Flaggs

What Flaggs does

Flaggs Inc. (株式会社flaggs) is a Tokyo-based smartphone game development studio founded on March 20, 2015 by Representative Director and CEO Yoshie Naoto (吉江直人). The company specializes in developing and operating mobile games for iOS and Android, with a portfolio of freemium titles featuring Live2D character animation, narrative-driven dating/lifestyle simulation mechanics, and lifestyle utility integrations such as chat, weather forecasts, calendar synchronization, and sleep companion modes. Its core products center on co-developed franchises with established Japanese IP holders: the Obey Me! series (with NTT Solmare and CREEK & RIVER Co., Ltd., which has surpassed 11 million global downloads), すとぷりWith!! (with STPR, later transferred to another operator), HoneyWorks Premium Live, fingger (a YouTube Live-integrated gaming platform, ended 2023), and 彗星のアルナディア. The company divested its animation production business to Hellarts Inc. in June 2025 to refocus exclusively on game development, and relaunched with a refreshed corporate mission and logo in February 2024 marking its 10th anniversary.

The company operates a product-led, community-led go-to-market model distributing titles globally through the App Store and Google Play with simultaneous worldwide launches, monetizing via in-app gacha purchases (card gacha, costume gacha, deco gacha), limited-time digital items, and premium content. Demand generation relies on organic social channels (X, Instagram, YouTube), pre-registration campaigns, co-marketing with IP partners, and cloud crowdfunding on Kickstarter and Soreos. Customer segments are predominantly consumer personas — otome/dating game enthusiasts and 'oshi' (fan activity) participants engaging with Japanese entertainment IPs — with the IP holders themselves (NTT Solmare, STPR, CREEK & RIVER) acting as business-unit partners on the supply side. Flaggs maintains a deliberately lean team of 6 employees and operates with no disclosed external funding, serving users across Japan, North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, Oceania, and Africa with GDPR, UK GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, PIPA, and LGPD compliance infrastructure.

Name

Flaggs

Legal name

株式会社flaggs

Website

https://flaggs.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Flaggs Inc. is a Tokyo-based, 6-person mobile game studio founded in 2015 that co-develops freemium Live2D lifestyle and dating apps with Japanese IP holders such as NTT Solmare and CREEK & RIVER, most notably the Obey Me! franchise (11M+ global downloads), distributed globally on iOS and Android via gacha-based monetization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Gaming

akta.pro primary industry

Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)

Keywords

• Mobile game development
• Smartphone game apps
• Live2D animation games
• Otome dating games
• Freemium mobile gaming

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. In-app Purchases (Gacha/Items): Freemium model where core gameplay is free and revenue is generated through in-app purchases of gacha draws (card/character gacha, costume gacha, deco gacha), digital items, gifts, limited-time sale items, and premium content unlocks. Games include 'card & costume gacha' and 'deco gacha' systems for obtaining character cards, costumes, and digital goods.
2. Character Card & Costume Sales: Players acquire character cards and costumes through gacha draws, with each card unlocking dedicated card stories. Costumes can be applied to any member (excluding setup costumes), providing customization options as a monetization lever.
3. Premium Digital Goods (Gifts, Items): Sale of limited-time items, release commemorative sale items, and digital gift/merchandise equivalents within the app. Premium rooms, decor items, and event-specific content drive additional purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Flaggs develops and operates smartphone games for iOS and Android, specializing in co-developed titles with established Japanese entertainment IPs (such as NTT Solmare's Obey Me! series, Stpr, and HoneyWorks). Its games combine Live2D animated storytelling, character customization/gacha systems, and lifestyle support features (chat, weather, calendar, sleep mode). The flagship active product is 'Obey Me! Till Death Do Us Part', a marriage-themed lifestyle app launched globally in December 2025.

