CyberAgent's
Growth Strategy

MediaGrow th Strategy

013

014

015

Strong Progress as"TV for the Future"
Helps ABEMA Leap
Into the Next Stage
Norishige Nagase
Senior Managing Executive Officer, Director of AbemaTV

ABEMA aims to be a social infrastructure for connecting anytime, anywhere, basedon the concept of TV innovation.
This year marks the 7th anniversary of ABEMA, which was built from the ground up
since its launch in 2016. Not only has the number of users grown steadily, but
WAU*, a key metric, has reached an all-time high as a result of streaming sports
and other popular content.
We spoke with Norishige Nagase, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Directorof AbemaTV, about how ABEMA has the potential to advance to the next stage
before its 10th anniversary, an important milestone.
*WAU: Weekly Active Users

016

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Shifted the
Trajectory of the Company―What are your thoughts on the current state of ABEMA?
Since ABEMA's inception, we've been working toward the goalof establishing ABEMA as a major media provider within 10
years, and we believe we have made strong progress.
One reason behind this was the success of the free live
coverage of all 64 FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 matches. This
gave ABEMA the chance to leap into the next stage.
The 5 million WAUs in the five years leading up to the FIFA
World Cup Qatar 2022 were matched in just one year when the
Cup was streamed and now stand at around 20 million WAUs.
This resulted in consistent increases not only in advertising andbilling revenues but also in peripheral businesses, putting thecompany in a deficit-reduction phase.
The fact that many people in Japan became aware of theconvenience and high quality of ABEMA has had a positive
impact on subsequent initiatives and activities. The level of trustand expectations among various business partners has
increased, including clients, content holders, and performers,
which has helped relationships evolve to a higher level.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has also instilled greater
confidence in our assets, which include technology, creativity,
marketing, and operations.
Especially in terms of technology, we took on the ambitious
challenge of streaming the matches against Japan live over theinternet, which resulted in the highest number of simultaneousconnections ever seen in Japan. Still, the best indicator of our
success has been our consistent ability to stream high-quality
video.
Taking advantage of the nature of internet services, CyberAgentquickly developed a number of features, including "multi-angle
video," which allows viewers to select their favorite angle frommultiple camera feeds; "commentary," which allows them towatch the game while cheering each other on; and "gamedata," which allows them to check information about the game,p l a y e r s , a n d m o re . T h i s w a s y e t a n o t h e r e x a m p l e o f
CyberAgent's advanced technological capabilities.

Becoming a "Social Infrastructure forConnecting Anytime, Anywhere"―In the face of fierce competition in video streaming
services, what is ABEMA's competitive advantage?
ABEMA is the only company in Japan with a dedicated news
channel that streams 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and isavailable for free. We believe that our ability to flexibly structure
and program the channel to include news during disasters andpress conferences of international interest makes ABEMA an
essential part of the social infrastructure. We hope to continue
to be a media provider that can provide everyone with the kindof content they want to watch.

017
Since its inception, ABEMA has provided news, dating reality

which has been one of our competitive advantages.

shows, dramas, sports, anime, Japanese chess, mahjong,
among other genres that cannot be covered under a TV format.

―What do you think is important when training engineers?

* "Ashita Kaigi" is an important executive meeting (=kaigi) in which new businessinitiatives and solutions that could improve CyberAgent's future (=ashita) are proposedand decided upon.

While we intend to continue broadening our streaming offerings,
our current focus is on sports and anime.

We place a high value on our ownership culture. To foster such

We have streamed a wide variety of sports, including Majora culture, it is essential to build on each engineer's sense of

League Baseball (MLB), Premier League and Bundesliga

autonomy and responsibility, to let their creativity flow and to

Soccer, K-1, professional wrestling, sumo, F-League, and more.

be flexible in response to change. But most importantly, we

To further bolster our sports content, we signed an agreement

believe that the engineers themselves should be given

with KDDI Corporation in June 2023, intending to step up suchopportunities and discretion.

efforts, contribute to the growth of the sports industry andWe provide an environment where they can propose andculture, and deliver the kind of new sports viewing experience

implement their solutions if they feel they can improve a service

that only ABEMA can provide.

they operate or strengthen their team, and we recognize thesekinds of efforts. We are always aware of having systems thatA System and Culture That Encourage
Engineers to Take Ownership―How did ABEMA become so technologically advanced?
CyberAgent has developed its business around the internet
industry since 1998. In 2006, we came up with the slogan"Technology-Led CyberAgent," under which we internalized ourengineers to strengthen our technological capabilities. In
addition, we have always invested aggressively in technologicalinnovation, including technology research as well as recruiting
and training talent.

create a virtuous cycle of opportunities and recognition, suchas holding a technical version of our Ashita Kaigi* andoverhauling our recognition system.
We are currently working hard to actively use generative AI toboost productivity.
In April 2023, we integrated "GitHub Copilot," an AI-driven
code completion tool, across the company. The tool is used byroughly 70% of engineers, the highest number of users in the
country. Going forward, we will contribute to the business byaccelerating development and improving productivity morethan ever before.

Norishige Nagase
Senior Managing Executive Officer, Director of AbemaTV
Aug. 2005 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.
Jan. 2007 Director, New Development Bureau
Oct. 2015 Corporate Officer, CyberAgent, Inc.

