NextNinja
NextNinja is a Tokyo-based mobile game development studio founded in 2009 that creates freemium anime-IP RPGs, voice alarm apps, and VR games. Its 263-person team develops Grand Summoners, Touhou LostWord, and Gintama Battle under partnerships with Good Smile Company and Sega.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What NextNinja does
NextNinja Co., Ltd. (株式会社NextNinja) is a Tokyo-based mobile game development studio founded on July 27, 2009 by Masayuki Yamagishi while he was a graduate student at Waseda University. The company specializes in freemium mobile RPGs built around licensed anime IP, with active core titles including Grand Summoners (published by Good Smile Company, with 3M+ cumulative downloads as of 2019), Touhou LostWord (a Touhou Project derivative jointly developed with Good Smile Company), Bungo Stray Dogs: Gakuen, and the recently launched Gintama Battle (published by Sega in February 2026). The portfolio extends beyond RPGs into voice alarm applications featuring anime character voice recordings (Quintessential Quintuplets, Girls und Panzer, Kaguya-sama), VR games distributed on Steam and Meta Quest (Quintessential Quintuplets OMOIDE VR), puzzle games (KYUB on Nintendo Switch/Xbox One), and limited physical merchandise tie-ins such as the Elucidator electronic toy companion app. Two titles (Arsnotoria and Muv-Luv: Dimensions) have been discontinued in 2023 and 2025 respectively, indicating active portfolio rationalization.
The company operates an asset-light development model: NextNinja retains IP development and ongoing live operations while partnering with publishers (Good Smile Company, Sega) for distribution, marketing, and co-development. Revenue is generated primarily through freemium in-app purchases and gacha mechanics on mobile games (iOS/Android), supplemented by one-time paid downloads for alarm apps and VR titles, plus physical merchandise. Licensing relationships with major Japanese anime IP holders — ZUN/Team Shanghai Alice (Touhou), Kodansha (Quintessential Quintuplets, Bungo Stray Dogs), Aniplex/Sword Art Online (Elucidator), and others — form a core operational dependency.
With approximately 263 consolidated employees as of January 2026, a stated capital of ¥1.37 billion, and no disclosed venture or institutional investment, NextNinja is a privately held, self-funded mid-sized Japanese game developer headquartered in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. It serves both Japanese and global markets through Japan-domestic and English-language versions of select titles, maintains a wholly owned subsidiary (R-FORCE ENTERTAINMENT Inc.) for adjacent entertainment operations, and is led by founder/CEO Yamagishi alongside CFO Tadashi Shimabukuro (joined 2012).
NextNinja firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NextNinja
- Legal name
- 株式会社NextNinja
- Website
- https://nextninja.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- NextNinja is a Tokyo-based mobile game development studio founded in 2009 that creates freemium anime-IP RPGs, voice alarm apps, and VR games. Its 263-person team develops Grand Summoners, Touhou LostWord, and Gintama Battle under partnerships with Good Smile Company and Sega.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NextNinja industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Mobile Game Development
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mobile & F2P Game Studios (MPAFAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Game Engines (General-Purpose & Real-Time 3D) (MPAFAFAA), Player Acquisition & Growth Operations (UA Ops, ASO, Creative Ops) (MPAFAKAK), Narrative/Adventure & RPG Game Studios (MPAFAAAL), Live-Service & MMO Game Studios (MPAFAAAD)
Keywords
Where NextNinja is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
NextNinja business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Mobile Game In-App Purchases: Free-to-play mobile RPGs (Grand Summoners, Touhou LostWord, Gintama Battle) monetized through in-app item purchases, gacha draws, and premium currency.
