An icon in Japanese entertainment and a familiar name to any anime fan in the world, Toei Company has announced its very own gaming division. Simply named Toei Games, this new development studio has apparently already begun developing new titles, with the very first game announcement coming later this week on April 24.
Best known for producing some of the most popular anime series in the world–One Piece, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball, just to name a few–Toei Company has been a verifiable giant in the world of entertainment since it was founded in 1948.
A new gaming studio from Toei
While not too much was announced about this new gaming studio, Toei did put out a short press release about Toei Games. Most interestingly, the studio won’t focus on the plethora of IPs available to the company. The translated statement from Fumio Yoshimura, President and CEO, reads:
“Toei Company, Ltd. has launched a new game brand, “Toei Games,” and is venturing into the new field of the game business. We intend to clearly position this business as a “new pillar” alongside the fields that have been Toei’s mainstays such as movies, television, and events.
Games are an extremely global form of entertainment that continues to spread beyond language and national borders. Our group’s medium- to long-term vision, ‘Toei New Wave 2033,’ aims to deliver the “stories” created by Toei to the entire world. We believe that our challenge in the game business, with the global market as our main battleground, is the embodiment of that vision.
Toei Games aims to create entirely new IPs from scratch, rather than simply utilizing existing IPs. We will leverage the technology and expertise we have cultivated through video production into our new game business, delivering Toei’s unique entertainment experience to players around the world.
Please look forward to Toei’s new challenge.”
Toei Games’ first title announcement
With this statement in mind, it seems likely that Toei Games’ upcoming announcement on Friday, April 24, will be an entirely new IP, which means fans have no idea what to expect. The only solid information Toei Games has given so far regarding their first title is that it will be on PC via Steam, with consoles like the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox coming later.
Given Toei’s legendary status in the world of anime, it was likely very necessary that they assure fans the first title won’t have anything to do with IPs like One Piece or Dragon Ball, lest fans get carried away with rampant speculation. While that may be disappointing to some, a new gaming studio with fresh ideas is always something to be excited for. Who knows, maybe something connected to their iconic animation will come down the line if Toei Games finds some success with its first few titles.