ABEMA also benefits from our experience and accumulated

Oct. 2018 Director, CyberAgent, Inc.

knowledge of rapid development without sacrificing quality,

Oct. 2022 Senior Managing Executive Officer, AbemaTV, Inc. (current position)

Feb. 2022 Director, AbemaTV, Inc. (current position)

018

Free Fun For All
Live Broadcast Immersive Experiences Unique to Live Broadcasting
Synchronization Creating and Capturing Japan s Modern Trends
News Always Fresh News
Convenience Freedom from Time and Space019

Delivering World-Class Content
That Is "the Highest Quality,
Or Completely Original"
Tatsuhiko Taniguchi
Executive Officer, Head of ABEMA's Programming Department

The strength of ABEMA's content is its unique ability to seize popular cultural shifts
and trends.
In addition to streaming some 25 channels of various genres 24 hours a day, 365 daysa year, ABEMA also boasts the most original episodes* in Japan among Japan-based
video services.
We spoke with Tatsuhiko Taniguchi, Executive Officer and Head of ABEMA's
Programming Department, about ABEMA's content strategy, which aims to realize aunique "TV for the future" with free live streaming, simultaneous feeds, news
coverage, and convenience," to stand out from the crowd of competitors in video
streaming services.
* Source: In-house research (January 2023)

020― What is your content programming strategy?

reaches that point.
The final step of the process is to watch the actual finished

Our current strategy is for programming to be "the highest

production and make a final quality judgment under thequality, or completely original."

direction of myself and the general producer, and then, based

With the spread of foreign-capital video streaming services, theon the quality of the production and expectations, we determine

quality of content demanded by viewers has skyrocketed. In the

how much marketing investment will be made.

face of fierce competition for quality, we strive to create

By using this new production method, the variety show "Sekai

world-class content.

no Hate ni, Hiroyuki o Oitekita (Drop Hiroyuki off at the edge of

In February 2023, we launched a project with Netflix as our

the World) and dating reality show "Shuffle Island" were bothcontent partner. The resulting original ABEMA dating reality

very successful. Both of these programs generated a buzz,

show, "Is She the Wolf?" was streamed in June of that year anddrawing a large number of viewers from their respective target

was extremely well received, rising to #4 in Netflix's rankings.

demographics.

This initiative not only served as a foothold for ABEMA to enter
the global market, but was also designed to raise awareness of―What is your view on compliance?

world-class production within the company in terms of quality
competition.
―What are you doing to improve quality?

We believe it is essential to consider the viewer's point of viewin all aspects of our work. This commitment has grown evenstronger in the aftermath of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,
which has increased trust and expectations from all sides.

We are doing many things, but in terms of both speed andHowever, our mindset of eliminating the unnecessary, such as

quality, we believe that reimagining the original programming

things that are unclear as to how others will perceive them, or

planning and production process has been effective.

rules whose purpose is unclear, has remained consistent since

The process from planning to stream is divided into three steps.

ABEMA's inception.

First, the project's quality is scrutinized to ensure that it meets

We naturally consider whether programming that could be being

our standards, and then feedback is provided to the planner

offensive or hurtful to people, and do not compromise when it

within 48 hours.

comes to this. We're also committed to producing works while

This is followed by casting and detailed production planning to

upholding the highest ethical standards and pursuingensure accuracy, and the official green light is only given when it

entertaining content that touches people's hearts.

* Is She the Wolf? entered the Netflix Top 10, peaking at No. 4 (Week of June 12–18, 2023)

021

ABEMA s Content Production That Does Not
Separate "Production" From "Delivery"―What is your current production system like?
We plan and produce original works, including dramas andvariety programs, in collaboration with the content studio
BABEL LABEL as well as with highly-skilled creators both in andoutside the company.
We will extend our reach to the world by combining thesecreative powerhouses with in-house talent, who are experts ininternet business and marketing. For the time being, we plan tocontinue implementing this strategy while also focusing on
revitalization.
We often say, "Don't separate production from delivery. Unlikein the past, when the only way to reach an audience wasthrough limited advertising, marketing design is now required
from the content planning and sourcing stages. When it comesto this aspect, our company, which has created a diverse range
of internet-based entertainment businesses, possesses uniqueexpertise and knowledge.
―Wo u l d y o u s a y t h a t y o u r g re a t e s t s t re n g t h l i e s i ninternet-based marketing capabilities?

We want to continue to refine our content creation, whosestrength lies in having a unique hook that captures the times
and trends to create something of an ignition point—like a story
that seems interesting even before you see it, or a story thatm a k e s y o u w a n t t o s h a re y o u r t h o u g h t s , e v e n i f i t i scontroversial, rather than just leaving a good after-impression.

We Want to Deliver Content That
Breaks Through the Sense of Stagnationin Japan s Media―What are your plans for the future?
Under CyberAgent's purpose, to "break through stagnation withnew power and the internet," we want to keep increasing theamount of content that brings vitality to Japan.
Two examples of this are the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 andMajor League Baseball (MLB).
Many Japanese people, including myself, have been inspired by
the sight of athletes competing around the world. Every time I
watch a livestream, I am struck by the power of sports.
There is a lot of content out in the world that moves people. We
intend to be the sole media provider capable of delivering suchcontent on a large scale and in the right way.

Tatsuhiko Taniguchi
Executive Officer, Head of ABEMA's Programming Department

The internet is characterized by its abilities to rapidly spread

Apr. 2014 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.

information among users and exert a strong influence. Creating

Oct. 2020 Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), CyberZ Inc. (current position)

content based on this reality has always been ABEMA's strong suit.