Product overview

Flaggs is a mobile game development and operation company that develops and operates smartphone games. The portfolio includes Obey Me! Till Death Do Us Part (a marriage-life themed lifestyle support app developed jointly with NTT Solmare and CREEK & RIVER), すとぷりWith!! (an official STOPRILL entertainment unit smartphone game with Live2D features), and fingger (a YouTube Live-integrated interactive gaming platform). Flaggs previously developed HoneyWorks Premium Live (rhythm game, service ended) and 彗星のアルナディア (action RPG, service ended), and transferred its animation production business to Hellarts in June 2025. The company positions itself as an entertainment company creating a new era, serving the smartphone gaming market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Obey Me! Till Death Do Us Part (おべてぃる) A lifestyle support smartphone app themed around married life with demon characters from the Obey Me! series. Players can marry their favorite demon and enjoy newlywed daily life, with customizable character outfits and rooms, original marriage storylines, and daily life support features including chat, weather forecasts, and calendar integration. Targeted at otome/dating game and oshi-activity enthusiasts globally.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11 million+ combined global downloads across the Obey Me! franchise
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 株式会社HellartsOthers · 1 June 2025Flaggs transferred its animation production business to Hellarts effective June 1, 2025. This was announced publicly on June 16, 2025. Flaggs previously offered both game development and animation/sound production services; following the transfer, animation production is now handled by Hellarts while Flaggs focuses on game development and operation.
• NTTソルマーレ株式会社 (NTT Solmare)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2025Flaggs co-developed the flagship title 'Obey Me! Till Death Do Us Part' with NTT Solmare and CREEK & RIVER Co., Ltd. NTT Solmare is the original IP holder and publisher of the 'Obey Me!' series, which has achieved over 11 million global downloads since 2019. Flaggs serves as the development partner for the marriage/lifestyle-themed new installment, contributing game development and operational expertise.
• 株式会社クリーク･アンド･リバー社 (CREEK & RIVER Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2025Flaggs co-developed 'Obey Me! Till Death Do Us Part' with CREEK & RIVER Co., Ltd.'s game development division under 'C&R Creative Studios.' C&R Creative Studios is described as one of Japan's largest creative development studios with 2,000+ creators handling 6,000+ projects annually. The partnership combines Flaggs' mobile game development skills with C&R Creative Studios' broad creative capabilities.
• 株式会社STPR (STPR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 March 2024Flaggs developed 'Stpr With!!', the first official smartphone game for the entertainment unit 'Stpr.' STPR serves as the IP holder and licensor, with Flaggs handling development. The game features original stories with Live2D animated characters, gacha systems, and lifestyle support features. The title 'Stpr With!!' means 'Always by your side' and the pre-registration campaign surpassed 100,000 participants.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GREE: GREE is a Japanese mobile and internet gaming company historically known for social mobile games. It is a broad incumbent peer in the Japanese mobile-game space, illustrating the scale of competitors that small IP co-developers like Flaggs face.
• COLOPL: COLOPL is a Japanese mobile-game developer/publisher (White Cat Project, Dragon Quest Walk partnerships) and broader tech investor. It is a broad incumbent peer in Japanese smartphone gaming with overlapping IP-partner and gacha monetization models.
• Cygames: Cygames is explicitly listed as a related company (関連会社) on Flaggs' corporate site and is one of Japan's largest mobile and console game developers (Uma Musume, Granblue Fantasy). It is comparable as a broad incumbent in the Japanese mobile-game space with overlapping Live2D/narrative-gacha capabilities.
• mixi: mixi is a major Japanese mobile-game publisher (Monster Strike) and broader internet services company. It represents a broad incumbent in the Japanese mobile-game space against which Flaggs' smaller scale is benchmarked.

Direct peers

• Aiming Inc. Aiming Inc. is the publisher of Flaggs' earlier title Suisei no Alnadia and a Japanese mobile-game developer/publisher with comparable focus on smartphone titles. The pre-existing publisher-developer relationship makes it a tightly relevant comparable.
• Happy Elements: Happy Elements develops mobile otome and ensemble-style games such as Ensemble Stars. It is a direct peer in the otome/mobile-game niche that Flaggs serves, with a similar Live2D-driven character customization and gacha monetization approach.
• NTT Solmare: NTT Solmare is the IP holder and publisher of the Obey Me! franchise and Flaggs' primary co-development partner. It is the most directly comparable entity because it operates in the same otome/mobile-game category, owns the IP that Flaggs develops against, and shares the same end-user audience.
• Akatsuki: Akatsuki is a Japanese mobile-game developer with otome/dating titles (e.g., Yume100) and Live2D character presentation. It is a direct peer in the IP-driven otome mobile-game category that Flaggs targets.
• KLab: KLab is a Japanese mobile-game developer/publisher best known for Love Live! School Idol Festival and other anime-IP rhythm and story-driven titles. It is highly comparable to Flaggs because both monetize established entertainment IP through mobile gacha mechanics and rely on fan-driven communities.

Regional players

• Voltage Entertainment USA: Voltage Entertainment is a US-based developer specializing in otome/romance visual novels for mobile. It is a regional peer that competes in the same dating-sim/otome category as Obey Me! but primarily serves the North American market with English-language titles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ObeyMeIDO_JP
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@user-iy4gf6zd5e
• Instagraminstagram.com/obey_me_ido
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flaggs

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 Flaggs