{"id":65374,"date":"2026-04-16T17:59:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=65374"},"modified":"2026-04-16T18:00:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T09:00:01","slug":"japans-biggest-ghost-developer-known-for-working-for-atlus-and-square-enix-sees-significant-growth-in-console-sector-following-shift-away-from-mobile-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japans-biggest-ghost-developer-known-for-working-for-atlus-and-square-enix-sees-significant-growth-in-console-sector-following-shift-away-from-mobile-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan\u2019s biggest \u201cghost developer\u201d known for working for Atlus and Square Enix sees significant growth in console sector following shift away from mobile games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japanese game developer Tose recently announced its consolidated financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal year ending August 2026. According to GameBiz<\/a>, the company reported significant growth in sales of console and PC-related products. This comes almost a year after Tose announced it would be shifting its priorities to developing console games<\/a> over mobile games going forward, citing \u201cintensifying market competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For context, Tose is one of the biggest independent contractors for game development in Japan. Operating since 1979, the company has a long track record working on games for major clients including Nintendo, Square Enix, Bandai Namco, Capcom and Atlus, and has, due to this, earned the reputation of a \u201cghost developer\u201d within the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the recent financial report, Tose\u2019s video game business sales reached 3.27 billion yen (about $20 million USD), a 17.6% rise compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the company reported an operating profit of 324 million yen (about $2.04 million USD), up by 22.6% year-on-year. When it comes to console and PC game-related sales specifically, Tose saw a 28.7% year-on-year increase in revenue, reaching 2.71 billion yen (about $17 million USD). However, the company witnessed a 16.8% loss in sales in the mobile game sector, likely a result of the aforementioned shift towards console development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considering that Aquaplus\u2019s free-to-play mobile game Utawarerumono: Lost Frag, which is operated by Tose, will permanently shut down on April 23<\/a>, the company is expecting some more business fluctuations in the next quarter. Another concern to be addressed for the upcoming period is the temporary suspension of an unnamed project for an overseas client.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, all major projects for domestic clients have been actively progressing. Furthermore, one brand-new project is currently in the start-up phase, and the company expects it to exceed 500 million yen in sales. While details are still under wraps, Tose expects the new game to significantly contribute to its sales starting from the next fiscal year. This means that the mysterious title is likely to release in late 2026 or the first half of 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlus and Square Enix were the biggest clients of \u201cghost developer\u201d Tose in the past year\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tose recently announced its financial results for the second quarter of the current fiscal year, reporting significant growth in sales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":65375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[261,17],"class_list":["post-65374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-financial-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nJapan\u2019s biggest \u201cghost developer\u201d known for working for Atlus and Square Enix sees significant growth in console sector following shift away from mobile games - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tose recently announced its financial results for the second quarter of th current fiscal year, reporting significant growth in sales.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/japans-biggest-ghost-developer-known-for-working-for-atlus-and-square-enix-sees-significant-growth-in-console-sector-following-shift-away-from-mobile-games\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Japan\u2019s biggest \u201cghost developer\u201d known for working for Atlus and Square Enix sees significant growth in console sector following shift away from mobile games - 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