Oct. 2018 President, eStream Inc. (current position)
Oct. 2022 Executive Officer, CyberAgent (current position)

022

Anime Choose ABEMA to Go Viral,
ABEMA Connects Anime
with its Viewers
Rina Takai
Executive Officer, Head of ABEMA's Commerce Business Department

The Anime Channel has been a staple of ABEMA since its inception.
In addition to its extensive anime lineup, the channel offers special programs, voice actor
programs, and other content that connects anime works with its viewers, and it has received
widespread support from anime fans.
Over the past decade, the anime industry market has more than doubled to 2.7 trillion yen*,making anime a growth industry in Japan. As commercial opportunities grow, we spoke with
Rina Takai, Executive Officer and Head of ABEMA's Commerce Business Department, about
ABEMA's anime strategy.
* Source: Association of Japanese Animations "Anime Industry Report 2022" (Jan. 2023)© Taiki Kawakami, Fuse, KODANSHA/ “Ten-Sura” Project

023

The Anime Channel, a Popular Genreon ABEMA― How would you characterize the state of anime on
ABEMA these days?
Since ABEMA was launched, anime works has consistently
remained at the top of the rankings in terms of viewers andcomments.
Currently, we're getting a lot of positive feedback from content
holders who tell us that streaming on ABEMA has expanded thereach of their work, and we have built a track record of several
exclusive and advance streams of animated shows.
The wide range of genres and themes of anime on ABEMA,
across our six anime channels, streaming not only the latest
works but also past works, marathon broadcasts, and more,
draws many viewers constantly.In addition, ABEMA attracts bothanime productions and viewers because, in addition to the freeservice, we offer special programs aligned with the original work
as well as a wide variety of voice-acting content, such as "Say
You to Yo Asobi," (Night out with voice actors) the industry's first
regular show featuring voice actors. Content like this allows
viewers to enjoy anime from many different perspectives.
―The fastest exclusive streaming of the wildly popular
anime "Oshi no Ko" is still fresh in our minds.
Timed to coincide with the fastest streaming of this anime, we

set up a special store where people could purchase the latestthat only ABEMA can fully realize through our investment andmerchandise. While the strength of the work itself wasother relationships from the anime production stage.

instrumental, I'm proud to say that the collaborative efforts ofAnime, manga, and figurines― what was once considered a

ABEMA contributed to maximizing the buzz.

Japanese subculture has now become a mainstream culture

We intend to continue to strengthen these efforts to makearound the world.

ABEMA a place that connects works and viewers.

In particular, the commerce area has enormous potential for

Expanding Profit-Making Opportunities for
Anime IPs to Create Win-Win Relationships
With Stakeholders

growth, not just in Japan but internationally. It should be agame-changer when it comes to competing on a global scale. In
the years to come, we will make every effort to bring ABEMA
and anime content produced by CyberAgent to the world.
*Source: Association of Japanese Animations "Anime Industry Report 2022" (Jan. 2023)―"Character goods" seem to be gaining popularity withthe rapid growth of anime.
The character merchandising market in Japan has a worth of
663.1 billion yen* and has been on the rise in recent years.
ABEMA Mart, our official online store that launched in Januaryof this year, has been working to develop products based on
ABEMA viewing data. Among the most popular items in our
online store are anime figurines and merchandise based on theoriginal program, which cannot be purchased anywhere else. In
addition to dedicated fans, demand is growing among young
people and women who enjoy light anime.
Going forward, we want to expand the scope of commerce toincrease revenue opportunities, such as by selling moremerchandise that utilizes our anime IPs.

Rina Takai
Executive Officer, Head of ABEMA's Commerce Business Department
Apr. 2014 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.

We also hope to contribute to the anime industry as a whole,Oct. 2018 President, eStream Inc. (current position)

including to content holders and viewers, by providing services

Oct. 2022 Executive Officer, CyberAgent (current position)

Oct. 2020 Chief Diversity Officer (CDO), CyberZ Inc. (current position)

024

Introducing Japan's"Oshi" Activities to the World
to Build a Highly-Profitable
Entertainment Ecosystem
Takunori Fujii
Executive Officer, Head of ABEMA's Entertainment DX Division

Since the launch of the paid online live streaming service ABEMA PPV ONLINE LIVE("PPV") in June 2020, it has featured over 500 performers, making it one of the largest
platforms in Japan. The kickboxing event, THE MATCH 2022, sold approximately
500,000 tickets, the highest ever in Japan.
We spoke with Takunori Fujii, Executive Officer and Head of ABEMA's Entertainment
DX Division, about the service's strategy and plans for global expansion.

025

Boosting Profitable Business Throughthe "Entertainment Ecosystem"― With the COVID pandemic coming to an end, whatchanges can we expect in the entertainment industry?
With the lifting of restrictions on holding events, there is a
growing demand for in-person events. Shouting loudly andfeeling a sense of unity at a live event is one of its mostdelightful aspects.
On the other hand, it is also true that online streaming has
opened people's eyes to the convenience of being able towatch live performances whenever, wherever, and however theywant, without having to travel to a specific location to enjoy
them. We believe that the internet-based experiences are here
to stay.
―What is your future business strategy in this context?
We are currently working to strengthen our IP business, which
encompasses artists, celebrities, anime, and more.
We are now able to handle every aspect in-house, from box
office planning to operation, sales, and streaming, and this has
increased our earning potential.
In July 2023, ABEMA held "Creator Dream Fes ~produced byCom.", an in-person live performance that drew around 40,000
people to the Tokyo Dome. In parallel, ABEMA streamed an
original pre-event program, sold merchandise, and held

exclusive live streaming. The number of live-streaming viewersthat would not otherwise be possible, and we are confident thatexceeded those who showed up at the Tokyo Dome, a clear

this will lead to dramatic business growth. We are dedicated tosign of the demand for PPV.

developing IPs and expanding their streaming and monetization

We've also signed a partnership agreement with "Hypnosis Mic

opportunities.

