Cygames and Konami Digital Entertainment announced today that they have resolved a patent dispute regarding Cygames’ mobile title Umamusume: Pretty Derby.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is an extremely popular anime racehorse and girl management game in which racehorses are reborn as cute anime girls, complete with horse ears and tails. The series began in 2018 as an anime and premiered exclusively in Japan in 2021. In the game, players can talk to, train and manage horses such as Special Week and Mejiro McQueen, sharing their triumphs and failures. As a result, the Umamusume series has gained a cult following, with many fans becoming interested in the real Japanese racehorses behind their favorite characters.
In March 2023, Konami filed a lawsuit against Cygames, alleging that Cygame’s Umamusume: Pretty Derby game infringed 18 of its patents. Konami originally sought damages of over 4 billion yen (approximately $26 million at current exchange rates) and for Cygames to cease all production, operate and distribution of the mobile game. In response, Cygames requested invalidation trials for all patents involved.
Cygames revealed in press release today announced that it has decided to resolve the dispute to ensure that players can continue to enjoy Umamusume: Pretty Derby in the long run. Despite this decision, Cygames “remains confident that no patent infringement has occurred.”
Both Konami and Cygames expressed mutual respect for their developers and games in their press releases about the settlement. Cygames said their group company “respects the efforts of creators at gaming companies, including Konami Digital Entertainment, and the numerous games they have created.” In turn, Konami commented that “we will respect each other’s work and strive to provide content and services that satisfy our customers.”
According to A press release as of 2023, Cygames was in talks with Konami regarding patent rights “relating to certain aspects of Umamusume: Pretty Derby game systems and programs”, however, Konami appears to have disagreed with Cygames and filed a lawsuit. The two companies kept secret exactly which aspects of Umamusume: Pretty Derby caused the dispute. Given Konami’s history of creating sports management games like Powerful Pro Baseball, it’s possible that part of the problem was Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s game system for training anime horse girls.
Both companies emphasize that due to a confidentiality agreement, details of the settlement will not be made public.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who was previously the editor, contributor and translator of the gaming news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and films for various publications.
