What Safehouse does

Safehouse (legal entity 株式会社SAFEHOUSE) is a privately held Japanese CG production studio founded in January 2019 and headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, with a second site at the DEFCON ZERO motion capture facility. The studio provides contracted computer-graphics production services to the global entertainment industry, with the bulk of work spanning CG cinematics, background and character art, animation, visual effects, and live-action virtual production compositing for film, games, animation, broadcasting, and commercials. Core technological differentiation centers on a real-time cinematic production pipeline built around Unreal Engine, paired with conventional pre-rendering CG, an in-house motion capture studio (DEFCON ZERO) with three times the typical camera count, and lightweight, mobile virtual-production tooling. The service portfolio also includes pipeline creation, modeling, and VR/AR content development, plus a 1-year-plus apprenticeship program designed to train future environment modelers.

Safehouse operates as a B2B professional services studio on project-commissioned contracts, with no publicly disclosed pricing and no subscription, platform, or marketplace model. Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on industry reputation, portfolio visibility, and direct engagement with IP holders rather than marketing campaigns, with channel coverage spanning portfolio sites, industry events, and direct relationship management. Customer concentration skews toward enterprise entertainment buyers — Netflix, Amazon Studios, Square Enix, Capcom, Bandai Namco Filmworks, Ufotable, NH, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Nissan among named clients — with marquee engagements including Final Fantasy XVI, Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance, Demon Slayer theatrical/TV productions, Resident Evil Infinite Darkness, and Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.

The studio is led by CEO Hiroaki Yura (audio direction credits including Diablo III and Soul Calibur V; founder of the Eminence Symphony Orchestra) and staffed by a markedly senior creative bench drawn from Blizzard Entertainment, Square Enix Visual Works, Crytek, Sony Pictures Imageworks, CD Projekt RED, and MPC. The company is closely aligned with AREA 35, an affiliated game planning and development firm whose CIPHER ROOM art team operates in Kyoto. Ownership and capital structure: registered capital of ¥1,000,000, no disclosed institutional funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries — implying founder-led financing consistent with the studio's compact 11–50 headcount profile.

Name

Safehouse

Legal name

株式会社SAFEHOUSE

Website

https://safehouse.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Safehouse is a Tokyo-based Japanese CG production studio founded in 2019, delivering real-time Unreal Engine cinematics, animation, motion capture (DEFCON ZERO), virtual production, and VR/AR content for global entertainment clients including Netflix, Square Enix, Capcom, Bandai Namco, and Amazon Studios.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

CG Production and Visual Effects Services

akta.pro primary industry

CG Asset Creation (Modeling, Texturing, Lookdev, Rigging) (MPAHABAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual Production Pipeline, Color & Calibration (Genlock, OCIO/ACES) (MPAHADAF)

Keywords

• CG production services
• Real-time cinematic production
• Motion capture services
• Virtual production services
• 3D animation and modeling

Headquarters

HQ city

Nishikicho

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. CG Production Services: Contracted production services for films, games, commercials, animation, and TV productions. Clients commission specific CG work for their entertainment projects including backgrounds, characters, animation, and cinematic sequences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Safehouse is a B2B CG production studio providing end-to-end visual production services for films, video games, animation, commercials, and TV, specializing in real-time cinematic production with Unreal Engine alongside conventional pre-rendering CG. Services span pipeline creation, hand-key animation, motion capture (via in-house DEFCON ZERO studio), environment and character modeling, virtual production with live-action compositing, and VR/AR content development, delivered as commissioned work for entertainment IP holders worldwide.