- Paid App Sales: Voice alarm apps (Five Touhou Quintuplets Alarm, Girls und Panzer Alarm, Kaguya-sama Alarm) and VR games sold as one-time purchases on app stores.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free-to-play with optional in-app purchases |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual character alarm app purchases |
| One time/ perpetual license | One time/ perpetual license | Steam and Meta Quest VR game pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
NextNinja product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NextNinja develops and operates free-to-play mobile RPGs based on popular anime franchises (Grand Summoners, Touhou LostWord, Gintama mobile RPG, Bungo Stray Dogs), voice alarm apps featuring anime character voice lines, and VR adventure games distributed on Steam and Meta Quest. The studio handles end-to-end game creation from planning and development through global marketing and live operations.
Product overview
NextNinja is a mobile game development company offering a portfolio of smartphone games, voice alarm applications, and VR experiences. The core products include mobile RPGs such as グランドサマナーズ (Grand Summoners), 東方LostWord, 學園文豪ストレイドッグス, and 銀魂 すまほ ばとるくろにくる. These are complemented by voice alarm apps featuring anime IP characters (五等分の花嫁アラーム, ガールズ＆パンツァー ボイスアラーム, かぐや様は告らせたいボイスアラーム), VR games (五等分の花嫁 思い出VR on Steam and Meta Quest), and niche titles like the puzzle game KYUB and the physical toy app エリュシデータ. The company operates games from development through marketing, serving both Japanese and global markets, with approximately 263 employees as of January 2026.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- グランドサマナーズ (Grand Summoners): Ultra-quality RPG featuring dot characters with grand worldview and story. iOS/Android smartphone game published by Good Smile Company, developed by NextNinja.
- 東方LostWord (Touhou LostWord)
- 銀魂 すまほ ばとるくろにくる
- 學園文豪ストレイドッグス
- 五等分の花嫁アラーム
- 五等分の花嫁 思い出VR
- ガールズ＆パンツァー ボイスアラームです！
- かぐや様は告らせたいボイスアラーム
Products and services
- Grand Summoners (グランドサマナーズ) Free-to-play mobile RPG featuring high-quality dot-character pixel art, available on iOS and Android. Includes collaboration events with major anime IPs such as That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Goblin Slayer, One-Punch Man, and Solo Leveling.
- Touhou LostWord (東方LostWord) Official Touhou Project derivative bullet-hell RPG for iOS and Android featuring characters from the franchise, with 150+ arranged music tracks and 37 MV project songs.
- Bungo Stray Dogs: Gakuen (學園文豪ストレイドッグス) Mobile adventure game based on the Bungo Stray Dogs franchise, set in an alternate 'Gakuen' (school) setting. Available on iOS and Android.
- Gintama Smartphone Battle Chronicles (銀魂 すまほ ばとるくろにくる) Command battle RPG based on the Gintama anime/manga series, where players join Kabuki Town and experience scenes with Gintama characters. Available on iOS and Android.
- Quintessential Quintuplets Alarm (五等分の花嫁アラーム) Voice alarm app featuring the Quintessential Quintuplets cast, with over 300 newly recorded voice lines and 90 illustrations. Each sister provides voice wake-up notifications.
- Girls und Panzer Voice Alarm (ガールズ&パンツァー ボイスアラームです！) Voice alarm app featuring Miho Nishizumi from Girls und Panzer, providing newly recorded voice alerts for morning wake-ups.
- Kaguya-sama Voice Alarm (かぐや様は告らせたいボイスアラーム) Voice alarm app featuring Kaguya Shinomiya and Chika Fujiwara from Kaguya-sama: Love is War, providing newly recorded voice alerts.
- Quintessential Quintuplets OMOIDE VR (五等分の花嫁 思い出VR) Official VR adventure game based on the Quintessential Quintuplets manga, available in multiple chapters on Steam and Meta Quest platforms, featuring character interactions and branching story endings.
- KYUB Puzzle action game where players control dice-shaped cubes through courses, overcoming puzzles and gimmicks to reach the goal. Available on Nintendo Switch and Xbox One.
- High-Grade Electronic Toy Elucidator (エリュシデータ) Physical merchandise product based on the Elucidator sword from Sword Art Online anime, paired with a companion smartphone app developed by NextNinja.
