Bandai Namco aims to resolve Gundam model scarcity issues with a whole new factory 

Bandai Namco Holdings published their interim earnings report for the first half of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025. The statements showed that the company’s video game sector experienced impressive growth, and also revealed some news about the Mobile Suit Gundam IP, including information about the new Gunpla factory. 

Bandai Spirits, Bandai Namco Holdings’ toy manufacturing subsidiary, announced that construction of a new factory for Gundam plastic model kits and figures will be completed in January 2025. Located in Japan’s Shizuoka city, the factory will become operational sometime next year. 

The production capacity for Gundam plastic models and figures is expected to increase by 35% compared to the previous fiscal year, in order to meet growing domestic and global demand. In a Q&A session with shareholders, Bandai Namco Holdings’ representatives stated that they are aware of the ongoing issue of demand for Gunpla models far exceeding supply, and they aim to address this by strengthening their production system (as reported by GameBiz). 

Due to their limited quantities and sales channels, Gunpla models are often subject to aggressive scalping practices. By boosting production, Bandai Namco hopes to make them easier to purchase. 

Mobile Suit Gundam is currently Bandai Namco Holdings’ highest selling IP, earning 76.5 billion yen in the first half of the current fiscal year. A big part of this is owed to plastic model kits and figures – just last year, a total of 26.34 million units were sold, and 50% percent of these sales came from outside of Japan (source: The Nikkei).