-Division Rap Battle-," a popular character rap project, andwe're working on exclusive streaming and original projects.
―The IP business in the entertainment industry seems to
be attracting a lot of attention.

Boosting Profitable Business Throughthe "Entertainment Ecosystem"

By owning numerous IPs in the fields of music, video, andanime, we hope to create an "entertainment ecosystem" thatcan compete on a global scale.
For example, we will develop artists from our ABEMA audition
program and promote them using the internet-based marketing
expertise we have developed over the years.
Then, we will build up the business and eventually monetize it
globally by mobilizing all of our assets, including box office, PPV

4Generate profits
globally

13

Expand businesswith owned assets

2

IP ownership(investment/production/
procurement, etc.)(pay-per-view), commerce, fan clubs, and advertising, resulting
in a highly profitable business model.
A good example of this is the K-pop boy group "n.SSign."
They were selected to make their debut on the Japan-Korea
joint audition program "Stars Awakening," which was broadcast
exclusively in Japan on ABEMA. We are responsible for handling
fan meetings and promotional marketing in Japan, and we arelooking to expand our activities globally in the future.
Once the "entertainment ecosystem" is in place, there will be
more opportunities to collaborate and take on new challenges

IP promotion

026

A Close Affinity With "Oshi" Activities by
Dedicated Fans
―In what areas do you see affinities with the PPV offeringsof CyberAgent?

Because athletes are matched between countries, MMA andboxing are content the world is passionate about. So it is why weare working to develop more PPV services for global markets.

Our Technological and Marketing
Advantages Gives Us the Competitive Edge

We target IPs that have a strong fan base.
"Oshi" activities (supporting your favorite entertainers or―What are the benefits of your PPV services?

characters) have flourished in Japan in recent years, and thesheer size of the population and willingness to spend is

We believe that our technological and marketing advantages

astounding.

give us a competitive edge.

In Japan and abroad, many fans of artists, idol groups, andOne of the concerns with PPV is server overload when the

2.5-dimensional entertainment have purchased PPV to watch

number of simultaneous accesses is too high. In this regard,

again after experiencing the live show.

ABEMA has extensive experience dealing with it. The free live

We have already streamed the PPV of the 2.5-dimensional

streaming of all matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 also

musical produced by Nelke Planning, who joined the group inproved our technological advantages.

June of this year. In the near future, we are also planning a fan

In fact, we have never had a single PPV stream fail. Because

meeting after the last performance and an original ABEMA

people pay for PPV, we feel a strong responsibility to provide

program to deliver uninterrupted entertainment and maintain ahigh-quality video that cannot be experienced through freehigh level of engagement with dedicated fans.

media.We also have unparalleled marketing advantages. Unlike

Online streaming has also become commonplace in the mixed

TV broadcasts, which anyone can watch, paid PPVs are only

martial arts (MMA) field.

watched by those who are truly interested, making it more

The fact that over 500,000 tickets were sold for THE MATCH

difficult to acquire new fans. The ability to attract new fans using

Takunori Fujii

2022 kickboxing event sends a strong message that MMA

ABEMA's free programming as a marketing tool is an advantage

Executive Officer, Head of ABEMA's Entertainment DX Division

belongs on PPV. The MMA event "RIZIN" used to rely onthat only we possess.

televising rights from TV stations as a source of revenue but is

We are committed to delivering global hits in the way that only

Apr. 2006 Joined CyberAgent Inc., assigned to the Office of the President

now only streamed online, which we believe is a result of PPVABEMA can, as well as providing incredible video and user

becoming commonplace in society.

experiences to as many people as possible.

Sept. 2007 Head of Entertainment Division, Ameba Business Headquarters
Oct. 2015 Executive Officer, CyberAgent (current position)
Apr. 2020 President, OEN Inc.
April 2020 Head of the AbemaTV Entertainment DX Division (current position)

027

028

Growing ABEMA
as a "New Model for
the Future of Advertising"
Riku Yamada
Managing Executive Officer, Head of ABEMA's Business Development Division

ABEMA, the new future model of TV, aims to create "a new kind of advertising" that is a hybrid of TV
and the internet. With today's increase in users of video streaming services, 30% of TV sets in Japanare now connected to the internet, with this figure expected to rise to 43% by 2025*.
In response to the rapid proliferation of CTVs (Connected TVs), ABEMA, which can be viewed on
multiple devices, has stepped up efforts to have ABEMA buttons incorporated into the remote controlsof major TV manufacturers in Japan, as well as the development of special promotional products. As aresult, the share of CTVs in ABEMA's ad space inventory has increased to over 30%.
We spoke with Riku Yamada, ABEMA's Managing Executive Officer and Head of Business Development,
about ABEMA's business strategies and advertising business advantages, which have resulted in highadvertising effectiveness and consistent growth while adapting to changes in the digital marketing
market.
* Source: Intage Inc., "Research Report on Connected TV Trends" (May 2022)

029

Reaching a Wide Age Bracket with aSpecial Focus on the Younger Demographic― What kinds of changes have occurred in ABEMA's
advertising business?
In the 7 years since the ABEMA launched, needs and

ABEMA was originally launched to provide free videos for the
younger demographic, who prefer watching videos on theirsmartphones. We've been able to reach a wide range of age
groups, especially younger viewers, by focusing on planning
content that would be popular among the group, casting, social
media-driven marketing, and also improving national sports andother content.

expectations regarding advertising have evolved each time
ABEMA's content went viral, but the FIFA World Cup Qatar
2022, which was streamed live in November 2022, was one of
the most significant turning points.
I believe that this was due to the increased awareness of the
new future model of TV, which offers functionality and ease ofuse that frees people from time and place, combined with its

Comparison of Daily TV Viewing Demographics (2015 vs. 2020)
In 2015, 85% of all people watched TV; in 2020, 79%.
The decline is significant among the 50s and younger demographic, especially those in
their 20s and younger, where the percentage of TV viewers has dropped to about 50%.

unparalleled service that allows free viewing of a wide variety ofcontent that includes news, sports, anime, and variety shows.
People in the TV industry have told us that "ABEMA has gained
citizenship," and we believe that our ability to build up a0

Ages 10-15

service can also be effectively used for advertising.

