Gade

What Gade does

GADE Inc. is a privately held Japanese game development company founded by Takayuki Yanagihori, a former Sega football game developer. The company operates Universo Fútbol as its core business: a browser-based football gaming and community platform that unifies multiple game titles (Grassroots Football WEB as the flagship browser entry point, the full-scale Grassroots Football action game, Football Chess ManiacS, ShootOutDice!, and the planned Football Century) under shared user IDs, profiles, match records, rankings, events, billing, and community features.

The underlying platform architecture is web-based with no download requirement, and the company explicitly describes the product as a community platform rather than a single game title. The GrassrootsUniverse community layer — comprising rankings, events, profiles, conversations, and shared time — is positioned as the primary value driver, supported by an explicit experience loop (Play → Record → Share → Belong → Monetize) designed to convert casual players into habitual community members.

GADE monetizes through in-platform charging (課金) integrated into the platform and through additional content sales across the ecosystem; specific pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is product-led via free browser-based play, with distribution exclusively through the grassrootsfootball.jp website and a stated focus on the Japanese domestic market. The company is actively recruiting AI-skilled creators, engineers, and producers, and is open to investment, business, media, advertising, and esports partnership inquiries.

Name

Gade

Legal name

GADE INC.

Website

https://gade.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

GADE Inc. operates Universo Fútbol, a Japanese browser-based football gaming and community platform that unifies multiple game titles under shared profiles, rankings, and social features. It targets Japanese football fans and casual gamers through free-to-play web access with in-platform charging.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Gaming

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Gaming Community, Chat & LFG Platforms (BPAMAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Communications & Voice/Chat Platforms (Discord-like, in-game comms) (MPAFAIAE)

Keywords

• Football gaming platform
• Browser-based games
• Community gaming ecosystem
• Casual soccer games
• Digital gaming community

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. In-Platform Charging (課金): Monetization through the Universo Fútbol platform's built-in charging system. The experience loop includes a 'Monetize' phase, indicating revenue generation from users within the community ecosystem. Details of specific pricing tiers or consumption models are not publicly disclosed.
2. Platform Content Sales: Revenue generated from additional content within the GrassrootsUniverse ecosystem, including future content expansions like Football Century and additional content for the community.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

GADE develops and operates Universo Fútbol, a browser-based football game and community platform that unifies multiple game titles (Grassroots Football WEB, Grassroots Football, Football Chess ManiacS, ShootOutDice!) under a shared ecosystem with common ID, profiles, match records, rankings, events, and community features. Users can play casual football games for free via web browser and are monetized through in-platform charging (課金) and additional content.

Product overview

GADE operates Universo Fútbol as its core business — a platform-plus-games architecture that combines a community platform with multiple distinct game products. The platform unifies common ID, profiles, match records, rankings, events, billing, and community features, while individual products span browser-based casual play (Grassroots Football WEB), full-scale action football (Grassroots Football), strategic board game-style content (Football Chess ManiacS), casual dice games (ShootOutDice!), and upcoming releases (Football Century). The experience loop converts individual play into shared community belonging through record-keeping, sharing, and social connection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Universo Fútbol: GADE's core business and football game community platform that encompasses multiple game titles, rankings, events, profiles, and community features. It is not a single game title but a platform connecting football games, rankings, events, profiles, and community interactions.

Products and services

• Universo Fútbol Core football game and community platform that unifies multiple game titles, rankings, events, profiles, and community features under a single ecosystem for individual football fans and casual gamers in Japan.
• Grassroots Football WEB Browser-based football game and the flagship entry point to Universo Fútbol, featuring rankings, events, match record saving, and profile integration to drive continuous community engagement for casual gamers.
• Grassroots Football Full-scale football action game offering individual role immersion and team coordination, representing GADE's dedicated football game title within the Universo Fútbol ecosystem.
• Football Chess ManiacS Board game-style strategic content that converts football positions and tactics into a thinking-based game format for football enthusiasts seeking strategic play.
• ShootOutDice! Casual dice game that captures the tension of penalty shootouts through dice rolling and tactical reading mechanics for casual players.
• GrassrootsUniverse Community platform component of Universo Fútbol where users engage through rankings, events, profiles, conversations, support, and shared experiences that create continuous community energy.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Roblox: Leading UGC/community gaming platform with a similar platform-plus-experiences architecture. Comparable as a model for how community ecosystems can compound engagement across many content offerings under one identity.
• Sega: The founder's former employer and a major Japanese sports game developer with a deep football game catalog and established IP. Comparable as a Japanese sports-gaming incumbent and as the institutional origin of GADE's core domain expertise.
• Nexon: Major Japanese and Korean online game operator with live-service and community-driven titles. Comparable as a regional incumbent in the same Japanese/Asian gaming market with strong community-gameplay hybrids.
• EA Sports (EA Sports FC): Global leader in football simulation gaming (formerly FIFA) with massive brand and marketing resources. Competes for the same football gamer persona globally and increasingly in Japan, though at a different scale and price point than GADE's casual/community focus.
• Discord: Dominant communications/community platform for gamers. Comparable to GrassrootsUniverse in its role as a community layer, though Discord is communications-centric while GADE couples community to its own game titles.

Direct peers

• New Star Soccer: Long-running casual football game series focused on accessible gameplay and community progression. Comparable in target audience (casual football fans) and light-touch, habit-forming mechanics.
• Football Manager (Sports Interactive): Premier football management/simulation franchise with deep community engagement and long-tail content. Comparable in the football-management subset of GADE's portfolio and in its dedicated fan community.
• Score! Hero: Casual mobile football puzzle game with a strong community and level-based engagement loop. Closely comparable to GADE's casual football game positioning and browser/mobile accessibility.
• Top Eleven: Football management simulation with a strong community and live-ops monetization layer. Comparable to GADE's Grassroots Football action/management ambitions and community-driven engagement model.
• Konami Digital Entertainment: Maker of eFootball (formerly PES), the dominant football/soccer gaming franchise in Japan. Directly competes with GADE for Japanese football gamers' attention and offers the closest product/market overlap in football gaming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Gade