Cygames have officially announced that they’re backing the 151st Kentucky Derby and bringing demos for their games as part of the experience. Among those games is Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, a gacha game about collecting and racing horse girls.
Anime games and media collaborations with sports aren’t anything new. The past few years have seen huge properties like One Piece, Hololive, Goddess of Victory: NIKKE and several other anime-themed franchises grace American sports leagues.
However, a Japanese game developer backing the Kentucky Derby is certainly out there, even for the modern landscape of American sporting events. And they’re doing it to promote Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, one of Japan’s biggest gacha games.
Along with three other titles, it’ll be playable for the first time in the U.S. at the Kentucky Derby.
Cygames uses Kentucky Derby to advertise horse girl gacha
Cygames made the announcement official on April 21, confirming that they’d be there with a massive booth and would even be a title sponsor for the event.
“Video game publisher and developer [Cygames] has partnered with [Churchill Downs Racetrack], home of the Kentucky Derby, to become a sponsor at the 151st Kentucky Derby. As part of the sponsorship agreement, the Unbridled Sidney Stakes Presented by Cygames will be held on Kentucky Oaks Day, Friday, May 2,” their press release reads.
The Unbridled Sidney Stakes is a Grade III race, which is the lowest numbered grade. This is still a high caliber event, but it doesn’t quite meet the the conditions set for the prestigious Grade I rating.
That said, the total prize purse for this race is $400,000, a much higher prize pool than is typically alotted for a Grade III event. For context, the minimum prizing for a Grade I event in North America is $300k. It’s an exorbitantly high prize pool for an event of this kind, and the biggest in Unbridled Sidney Stakes history.
Cygames is spending big to make games like Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising playable at the Kentucky Derby
That’s partially due to Cygames being a title sponsor, with their branding being all over the event.
“On Kentucky Oaks Day, held Friday, May 2, Cygames will sponsor the Unbridled Sidney Stakes. During the event, Cygames’ logo will be featured on the starting gate, saddle towels of the contending horses, and signage at the finish line,” Cygames revealed.
And, while they’re making Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and Granblue Fantasy: Relink playable at the event, the real star of the show is Uma Musume: Pretty Derby.
It’s a gacha game that’s been out in Japan since 2021, with fans of the original anime anxiously awaiting its release in the U.S. We still don’t have a release date for it, but it’s confirmed to be playable at the event, making it a must-attend for huge fans of the series.
Pretty Derby doesn’t have a ton of actual gameplay. It’s mostly about training and collecting different girls that have different strengths and weaknesses. Once you start the race, all there is to do is sit back and watch. The only actual “gameplay” is boosting the stats of your favorite racers.
That said, people who are fans of the series love it, and the game has already made an estimated 2.5 billion dollars in gross revenue with just their Japan release. No wonder Cygames has the capital to spend big on sponsoring the Kentucky Derby.
So, while Pretty Derby doesn’t have a release date nailed down, it’s safe to say that them being a title sponsor at the Kentucky Derby is an indicator we can expect it to release soon in the West.
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