Ages 16-19

advertising?
ABEMA is a medium that is viewed by a large number of young
people and users in their twenties and thirties who have astrong propensity to consume and are difficult to reach throughother media such as TV broadcasts.

40

60

80

100

2015

2020

All

viewership base has helped foster a sense of trust that the―What characteristics define ABEMA in terms of

20

20s
30s
40s
50s
60s
70s and over*Source: NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, "Japanese Time Use Survey" (2015, 2020)

030

ABEMA Users by Age

Unknown9%

Age 35and over46%*As ofJune 30,2023

10s

46% of all users
are under theage of 34.

14%

Ages 20-34

32%

Driving Monetization Capabilities as the New
Model for the Future of Advertising―What are some of the advertising products offered by
ABEMA?
ABEMA's advertising products currently consist of planned
advertising linked to popular original programs on ABEMA anddistributed advertising, which targets viewers and delivers
advertisements for a period of time, similar to TV commercials.
For planned advertising, we plan and produce infomercials andcommercials that, for example, feature cast members from ouroriginal dating reality show. Post-delivery surveys have verified

that this is a highly effective advertising method, and they

ABEMA handles all processes in-house and employs manyreceived high praise from advertisers.

engineers and creators from development to operation. ThisThe advantage of distributed advertising, where we select viewer

gives us the flexibility to transfer staff, for example, from

attributes that match the advertiser's commercial products andprogram production to ad production or from streaming to ad

target and distribute them to programs and channels of highplatform development, so that we can create video ads tailoredaffinity for a predetermined period of time, is that it can reach at o t h e p ro g r a m ' s v i e w e r s h i p , a c c u r a t e l y m e a s u re a dyounger demographic that is not reached by television.

effectiveness, develop ad delivery systems that are easy foradvertising agencies to sell, and make any necessary upgrades―What is your long-term advertising strategy for ABEMA?

when needed.

In the medium term, we plan to expand our programmatic

including efforts to improve targeting accuracy using LLM*2.

advertising, which is one of the most appealing aspects of

We believe our competitive edge lies in our ability to adapt tointernet advertising. These are ads that can be distributed up to

the future evolution of devices, viewer usage trends, anda certain monthly budget limit without setting a specific timeadvertiser needs.

period for ad streaming. This product can be used while

We will continue to help monetize ABEMA by developing themonitoring ad unit price and ad effectiveness in order to achieve"new model for the future of advertising," combining thethe advertiser's desired results. ABEMA currently accounts forbenefits of TV and internet advertising.

Recently, we have been actively incorporating new technologies,

about 15% of all ad spaces, but we intend to increase this to
30% in three years.
ABEMA also focuses on visualizing the advertising effectivenesseffect, which is difficult to do with TV broadcasts, and on
strengthening our support for CTV advertising*1, a market that is
expected to grow to over 160 billion yen in the future. We arecommitted to meeting the needs of advertisers even when ads
are viewed on TV by quantitatively visualizing advertising effects
in a manner similar to internet advertising.

*1 Source: AJA/SMN/Digital InFact "Market Size for Connected TV Advertising in Japan"(March 2022)*2 LLM: Large Language Model

Riku Yamada
Managing Executive Officer,
Head of ABEMA's Business Development Division
Apr. 2011 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.
Apr. 2015 Head of Media Development Division, Ameba Business Headquarters (currently Media
Headquarters)
Oct. 2015 Executive Officer, CyberAgent Inc.

―What are ABEMA's competitive advantages in advertising?

Oct. 2017 Head of the AbemaTV Business Development Division (current position)
Dec. 2018 Director, CyberAgent, Inc.
Oct. 2020 Managing Executive Officer, CyberAgent, Inc. (current position)

031

Combining Sports and Technology
to Create New Value
Chihiro Sano
Executive Officer, President of WinTicket Co., Ltd.

Apr. 2013 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.
Apr. 2015 Director, Applibot, Inc.
Nov. 2018 President, WinTicket Inc.
Oct. 2022 Executive Officer, CyberAgent (current position)

WinTicket is an internet betting service for cycle and auto racing. Despite being a latecomer to the market,
WinTicket now accounts for over 40% of the online betting market for cycle racing by leveraging its close
relationship with ABEMA, as well as its user interface (UI) design and marketing capabilities. Transaction
volume continues to increase at double-digit rates, contributing significantly to ABEMA-related sales.
The spread of internet betting in recent years has helped the cycle racing market* to expand to over 1 trillion
yen. We spoke with Chihiro Sano, Executive Officer and President of WinTicket, about the service's futurebusiness strategy.
*Source: Japan Keirin Autorace Foundation, "Total Ticket Sales in FY2022" (April 2023)

