Akatsuki Games’s KAIJU NO. 8 THE GAME, which launched on August 31, 2025, will celebrate its half-year anniversary this February. Amidst increasingly severe competition in the free-to-play market, the game seems to be holding its ground. AUTOMATON recently sat down with Kaiju No. 8 The Game’s producer Shinya Fujita to hear more about how the title is performing, what strategies helped make it successful, and how the development team handled a post-launch “content drought.”
—It’s been about six months since launch. How is the game doing, honestly speaking?
Shinya Fujita (hereafter Fujita):
I’m grateful to say that we’ve been able to get off to a strong start. Releasing the game to coincide with the anime’s airing was a major challenge for us, but thanks to everyone’s cooperation, the launch saw warm reception.
The mobile game market has been in a co-called “Warring States period” for the past decade, and simply getting people to notice a new title, let alone play it, has become extremely difficult. I think we were able to reach so many players precisely because of the strong collaboration we had with the production teams of the original manga and anime.
—So it’s fair to say the launch was a success?
Fujita:
Yes, I believe so.
—I heard you have a major update and campaigns planned for Kaiju No. 8’s six-month mark. What’s the theme, and what can players expect?
Fujita:
The theme of our half-anniversary is “Another Dimension.” The game’s main, original story will reach a major turning point, and we’ll be adding more developments exclusive to the game, expanding the world of Kaiju No. 8 in ways even fans haven’t seen before.
One thing I’m especially excited for players to see is the new transformation form for Kafka Hibino (Kaiju No. 8), developed in full cooperation with the original publishers. I think even longtime fans will be surprised when they see it.
—Does that mean Kafka will take on an even bigger role during the half-anniversary?
Fujita:
That’s right. When you hear “Kaiju No. 8,” the first thing that comes to mind is undoubtedly Kafka’s current Kaiju No. 8 form. I think that introducing a new design of No. 8 in the game is quite a bold move for the IP as a whole. I hope players will look forward to finding out how the new form appears, what abilities it comes with, and how the story will unfold from there.
Why was the launch successful?
—Looking back, what do you think made Kaiju No.8 The Game’s launch successful?
Fujita:
Since it’s a title based on an existing IP, releasing the game during the anime’s airing – when the hype was at its peak – was an extremely important factor.
For example, Reno Ichikawa in the No. 6 suit appeared in the anime the day before launch, and we implemented him in-game the very next day. Having the anime and game introduce a character almost simultaneously like that is pretty unprecedented. It was something the entire “Team Kaiju No. 8” achieved together, not just the game team, but the original creators and anime staff too.
—Beyond timing, what contributed to the game’s success gameplay-wise?
Fujita:
Players have praised the graphics and original story since day one, but another thing we heavily focused on was making Kaiju No. 8 easy to pick up and comfortable to play.
Since the original series appeals to a wide range of people, regardless of age or gender, we adjusted things like character acquisition and quest difficulty in a way that anyone could play smoothly. I think those efforts are what ultimately helped us reach several million players worldwide right after launch.
On the other hand, since some players played very enthusiastically, we also heard feedback that they “ran out of things to do” quickly. This was why we immediately moved to speed up development of additional content.
—Does that mean that the relatively low cost of character progression was intentional?
Fujita:
Yes, that was deliberate.
—I noticed that dailies can be cleared in about a minute, or even 30 seconds.
Fujita:
In some games, it can take an hour just to complete daily missions. But we understand that players have their hands full with other games and content daily, so we wanted ours to be something they could play quickly and comfortably alongside everything else.
—Was there a specific moment after launch when it clicked for you that the game was a hit?
Fujita:
Early on, it was the positive reception of the game-exclusive character Sagan Shinomiya. Of course, one of the reasons for her popularity was that she’s a strong character, but even setting that aside, so many players went out of their way to obtain her.
The worldbuilding of Kaiju No. 8 is very solid. That made us feel we could continue developing original stories and attractive original characters for a long time on top of its foundations. Of course, the manga and anime characters remain the core and are absolutely essential to the game.
Solving the game’s content shortage
—Did you run into anything unexpected after launch?
Fujita:
As I mentioned earlier, we timed the game’s release to coincide with the anime and made the game’s difficulty level quite accessible, which led to complaints about a lack of content early on. While we were happy that players were so enthusiastic about the game, we regretted creating a “drought” period.
—Recently, though, there’s been new content coming out at a fairly rapid pace. Is that partly to make up for the previous shortage?
Fujita:
Yes. Right after launch, the development team got moving and planned out the next six months, adding a bunch of content and events. I think we still need to refine things, but hearing players say “there’s a lot to do now” feels like a true achievement.
—Content updates have felt steady and on schedule. How has your team managed that?
Fujita:
The game features story-heavy content, such as the main storyline, as well as content designed purely around battles.
For the story-driven content, we’ve been preparing it meticulously over time by establishing roadmaps for future updates and collaborating closely with the publisher and original creator. Meanwhile, battle content is developed through swift analysis, implementation, and tuning by the game team, allowing for quick additions. This is what creates a balance.
—Will you continue adding content at the same rate going forward?
Fujita:
For existing event formats, we plan to keep the current pace, but new types of content may take more time to develop. We’re also preparing material that expands the Kaiju No. 8 world beyond just battles, drawing from the manga and anime, so I hope players look forward to that.
—Thank you very much.
Kaiju No. 8 The Game is available as a free-to-play title on PC (Steam), iOS, and Android.
[Writer, editor: Ryuichi Kataoka]
[Interviewer, editor: Ayuo Kawase]
ⒸAkatsuki Games Inc.／TOHO CO., LTD.／Production I.G
