games | $1M | 142 mo ago | Deadpooled | Taro Hosotani Co-Founder & CEO | 2011 | — | — | — |
| 16 | Real World Games Independent mobile game development company | $664K | 88 mo ago | Seed | Takashi Kiyoko President & CEO | 2017 | WordPressMySQLPHP+10 | — | — |
| 17 | Good Luckslee Independent mobile game development studio | $100K | 78 mo ago | Seed | Kazuhisa Inoue Founder & CEO | 2013 | WixSentryBootstrap+12 | — | — |
Top 12 Mobile Gaming companies in Japan
#1
Series A · Minato, Tokyo · founded 2018$1.5Mraised▾
Developer of mobile based casual games. The company specializes in creating and developing mobile games including Moyashimon, Gudetama, and Tsukiuta. It generates revenue through in-app purchases. It produces all types of Madamisu from planning to realization, including planning and managing events, training, creating IP collaboration scenarios, and publishing pack.
- May 2026Series A—
- Jul 2024Seed$1.5M
#2
Seed · Kyoto, Kyoto · founded 2022$1Mraised▾
Developer of casual games. It creates digital medicine using video games. The company research and develops products for both the consumer healthcare and medical device markets using video game technologies to uncover cognitive function characteristics that are deeply related to developmental disorders such as ADHD.
- Apr 2025Seed$1M
#3
Acquired · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2001 · 1 employees$216.7Mraised▾
Developer and publisher of games. It has developed multiple action and arcade genres based games including The King of Fighters XIII, Metal Slug X. It develops games for PC, mobile, and console devices. The games are available on the Playstation Store, Google Play Store, and Steam to download. It generates revenue through paid games.
- Nov 2020Post IPO$216.7M
#4
Public · Shinagawa, Tokyo · founded 2010 · 758 employees$13.8Mraised▾
Akatsuki is an indie game development company based out of Japan. It specializes in developing games based on sports and role-playing genres. Some of the games developed by the company are "Cinderella Nine in August" and "A thousand memos!". The games are available on Google Play store and Apple store. It has also won multiple awards including "2017 "Companies with a good workplace" Best Company Awards". Monetizes through in-app purchases.
- Dec 2023Post IPO—
- May 2014Series A$13.8M
#5
Public · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2007 · 819 employees$94Mraised▾
Developer of mobile online games and blockchain technology solutions. The company creates various content and services using blockchain and XR technologies. It focuses on delivering new experiences through its offerings. The company participates in node operations and explores blockchain interoperability.
- Jun 2018Post IPO$30M
- Aug 2014Series I—
- Jul 2014Series H$49M
- Dec 2013Series G$19M
#6
Series A · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 2023$12Mraised▾
Skill-based blockchain gaming community. It is a blockchain-based community that enables skill-based gaming and social interaction for Mahjong. It allows Mahjong enthusiasts to compete with players.
- Aug 2023Series A$12M
#7
Public · Shibuya, Tokyo · founded 2011 · 588 employees$19.1Mraised▾
Founded in 2011, Aiming Inc is a game development company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company focuses on the development of multiplayer mobile games and has a portfolio of 10 games as on March, 2015.
- Mar 2017Post IPO—
- May 2014Series B$491.8K
- Apr 2014Series B$4.3M
- Mar 2013Series B$3.1M
#8
Public · Nagoya, Aichi · founded 2012 · 213 employees$18.2Mraised▾
Developer of mobile casual games designed for global audiences. The company focuses on creating products and services that can be enjoyed across different countries, languages, cultures, ages, and genders. It aims to spread smiles worldwide through communication and universally accessible entertainment. The company leverages technology to captivate users during their leisure time.
- Jul 2019Series A$9.2M
- Jul 2017Series A$9M
#9
Public · Tokyo, Tokyo · founded 1994 · 33 employees$8.5Mraised▾
AXEL GameStudio is a mobile game development company engaged in planning and development of games. It is a subsidiary of Axel Mark Inc. It also provides content solutions and advertising services. The company initially was named as Indy Software Ltd and changed its name to Axel Game Studio in Oct'13.
- Apr 2021Post IPO$5.2M
- Apr 2018Post IPO$3.3M
#10
Public · Shibuya, Tokyo · founded 1999 · 3604 employees$19.2Mraised▾
DeNA Co., Ltd. (pronounced “D-N-A”) develops and operates a broad range of mobile and online services including games, e-commerce and entertainment content distribution. One of its key products is Mobage (pronounced "moh-bah-geh"), a mobile social games platform that offers first-, second- and third-party games on multiple localized player networks worldwide.
#11
Acquired · Chiba, Chiba · founded 2007 · 239 employees$12Mraised▾
Pokelabo is a Japanese Mobile Games developer and content creator focusing on RPG and Strategy games. Their popular games include Cross Summoner (action RPG), Sword of Phantasia (real-time RPG) and The Clan Battle of Fate (card battle game, joint development with Sega).
- Jun 2010Series A$12M
#12
Public · Minato City, Tokyo · founded 2006 · 371 employees$6.2Mraised▾
Independent core game development company developing role-playing card games. The games developed by the company are "Valkyrie Crusade" (an anime-styled trading card game) and "Falkyure's coat of arms" for Android and iOS users. Also operates "CroPro", which is an interactive customer service network for smartphone games. It generates revenue through advertisements and in-app purchases.
- May 2015Conventional Debt—
- May 2015Series A$6.2M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Mobile Gaming coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.