032

033

Cultivating New Cycle Racing Fansto Be No.1 in the Industry― Despite being a latecomer to the industry, having
launched in 2019, you have steadily increased your market
share to become number one in the industry. What is yourcompetitive advantage?
I believe it is because our target market is clearly different fromthe target of other companies' services. Our strategy is tocommunicate the appeal of WINTICKET to people who havenever experienced cycle racing, rather than to those who have.
The fan base for cycle racing and other government-regulated
betting sports is aging. But in the case of WINTICKET, roughly
80% of users are in their 20s to 30s. The difference is clear evenwhen looking at the age groups.
The key to this strategy has been CyberAgent's marketing
advantages, the fact that it operates ABEMA media, and its
development capabilities.
Through marketing, WINTICKET has communicated the appealof cycle racing ("keirin") to people who have never experienced
it before to spark their interest, and created experiences forpeople to learn about and enjoy cycle racing through ABEMA
programs. I believe that ABEMA's programming expertise andname recognition as a media outlet were instrumental in this.
Development capability is also important. Because we aretargeting a new audience, we need to make sure that theservice is really easy to use or that people abandon it. Even for
cycle racing services, our competitive advantage is our ability tocreate a UIUX (user interface/user experience) that is simple foryoung people to use. WINTICKET was also the first to introduce
a smartphone payment service in a government-controlledgambling sport.
When people hear the phrase "expand market share," itconjures up images of fighting over pieces of the same pie, but
fighting within the same market only limits the growth ofservices. We believe that services have expanded as the overallmarket has grown by capturing new audience, and we believethat further growth can be achieved in the coming years byattracting even more new users.
―The market for cycle racing has surpassed 1 trillion yen, andthe proportion of internet betters has risen to more than 80%.
How are you going to keep increasing the number of users?
We have a business strategy for each phase of our business.
The phases are divided based on the target audience, which is acombination of demographics and the level of cycle racingawareness. Right now, WINTICKET is in Phase 1, which means
it is still in its infancy based on our perception.
Of course, the level of difficulty increases as the phases
progress, but we are gaining knowledge at the same time. We
hope to continue to grow the popularity of cycling and to workwith the industry as a whole.
In any case, cycle racing is simply a lot of fun to begin with.The
word "gambling" may have a negative image, but it is awonderful form of entertainment when done responsibly.
Combining this with the great potential of this engaging sport,

we believe the market is going to continue growing.

Bringing Innovation to the Sports Experienceand Offering New Ways to Enjoy It―What is your vision for WinTicket?
We want to bring innovation to the sports experience.
Specifically, by integrating AI technology, sports data, andsports video, we want to create new experiences and newvalue. The actions that we have planned are already taking
shape, and I think we'll be able to announce them soon.
Cycle racing, our current focus, is the only government-controlledgambling sport that is also an Olympic sport. Given that ABEMA
is also focused on sports content, we believe we can achieve asynergistic effect with the group.
WINTICKET currently offers cycle racing and auto racing, bothof which are government-controlled gambling sports. Still, wewant to expand our efforts to sports in general to make thesports business a major pillar of CyberAgent in the future.

Internet AD
Growth Strategy

035

Our "Client First Principle"
Has Not Changed
Since Our Founding
Yasuo Okamoto
Executive Vice President, Head of Internet Advertising Headquarters

The internet advertising industry now accounts for roughly half ofCyberAgent's total sales.
We spoke with Yasuo Okamoto, Executive Vice President, and Head ofInternet Advertising Headquarters, who has long led the business,
which boast the largest market share in Japan, about CyberAgent's
strategies for continued growth and the strengths of the company.

036

Maximizing Advertising Effectivenessfor Clients―CyberAgent holds the top market share in Japan forInternet advertising transaction volume, but what competitive
advantages have made this possible?
It all comes down to the systematic implementation of ourstrategy to "maximize advertising effectiveness'' for clients.
While our advertising business has grown in line with market
growth, we have been committed to effective advertising since
the early days of the internet, and have continued to improve
the structure and technology required to achieve it.
The biggest difference between traditional mass advertising andinternet advertising is the fact that we can quantitatively
visualize advertising effectiveness.
We have a long history of improving our clients' sales andprofits through meticulous processes designed to optimize
advertising budgets, such as product-specific targeting, the―What are some of the ways you are maximizing

financial crisis of 2008 and rapid market shifts caused by theadvertising effectiveness?

emergence of smartphones; however, I believe that "change iswhat makes the difference."

We do this by improving operational and technological capabilities.

Without being bound by past practices or preconceived notions

The early days of internet advertising were dominated by "pureof how things should be done, we put tremendous thought intoadvertising," where ad space was reserved and purchased inminimizing downsides and into the process of all employees

advance, but gradually, "programmatic advertising," which allows

working as one to implement the solution. We are able to growbidding for each ad impression or per click, became widespreadsignificantly both as an organization and as individuals.

and now accounts for approximately 80% of internet advertising.

This previous experience has taught us to view crisis as an

In response to the proliferation of search services, CyberAgent

opportunity, and even when economic conditions worsened after

founded CA Search Inc. in 2003, a search advertising company.

2020 due to the COVID pandemic, we were still able to achieve

In 2008, we founded CA Advance Inc., an advertising operating

revenue growth that outpaced market growth by shifting to newcompany, and in 2016, we built AI Lab, a facility dedicated to AI

business areas where there was client demand.

research. I'm proud to say that through efforts such as these,

Going forward, as the mainstay of business shifts from the physical

we've done everything we could to contribute to the goal ofworld to the internet, we want to remain our clients' most valuable"maximizing advertising effectiveness."

partner by using our ability to respond to change, and we hope to

Aiming for Sustainable Growth ThroughAdaptability to Change

provision of creatives with high advertising effectiveness,bidding adjustments, and more.

―Internet advertising is said to be heavily influenced byThis is why we have been able to capture a large share of thethe external environment, such as business sentiment, butmarket, and it has contributed to recognition and trust fromwhat is your view on this?

clients.

reshape the history of the advertising industry itself.

