Konami drops $29 million lawsuit against Umamusume: Pretty Derby

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Konami, the company behind the Silent Hill series, and Cygames, known for the game Umamusume: Pretty Derby, have resolved their legal battle over patents. This ends a major lawsuit in the Japanese gaming industry.

In March 2023, Konami filed a lawsuit against CyberAgent, the parent company of Cygames, in Tokyo District Court. Konami claimed that Cygames’ popular horse-girl training game violated one of its patents. Konami asked the court for approximately ¥4 billion (about $29 million) in damages and requested that sales of the game be stopped.

Cygames has refuted the claims against it, stating that Umamusume doesn’t infringe on any patents and that they plan to fight the accusations in court.

Automaton reports that Konami and Cygames have reached a settlement, ending their dispute. Konami has dropped its claim, and Cygames will continue running the game without interruption.

Umamusume devs and Konami end legal dispute

CyberAgent recently announced they’ve resolved a matter, and they don’t expect it to significantly affect their business results.

Autotomaton believes the disagreement probably involves a game feature where players choose characters and helper units to activate certain events – a system that works like the training mechanics found in the game Umamusume.

The details of the settlement haven’t been made public, but Umamusume: Pretty Derby will continue as usual. The game is still incredibly popular in Japan, consistently ranking at the top of the App Store and earning billions of yen each year.

The game’s gotten huge internationally too! People really love how it combines racing with the whole idol culture thing. It’s actually gone beyond the game, which is wild. Fans have sent food to the in-game horses – like, actual food to the digital Haru Urara – and there have even been real-life cosplay horse races inspired by the game! It’s seriously amazing to see how much people connect with it.

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2025-11-07 19:22