What YoStar does

YoStar (legal entity: Yostar (Hong Kong) Limited) is a private game publisher and developer founded in 2017 that operates a portfolio of mobile games targeted at global consumer audiences. The company self-describes as the top publisher, developer, and investor in the games industry, with an operational headquarters in Tokyo and a corporate parent domiciled in Hong Kong. Its publicly documented product portfolio centers on Mahjong Soul, a competitive mahjong title that incorporates modern MMORPG-style mechanics (character classes, leveling, equipment tiers, dungeons) and runs limited-time collaboration events with external IP franchises, and Ark Knights, a mobile game with collectible character IP and physical merchandise extensions. The company also pursues a physical collectibles line, including third-party-produced figures distributed through retailers such as AmiAmi.

The business model is consistent with mid-tier mobile free-to-play publishing: revenue is generated primarily through in-game monetization tied to live operations on its two core titles, supplemented by licensed merchandise sales (e.g., Alter-produced figures). Go-to-market is cross-border, leveraging the Hong Kong corporate entity for publishing while executing operational, creative, and community activities from Tokyo. Customer touchpoints include a maintained official website (yo-star.com), regional social recruitment via Moka HR, and dedicated business, PR, and HR contact channels. No enterprise or B2B customer base is referenced, and the customer base is best characterized as long-tail consumer players across APAC.

YoStar's competitive positioning rests on recognizable game IP (Mahjong Soul, Ark Knights), the ability to license and integrate high-value external IP for time-limited content events (Dengeki Bunko's Sword Art Online franchise), and a multi-jurisdiction corporate footprint that supports simultaneous multi-market publishing. Inputs do not disclose revenue, headcount trends beyond the 101-250 band, leadership team, AI/ML capability stack, funding amounts, or acquisition activity, so a fuller picture of unit economics and organizational velocity is not currently available from the supplied data.

Name

YoStar

Legal name

Yostar (Hong Kong) Limited

Website

https://yo-star.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

YoStar is a private mobile game publisher and developer, founded in 2017, that operates Mahjong Soul and Ark Knights for global consumer audiences and runs limited-time IP collaborations and physical merchandise lines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Gaming

NAICS

Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (33993), Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (339930)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)

Keywords

• Mobile game publishing
• Mobile game development
• Mahjong games
• Franchise collaborations
• Collectible merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations

Core offering

YoStar is a mobile game publisher and developer that develops and publishes its own portfolio of mobile games, including Mahjong Soul (a mahjong title enhanced with MMORPG mechanics and franchise collaborations) and Ark Knights (a mobile game with collectible characters and merchandise tie-ins). The company also produces branded physical collectibles such as scale figures.

Product overview

YoStar operates as a game publisher and developer offering mobile gaming products. The company maintains a portfolio of games including Mahjong Soul (a mahjong game with MMORPG elements and franchise collaborations) and Ark Knights (a mobile game with collectible character merchandise). The company publishes through its Hong Kong entity (Yostar Hong Kong Limited) and maintains an 'Our Products' section on its official website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mahjong Soul
• Ark Knights

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Dengeki BunkominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerYostar announced a limited-time collaboration event between its mahjong game 'Mahjong Soul' and the 'Sword Art Online' series titled 'Vow of the Sword.' Sword Art Online is a popular novel series by Dengeki Bunko that has surpassed 30 million copies in global circulation since 2009. The collaboration incorporates MMORPG elements into traditional mahjong gameplay.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DeNA: Japanese mobile and online game publisher with strong anime IP titles and live operations. Comparable Tokyo-headquartered mobile publisher serving Japan and global markets.
• Hypergryph: Developer and publisher of Arknights, a flagship mobile game in which YoStar has been an investor and merchandise partner. Direct overlap in mobile gacha publishing and Asia-Pacific distribution.
• Lilith Games: Asia-based mobile game publisher (AFK Arena, Rise of Kingdoms). Comparable in mobile gacha publishing scale, Asia-to-global expansion, and live-ops-driven monetization.
• GungHo Online Entertainment: Japanese mobile game publisher known for Puzzle & Dragons and Ragnarok Origin. Comparable in mobile gacha publishing, Japanese HQ, and live-ops collaboration strategies.
• Cygames: Major Japanese mobile game developer/publisher (Uma Musume, Granblue Fantasy). Comparable in operating model as a Japan-anchored mobile game publisher leveraging franchise IP and live-ops events.
• Yostar Limited (related entity): The Japan operating affiliate of the broader Yostar group publishing Azur Lane and Blue Archive. Closely related publisher of mobile gacha titles with shared brand and collaboration patterns.

Broad incumbents

• NetEase Games: One of China's largest mobile and PC game publishers with a global portfolio. Comparable in mobile publishing and Asia-to-global expansion model.
• Tencent Games: World's largest video game publisher including mobile titles such as Honor of Kings. Overlaps as a mobile game publisher with cross-IP collaboration capabilities, though vastly larger.
• HoYoverse (miHoYo): China-anchored global mobile/PC game publisher behind Genshin Impact and Honkai. Comparable cross-platform gacha publishing model and IP-driven merchandise business; significantly larger.

Others

• Alter: Japanese figure manufacturer producing collectible scale figures including YoStar's upcoming Unectes Gala Night Ver. Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem partner in the anime/game merchandise vertical.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about YoStar