Product overview

Safehouse is a CG production studio specializing in both conventional pre-rendering and real-time cinematic production using Unreal Engine. Their service portfolio includes pipeline creation, hand-key animation production, motion capture (DEFCON ZERO studio), environment and character modeling, virtual production with live-action compositing, and VR/AR content development. They operate an apprenticeship program for talent development. The company provides end-to-end production services from planning through delivery, leveraging a network of domestic and international artists for games, films, animation, commercials, and events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real-time Cinematic Production Services End-to-end production of CG cinematics using Unreal Engine for real-time rendering, covering the full pipeline from planning to delivery. Targeted at film studios, game publishers, animation studios, and production committees producing feature films, games, and episodic content.
• Pre-rendering CG Cinematic Production Conventional pre-rendering CG cinematic production services for films, games, and animation projects. Provides high-quality rendered CG content where real-time workflows are not the right fit.
• Motion Capture (DEFCON ZERO) In-house motion capture studio with triple the camera count of conventional studios, enabling detailed motion capture with reduced data cleaning time. Available to internal Safehouse productions and external clients requiring high-fidelity performance capture.
• Virtual Production (Live-action Compositing) Real-time compositing of green screen footage with background assets using Unreal Engine via a lightweight and mobile virtual production system. Enables on-set preview and accelerated turnaround for live-action productions.
• Animation Production Hand-key animation production adhering to global industry standards, including motion capture shooting and data editing. Targeted at game cinematics, animation projects, and any production requiring frame-by-frame animation craft.
• Modeling (Environment and Characters) Creation of high-quality 3D models for environments, characters, vehicles, and props across games, animation, and live-action productions, with optional concept and design support.
• Pipeline Creation Custom production pipeline development utilizing cutting-edge technology and industry veteran expertise to create optimized workflows tailored to each production. Led by Director Erasmus Brosdau.
• VR/AR Content Development Technical support and content creation for VR and AR applications across entertainment, construction, healthcare, and mobility industries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Produces high-quality CG content for globally recognized entertainment IPs across multiple platforms

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AREA 35, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019SAFEHOUSE works closely with AREA 35, an affiliated game planning and development company. The partnership allows SAFEHOUSE to provide consultation and assistance in the development of production tools and systems, creating synergies between game development and CG production services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Polygon Pictures: Tokyo-based CG animation and VFX studio producing CGI anime, films, and game cinematics for global clients (e.g., Godzilla trilogy, Star Wars: Visions). Same vertical (CG production services for entertainment IP), same Japanese/Tokyo operating base, and similar enterprise customer base of film, game, and broadcasting clients.
• Orange Studios (Orange Co., Ltd.): Japanese CG/animation studio specializing in CG feature animation and game cinematics for global IP holders (Land of the Lustrous, Beastars). Direct overlap with SAFEHOUSE on anime/game cinematics outsourcing and real-time-CG workflows.
• Yokohama Animation Lab: Japanese CG animation/VFX studio producing CGI animation and supporting game/film clients with a model similar to SAFEHOUSE's contracted CG production for entertainment IP.
• Engine Studios / Pixomondo (TDG): Virtual production and VFX services company focused on LED-volume / Unreal Engine-based stages for episodic and feature work. Direct functional overlap with SAFEHOUSE's real-time virtual production and DEFCON ZERO mo-cap offering.
• Marza Animation Planet: Japanese CG animation studio (SEGA subsidiary) producing CGI feature films and game cinematics. Comparable as a Japan-based CG content studio serving entertainment IP holders with end-to-end production capabilities.

Broad incumbents

• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM): Lucasfilm-founded VFX and animation studio serving major film, streaming, and game IP holders. Direct functional overlap in CG asset creation, virtual production, and cinematic content for the same enterprise entertainment customers.
• Wētā FX: Premium VFX and CG production studio known for high-end feature-film visual effects (Avatar, Lord of the Rings) and growing virtual production. Comparable capability set to SAFEHOUSE (CG asset + animation + virtual production) but at far larger scale.
• Framestore: Global VFX/CG house offering visual effects, animation, and immersive content for film, streaming, and brands. Broader portfolio but overlapping service lines (CG asset creation, animation, virtual production) and similar enterprise entertainment client base as SAFEHOUSE.
• DNEG (Double Negative): Large global VFX and animation services provider for film, episodic, and game cinematics. Overlaps with SAFEHOUSE in CG asset, animation, and cinematic production for AAA IP; broader scale and broader client base.

Emerging players

• Arca Entertainment / Arca Studios: Emerging CG/animation studios with strong Unreal Engine and real-time production capabilities serving entertainment clients. Comparable emerging niche competitors in the same real-time cinematic production category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/safehouse_inc
• Facebookfacebook.com/safehousejapan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Safehouse