{"id":69149,"date":"2026-07-03T14:48:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=69149"},"modified":"2026-07-03T14:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T05:48:58","slug":"former-umamusume-pretty-derby-content-directors-new-game-studio-receives-investment-from-scopely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/former-umamusume-pretty-derby-content-directors-new-game-studio-receives-investment-from-scopely\/","title":{"rendered":"Former\u00a0Umamusume: Pretty Derby content director\u2019s new game studio receives investment from Scopely\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">US-based game company&nbsp;Scopely&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/prtimes.jp\/main\/html\/rd\/p\/000000001.000186130.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a>&nbsp;a strategic investment in&nbsp;<strong>Studio&nbsp;AuKnow<\/strong>&nbsp;on July 2.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Studio&nbsp;AuKnow&nbsp;is a&nbsp;Japanese&nbsp;game development&nbsp;studio&nbsp;founded by Takuma Akitsu, best known for his work&nbsp;on Cygames\u2019s&nbsp;hit title&nbsp;Umamusume: Pretty Derby. Serving as the title\u2019s content director until 2024, Takuma led Umamusume\u2019s planning,&nbsp;development&nbsp;and live operations.&nbsp;His new studio, founded in October 2025,&nbsp;focuses on game development as well as cross-media&nbsp;IP production.&nbsp;It houses 30 employees, and according to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.4gamer.net\/games\/999\/G999905\/20260702013\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4Gamer<\/a>, staff members who previously worked on the development of titles like Final Fantasy Rebirth VII,&nbsp;Pok\u00e9mon&nbsp;TCG Pocket,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Onmyoji.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;partnership&nbsp;with&nbsp;Studio&nbsp;AuKnow&nbsp;comes as the next step in&nbsp;Scopely\u2019s&nbsp;long-term&nbsp;investment&nbsp;strategy in&nbsp;Japan. In 2025, the company&nbsp;acquired&nbsp;Niantic\u2019s game business, including its Tokyo-based development teams behind Pokemon GO, Pikmin&nbsp;Bloom,&nbsp;and Monster Hunter Now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While\u00a0the specific amount of the investment in Studio AuKnow was not\u00a0disclosed,\u00a0Scopely\u00a0will provide the company with \u201cmultifaceted support,\u201d including\u00a0strengthening\u00a0the studio\u2019s technical infrastructure and sharing\u00a0know-how\u00a0for global expansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Studio&nbsp;AuKnow&nbsp;hasn\u2019t&nbsp;unveiled any projects yet, but&nbsp;its&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/herp.careers\/v1\/auknow\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">job listings<\/a>&nbsp;indicate&nbsp;that&nbsp;it&nbsp;has&nbsp;a new mobile&nbsp;game&nbsp;IP&nbsp;development.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese developer Studio\u00a0AuKnow,\u00a0founded by Takuma Akitsu, has received strategic investment from Niantic parent Scopely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":69151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2","date":"2026-07-03T05:49:03+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mpptxplht32p","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:uzrrhkfyjrfdsynj2voztcf2\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3mpptxplht32p\",\"cid\":\"bafyreiargrgomvlww3ag32buw5sjr226qll7cvfl35uxtjwmnddawiemvy\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreig4pku54pqchiohogyb5abefvonoxc7quydip6yg2vkdk5gw26mxm\",\"rev\":\"3mpptxplujd2p\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-69149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - 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