Cygames Backs Shoma Uno And Marin Honda Ice Dance Team
Cygames frames the sponsorship under a stated vision of bringing joy through fields outside games, and Uno's separate contract with its esports roster and his appearance in a Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond commercial make this a deepening of ties that already existed, not a cold-start deal.
Key Facts
- Cygames announced on October 2, 2026 that it has become a supporting sponsor of the ice dance team formed by Shoma Uno and Marin Honda.
- Shoma Uno and Marin Honda formed their ice dance team in May 2026 and are training with the goal of competing at the 2030 Olympics.
- Shoma Uno joined the GAMER division of the professional esports team VARREL in May 2026.
- Shoma Uno appeared in a June 2026 commercial for Cygames' Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond marking the game's first anniversary.
- Marin Honda launched her own cosmetics brand, Luarine, in 2026.
Reporting from 4 sources: 4Gamer.net, KAI-YOU, GameBusiness.jp, Inside.
Cygames announced on October 2, 2026 that it has become a supporting sponsor of the ice dance team formed by figure skaters Shoma Uno and Marin Honda. The pair, known as Shomarin, formed the team in May 2026 and are training daily with the goal of competing at the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps. Cygames says it will back the two skaters' competitive activities. Uno is also a professional gamer affiliated with the VARREL esports team and appeared in a June 2026 commercial for Cygames' Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond. Honda works as a sports caster and actor and launched her own cosmetics brand, Luarine, in 2026. The team is scheduled to begin entering competitions in fall 2026.
Cygames ties to Uno predate the sponsorship. He joined the GAMER division of the professional esports team VARREL in May 2026, the same month the ice dance team formed, and has streamed projects on YouTube alongside his skating. In June 2026 he appeared in a commercial for Cygames' digital card game Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond marking its first anniversary, titled the "Shadowverse Date to You" edition, and a project ran in which users competed against him in the game.
Uno proposed the partnership. He approached Honda asking, "Would you like to do ice dance together aiming for the Olympics?" Both stepped away from competitive skating in 2024 before announcing their return in ice dance in May 2026.
Their singles records differ in shape. Uno won medals in the men's singles at Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022 and took back-to-back world championship titles. Honda won the 2016 World Junior Championships.
The company's stated vision is to be "a company that creates the best content," and it says it aims to be a brand bringing joy and dreams to people through fields including sports, without being confined to its core game business. On the deal it commented, "We hope to help push forward their leap and to help deliver inspiration to people around the world."
Cygames runs games plus anime, manga, and esports businesses, and has expanded into sports sponsorship. In 2026 Uma Musume Pretty Derby became an official event partner of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.