Yasuo Okamoto
Executive Vice President,
Head of Internet Advertising Headquarters
Apr. 2013 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.
May 2003 President, CA Search Inc.
Apr. 2007 Director of Internet Advertising Headquarters, CyberAgent, Inc.

We've faced various environmental changes, such as the global

Dec. 2008 President, CyberAgent, Inc.
Dec. 2020 Executive Officer and Vice President, CyberAgent, Inc. (current position)

037

The Goal of Training
Is the Success ofClients' Businesses
Noriko Kawai
Executive Officer, Sales Director of Internet Advertising Headquarters

With the number of executives and employees in internet advertising increasing
by 419 over the previous year to 2,381*, human resource development is
becoming increasingly important.
We spoke with Noriko Kawai, Executive Officer and Sales Director of Internet
Advertising Headquarters , about the company's approach to training programs
and specific initiatives.
*Total number of executives and employees in the internet advertising business (As of the end of September, 2023)

038

Fostering a "Client-First" Culture
Through Training Programs―W h a t a re y o u r p r i o r i t i e s w h e n i t c o m e s t o h u m a n
resource development?
We have prepared several programs in the internet advertisingbusiness that are geared to each member's stage of development.
The concept of "understanding our advertising clients to help theirbusinesses grow" is the topmost priority in all programs.
Each program is designed from the client's perspective, including"market forecast" and "the best account strategy to increase client
sales", and the evaluation criteria for the outputs are aligned withthis. The "client comes first" culture has been a core value for us
since our inception, and we have built it into our training programs.
The fact that many employees can work autonomously towards
the business strategy of "maximizing the effectiveness of client
advertising" is the result of a training program that simultaneously
disseminates the strategy and fosters culture.

Continuing to Provide Opportunities ThroughDiverse Training Programs

members to leadership training for executives, our training

Overview of Training Projects

programs systematically cover every stage an employee goes
through and are administered according to effectiveness andsituation.
Specifically, "CYBIRTH," an orientation program for new hires todeepen their understanding of our culture, and "Generations,"

Management

Executive

which trains new hires to become full-fledged account planners
members and veterans, we offer the "HEROES" program, which
is designed to increase the number of new client acquisition

Middlespecialists. Through these various programs, we strive toi n t e r n e t a d v e r t i s i n g b u s i n e s s , w h i c h h a s u n d e rg o n eTrainer training

Executive trainingHR
Awareness
Workshop

Improvesolutionproposing
capabilities

New
clientdevelopment
capabilities

Specialtyenhancement training

Role-playing quest

maximize our organizational performance.
― Was it difficult to create a training scheme for the

Director training
Manager training

over six months, are core programs we focus on. For key

Players

RookieHoning competitivenessPromotion of cultural understanding

significant changes in technology and organizational scale?
In line with changes in digital advertising, the knowledge andA major factor, in my opinion, was the urgent need to rebuild theskills required for staff involved have changed on a daily basis.

training program as a mechanism for understanding work

As our business has grown, so has our organizational scale,conditions and managing motivation to ensure that work efficiency

making it necessary to consider training programs optimized foris not compromised when employees work remotely.

each employee.
It took many years of trial and error, but the fundamentals of the―How much time does the leadership devote to training?

programs have become well-established in recent years. We have
―What kinds of training programs do you provide?
From onboarding training to developing the capabilities of new

made excellent progress, especially during the COVID pandemic,

It is not an exaggeration to say that they devote half their time

when working from home was introduced as a new way ofto training. Yasuo Okamoto, one of CyberAgent's top

working.

executives, has always told the leaders to "watch for signs of039
hidden talent in members and give them opportunities." I think it

We will continue striving to create an environment in which

is a good example of our commitment to human growth in theeveryone can maximize their potential in any situation, and weorganization.

aim to create an organization that can produce incredible results.

Female Managers Account for 28.8% ofInternet Advertising Business * 1―What are your thoughts on promoting and developing
female executives?

*1: Percentage of female employees in management positions at CyberAgent (Internet
Advertising Headquarters) (as of June 30, 2023)*2: Number of employees in the internet advertising business at CyberAgent (Internet
Advertising Headquarters) (as of June 30, 2023)*3: Percentage of women in managerial positions equivalent to section managers or higher
at companies (MHLW, "FY2022 Basic Survey of Gender Equality in Employment

Management," published in July 2023)

Of the 1,075 * 2 executives and employees in our internet
advertising business, 41.3% are women, an even higher
percentage than the 32.3% of engineers in our subsidiaries,
which itself is quite high.
Since we have many clients that sell women's products,
diversity in our organization is essential.
As a result of our decades-long focus on women's empowerment
and executive development, our ratio of female managers is
28.8%, which is very high compared to Japan's overall ratioof 12.7%.*3
We have also implemented a follow-up system after being
selected for executive positions, including the "WE PROJECT,"a cross-organizational talent maximization measure aimed atstrengthening ties and building relationships among managers.
It is critical that we strengthen our organizational capabilities toprepare for future difficulties in meeting client expectations andsolving business problems. Calculating backward from the
projected growth of the internet advertising market, we believethat we will need two to three times as many top players andleaders as we currently have.

Noriko Kawai
Executive Officer, Sales Director of Internet Advertising Headquarters
Apr. 2014 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.
Oct. 2017 Corporate Officer, CyberAgent, Inc.
Mar. 2019 Maternity/childcare leave
Apr. 2020 Returned to the Internet Advertising Headquarters as Director of Sales
Oct. 2022 Executive Officer, CyberAgent (current position)

040

A Sense of Crisis Inspires
Creation of New Advertising Business
Takahito Naito
Managing Executive Officer, Head of AI Business Unit

Armed with advanced technological and creative capabilities, the internet
advertising business has been pioneering the advertising industry.
Takahito Naito, Managing Executive Officer and Head of AI Business Unit, hasbeen engaged in ma ximizing adver tising effec tivenes s by adopting
cutting-edge technology and maintaining a forward-looking perspective.
We spoke with him about what led to using AI technology, future development
plans, and the potential for entering new fields.

