Bandai Namco President Reveals Record Profits and 2026 Game Lineup
Bandai Namco Entertainment president Udagawa Nao sat down with Famitsu for a special interview marking the publication’s 40th anniversary, reflecting on the company’s record-breaking fiscal year and its strategy for global IP expansion. In the wide-ranging conversation, Udagawa discussed the 2005 merger between Bandai and Namco, the company’s restructuring after its 2010 losses, and the group collaboration that drove record profits last fiscal year. He also detailed recent and upcoming releases across mobile and console, the push into Southeast Asia, and esports ambitions, offering a comprehensive look at where one of Japan’s largest entertainment companies is headed.
Udagawa highlighted strong performance on both mobile and console fronts last year. A Gundam mobile title synced with its anime rollout, celebrated its first anniversary with excellent performance, and successfully reached Gundam fans across a wide age range. A Digimon title won the Future Division at the Japan Game Awards 2025 and became a global hit, with the Digimon IP recording the Bandai Namco Group’s highest-ever profits. Digimon Story Time Stranger (デジモンストーリー タイムストレンジャー) launched in July for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, with a large DLC planned for 2027, while smartphone game Digimon UP also recently started. The company’s co-developed title with FromSoftware continues to grow sales worldwide.
About 90 percent of the company’s home console sales now come from overseas, supported by 30 bases across 18 countries and regions, with marketing approaches adapted to each region. Pac-Man enjoys overwhelming popularity in North America, and a short animated series currently streaming online has been well received, with plans to push the character toward its 46th and 50th anniversaries. The company is also concentrating on Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, where it hosted game experience events to reach a large potential fan base. On esports, Udagawa praised the scale of the Esports World Cup in Saudi Arabia while emphasizing the company’s own Tekken World Tour, noting the challenge of attracting new players while maintaining competitive depth.
Udagawa described the current year as one where long-prepared titles finally bloom. Following the recent release of a new entry in a major series and Digimon UP, a long-awaited new installment of a fan-favorite series is scheduled for October. A new Gundam game with a different flavor is also on the way, alongside a Dragon Ball title where players become avatars exploring the brand-new world AGE1000. Idolmaster is expanding through xR technology-powered live events, with strong engagement from overseas fans. Udagawa’s mid-term priorities remain game portfolio promotion, development strength, and IP-driven business expansion. With record profits and a packed roadmap, this is definitely a company to keep watching through the rest of 2026.
