METI IP360 Program Selects 27 Projects Including New Koei Tecmo and Virtua Fighter Titles
The IP360 program's first batch reveals which major Japanese game studios are betting on new IPs and global simultaneous releases, with Koei Tecmo and Sega leading the slate.
Reporting from 2 sources: GameBusiness.jp, Game Spark.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced the first selection results for its IP360 large-scale production support program, choosing 27 projects from 90 applications. Selected game projects include a new IP from Koei Tecmo tentatively titled 'FUJI', a new Virtua Fighter game called 'VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS' from Sega, and projects from Arc System Works, Square Enix, and Konami. Support targets new challenges with production costs of at least 2 billion yen.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry released the first selection results for its IP360 large-scale production support program on July 1, 2026. The program aims to boost overseas sales of Japanese content to 20 trillion yen by 2033, supporting projects in games, anime, manga, music, and live-action. For game projects, eligibility requires a corporate track record of maximum sales of 8 billion yen or more and production costs of at least 2 billion yen. Projects based on works that have already achieved over 100 billion yen in sales are excluded. Among the 27 selected projects from 90 applications, several major game studios received support for new titles.
- Arc System Works: Global expansion project for fighting games using cel-shaded 3D animation, aiming for simultaneous release on all major platforms with full multilingual localization and integration of video works.
- Koei Tecmo Games: Development of new game 'FUJI (tentative)', a completely new IP leveraging expertise in oriental expression and action games, targeting worldwide hits and broad IP expansion.
- Konami Digital Entertainment: New console project aimed at both domestic Japanese and global markets, creating works that can be enjoyed by a wide range of customers.
- Square Enix: New game development with added supported languages, localization for overseas markets, and quality improvements through reviews.
- Sega: Development of 'VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS', a large-scale game title utilizing the latest technology and a design enabling continuous operation to create long-term IP value in the global market.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.