CRI Middleware co-organizes GTMF 2026 with Aidea, with the Osaka date on December 2 and the Tokyo date on December 8. Its CRI LipSync Alive audio-analysis middleware is in use on Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku Connect Live events, with continued use planned for future events.
CRI Middleware's recent coverage runs in two directions: the forum it organizes and the middleware it sells. The Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2026, organized by Aidea and CRI Middleware, holds its Osaka date on December 2 at the Knowledge Capital Congres Convention Center and its Tokyo date on December 8 at Akihabara UDX. The session list and booth maps, confirmed on the organizer side, cover AI and 3D generation, game engines, graphics, sound, networking, development environments and global expansion support. Epic Games Japan, Unity Japan, Sony, Audiokinetic and SoftBank headline the seminar program, alongside Pearl sponsors k-ID, Silicon Studio and Hi3D.
This is the 21st edition. The forum began on February 7, 2003, as Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2003 Winter in Ochanomizu, Tokyo, with seven participating companies, and between 2020 and 2022 it was suspended because of the novel coronavirus before resuming on June 30, 2023, in Osaka and July 4 in Tokyo. The 2026 run keeps admission free at both venues, with advance registration required for exhibits and sessions; doors open at 9:30, sessions start at 10:00 and booths at 11:00, and attendees may enter and leave midway.
The product side is a single adoption story. On October 26, 2026, CRI Middleware announced that its audio-analysis lip-sync middleware CRI LipSync Alive was adopted for the first time in Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku, handling mouth-movement animation for the paid Connect Live "GO Hoppin' Parade" held in-game on October 24 and 25, 2026. Colorful Palette ENCORE said the tool cut basic mouth-movement production time to roughly half, freeing time for facial-expression adjustments, and CRI LipSync Alive is set for continued use in future Connect Live events.
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2d ago
The Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2026 will run on December 2 at the Knowledge Capital Congres Convention Center in Osaka and on December 8 at Akihabara UDX in Tokyo, organized by Aidea and CRI Middleware. The event began on February 7, 2003, as Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2003 Winter in Ochanomizu, Tokyo, with seven participating companies. It reaches its 21st edition with the 2026 run. Between 2020 and 2022 the forum was suspended because of the novel coronavirus, and it resumed on June 30, 2023, in Osaka and July 4 in Tokyo. Admission is free at both venues, with advance registration required for exhibits and sessions; doors open at 9:30, sessions start at 10:00 and booths at 11:00, and attendees may enter and leave midway. GTMF 2026 publishes a sponsor list running from Pearl sponsors k-ID, Silicon Studio and Hi3D down to logo sponsors pixiv and Braze.
Oct 30
The Game Tools & Middleware Forum 2026 will hold its Osaka venue on December 2 and its Tokyo venue on December 8, organizer-side publisher Aid and CRI Middleware confirmed alongside the session list and booth maps. The 21st edition covers AI and 3D generation, game engines, graphics, sound, networking, development environments and global expansion support. Epic Games Japan, Unity Japan, Sony, Audiokinetic, SoftBank and others headline the seminar program.
Oct 26
CRI Middleware announced on October 26, 2026 that its audio-analysis lip-sync middleware CRI LipSync Alive was adopted for the first time in Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku, handling mouth-movement animation for the paid Connect Live "GO Hoppin' Parade" held in-game on October 24 and 25, 2026. Colorful Palette ENCORE said the tool cut basic mouth-movement production time to roughly half, freeing time for facial-expression adjustments. CRI LipSync Alive is set for continued use in future Connect Live events.