Pokémon Pokopia developer Koei Tecmo is continuing its rapid expansion as the company pushes toward becoming one of the gaming industry’s leading publishers by development scale and profitability.
According to company president and CEO Hisashi Koinuma, Koei Tecmo has grown its workforce from around 2,500 employees to approximately 3,000 over the past two years and now aims to expand further to 5,000 employees. The larger workforce is expected to support the company’s goal of releasing more games across its growing portfolio.
Speaking in an interview with Famitsu, Koinuma said the company’s hiring strategy is focused on increasing the number of development teams, allowing Koei Tecmo to consistently produce more titles while continuing to invest in employee training and new development facilities.
More developers to support more game projects
Koinuma said Koei Tecmo’s immediate objective is to steadily increase its development capacity.
“We are currently expanding our workforce to increase the number of development lines.”
He revealed that the company’s headcount surpassed 2,850 employees last year, and after welcoming 193 new graduates in Japan, the workforce has now reached approximately 3,000 people.
Looking ahead, Koinuma said:
“Looking ahead, we hope to continue expanding steadily toward a workforce of 5,000.”
He added that the company is also investing in in-house training to improve employee skills while maintaining consistent game development across its six existing brands and AAA Games Studio.
Growth plans extend beyond hiring
To support its expansion, Koei Tecmo is also increasing its physical infrastructure. Koinuma confirmed that the company’s Yokohama Symphostage office became operational this year and is expected to accommodate around 900 employees.
He acknowledged that additional office space will eventually be needed as hiring continues, noting that the company’s Kyoto office is also nearing capacity.
Beyond office expansion, Koei Tecmo has invested in employee welfare by constructing new company housing and employee dormitories.
“We continue to improve not only the development environment for our employees but also their living environment.”
Pokémon Pokopia reflects Koei Tecmo’s growing ambitions
Koinuma also pointed to Pokémon Pokopia as an example of the company’s expanding ambitions. He revealed that Koei Tecmo set an aggressive goal for the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive long before launch.
“We did work with the aim to make it the best selling spin-off game, but before launch there weren’t any real expectations. However, directly ahead of launch, lots of overseas media played it and rated it very highly, and then I felt it spread from there.”
The strategy appears to be paying off. According to Nintendo’s latest financial briefing, Pokémon Pokopia sold more than 4 million copies within its first five weeks, making it one of the fastest-selling Pokémon spin-off games to date. Nintendo has also indicated that it expects the title to enjoy a long sales lifecycle on Switch 2.
With the current record held by Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, which have sold a combined 5.85 million copies, Pokémon Pokopia is already within striking distance of becoming the best-selling Pokémon spin-off ever.
Long-term vision for Koei Tecmo
Koinuma reiterated that Koei Tecmo’s broader ambition is to become the world’s leading digital entertainment company in terms of operating profit, with an initial goal of reaching the industry’s top 10 by 2035.
The publisher currently operates multiple development brands, including Omega Force, Team Ninja, Gust, Kou Shibusawa, Midas, and Ruby Party, alongside its newer AAA Games Studio. Koinuma also hinted that additional brands could be created in the future if developers pursue new ideas that don’t fit existing teams.
As Koei Tecmo continues hiring, expanding its facilities, and investing in new talent, the publisher is positioning itself for a larger development pipeline and a more ambitious release schedule in the years ahead.