Companies that use NextNinja
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
NextNinja technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
NextNinja partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Good Smile CompanycoreJoint development and publishing of Touhou LostWord (derivative Touhou Project RPG). Good Smile Company handles publishing while NextNinja handles development and operations. Also collaborated on Arsnotoria (with Nitroplus) and distributes/assists with Grand Summoners.
- SegacoreCo-development and publishing partnership for Gintama Battle smartphone RPG. Sega handles publishing and planning/production with Bandai Namco Pictures; NextNinja handles development.
- Blackc Inc.minorCo-development partner for Quintessential Quintuplets OMOIDE VR game, alongside Kodansha as IP holder.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NextNinja competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GungHo Online Entertainment: Developer of Puzzle & Dragons and Super Bomberman R — Japanese mobile/console developer with comparable F2P mobile and paid console/VR releases.
- Cygames: Japanese mobile/PC game developer behind Granblue Fantasy, Uma Musume, and Princess Connect — directly comparable anime-IP-derivative mobile RPG developer with similar LiveOps cadence and gacha monetization.
- KLab: Japanese mobile game studio known for Love Live! School Idol Festival and Bleach: Brave Souls — same anime-licensed mobile RPG model with global versions and gacha monetization.
- Good Smile Company: Publishing partner of NextNinja on Grand Summoners and Touhou LostWord; also a game co-developer (Arsnotoria) — a peer who is simultaneously a customer, making them both a comparable studio and a channel dependency.
- Sumzap: Japanese mobile game studio (Sengoku Enbu, various anime IP titles) — similar-sized Japanese developer focused on anime-licensed mobile RPGs with gacha monetization.
- Wright Flyer Studios: Subsidiary of GREE operating anime mobile titles such as Another Eden and Princess Punt — comparable Japanese mobile RPG developer leveraging licensed IP for live-service titles.
Broad incumbents
- DeNA: Japanese mobile gaming and web services company (Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Super Mario Run co-dev) — broader incumbent with overlapping mobile RPG capabilities and IP partnerships.
- Mixi: Operator of Monster Strike and mixi social platform — major Japanese mobile gaming incumbent with comparable live-service RPG operations.
- Aniplex: Anime IP holder and mobile game publisher (Fate/Grand Order, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) — counterpart as both a potential licensor (supplying IP) and a direct competitor in anime mobile RPG publishing.
Emerging players
- miHoYo / HoYoverse: Chinese-founded developer of Genshin Impact and Honkai — comparable high-quality live-service mobile RPG with strong content cadence, though at significantly larger scale and global reach.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
NextNinja social profiles
Digital presenceNextNinja compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
NextNinja financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NextNinja leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
NextNinja subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
NextNinja funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NextNinja M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NextNinja
What does NextNinja do?
NextNinja develops and operates free-to-play mobile RPGs based on popular anime franchises (Grand Summoners, Touhou LostWord, Gintama mobile RPG, Bungo Stray Dogs), voice alarm apps featuring anime character voice lines, and VR adventure games distributed on Steam and Meta Quest. The studio handles end-to-end game creation from planning and development through global marketing and live operations.
Is NextNinja a public or private company?
NextNinja is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was NextNinja founded?
NextNinja was founded in 2009. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is NextNinja based?
NextNinja is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does NextNinja make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Mobile Game In-App Purchases are the primary driver. The others are paid App Sales.
Who are NextNinja's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GungHo Online Entertainment, Cygames, KLab, Good Smile Company, Sumzap and Wright Flyer Studios. Broad incumbents are DeNA, Mixi and Aniplex. miHoYo / HoYoverse is listed as an emerging player.
Does NextNinja have an API?
No public API is recorded for NextNinja.
What industry is NextNinja in?
NextNinja's product category is Mobile Game Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAB, Mobile & F2P Game Studios, with a secondary code of MPAFAFAA, Game Engines (General-Purpose & Real-Time 3D). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7990.