041

Plunging into the Research andDevelopment of AI Technology After
Reaching the Limit of Human Effort―AI has been in the news almost every day in the last year
or so. I believe you were among the first advertising agencies
to start researching and developing AI technology, but what
was the chain of events or background that led to this?

Since then, we've used AI technology to accomplish various―AI Lab also seems to be strengthening

tasks, including effective ad delivery based on machineindustry-academia collaboration with universities andlearning, support for creating ad creatives such as text,

academic institutions.

banners, and videos, and automatic data analysis.
We are proud of the highly effective advertising of the "Kiwami

To date, we have collaborated with numerous universities andPrediction Series" (ad products using generative AI) that has

institutions in Japan and abroad (Osaka University, Yale

resulted from these efforts, and we are confident that we are

University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Tokyo,

helping our clients maximize the effectiveness of theiretc.) in a variety of research areas, and we have implemented

advertising.

around 30 projects based on industry-academia collaboration
with major research laboratories.

We first conceived the idea in our internet advertising businessWe have conducted joint research with top researchers,around 2014, and then in 2016, we launched "AI Lab" as an

Kiwami Prediction AI

R&D organization tasked with conducting R&D on a wide range

U ses AI to create highly effective
adcreatives.
Preliminary results*1 show 2.6 times
greater advertising effectiveness.

of AI technologies related to digital marketing.
By 2019, we had established an AI Business Unit dedicated todeveloping internet advertising businesses with AI technology
and creating new AI-related businesses.
newspapers, in that advertising messages can be personalized to

Kiwami Prediction TD

suit the target. In particular, programmatic advertising requires
the production of a broad spectrum of advertising creatives in ashort timeframe and rapidly implementing creative work tomaintain advertising effectiveness.

language processing and has published several books; andProfessor Takehito Kojima of Tokyo University, one of theeconomics.
AI Lab, which aims to create business value through AI
technology while also contributing to academia, has submitted

Preliminary results *2 show 2.3 times
greater advertising effectiveness.

conferences in a wide range of academic and research fields.

and presented numerous papers at world-renowned international
Approximately 50 papers are peer-reviewed and accepted
annually, with a high acceptance rate of about 45% in 2022.

staffing burden on agencies that produce digital advertising. We
also felt a sense of urgency to find new ways to be creative andadvantage in the future.

Tokyo Institute of Technology, who leads research in natural

Uses AI to automatically generate ad textthat matches searches.

This massive and ever-increasing workload places a heavy

resolving these issues while also providing a competitive

leader in robotics research; Professor Manabu Okumura ofworld's leading researchers in market design research inInternet advertising differs from mass advertising, such as TV andgenerate value. Using generative AI would be critical toincluding Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University, a world

予測AI人間

極予測LED*1 Ad effectiveness win rate when comparing creatives made using the "conventional
produc tion process" versus those created using the "K iwami Predic tion AI
production process."*2 Increase in search keyword quality score when comparing creatives made using the"conventional production process" versus those created using the "Kiwami Prediction
AI production process."*3 Thundermark CapitalCapital " AI Research Ranking 2022. "042

CyberAgent has also been ranked among the Top 100 Global

This has raised expectations for using the "proprietary data held

Model) early in the internet advertising business, but what is

Companies Leading in AI Research in 2022*, placed 4th inby companies" I mentioned earlier.

your view on the future possibilities of generative AI and LLM?

Japan and 49th in the world.

When the Banking Act was revised in May 2021, it greatly

Since 2016, CyberAgent has also prioritized the recruitment andbroadened the scope of banking business, allowing banks to

We are currently using generative AI and LLM in-house totraining of highly specialized personnel, including the appointing aenter the advertising business.

generate ad text for our "Kiwami Prediction AI" and "Kiwami

researcher a recruiter. We hope to contribute not only to businessThis has helped CyberAgent quickly form partnerships with

Prediction TD," but we have also begun to apply them toexpansion but also to Japan's technological advancement.

major Japanese companies, especially in the finance, retail,services beyond advertising and to improve internal operations

mobility, and telecommunications sectors, and we are working

and boost work efficiency.

to create new advertising businesses.

We p l a n t o w o r k w i t h o t h e r c o m p a n i e s t o d e v e l o p

We h a v e n o w s i g n e d c o l l a b o r a t i o n a g r e e m e n t s w i t h"industry-specific LLMs" by having the technology learn uniquecompanies that have a strong affinity with our advertisingindustry-specific data, and we also plan to launch a business tob u s i n e s s , a n d w e a re w o r k i n g h a rd t o d e v e l o p t h e s esupport other companies' use of LLM.

partnerships into actual businesses.

In the rapidly changing internet industry, we will continue to

In addition to our distribution network, which boasts top

shape the future of internet advertising by leveraging technology

performance in the internet advertising industry, we intend toand creativity while incorporating technological innovations.

New Advertising Business Created
Together with Partners―Given the various changes that digital advertising has
undergone, what changes do you expect to see in the future?
Major global media sites like Google and Facebook are primarydestinations for advertisements today, but I believe similar
global platforms will not emerge in the future.
Instead, we believe that a number of "local platforms" will emerge,
on which each company that owns so-called first-party data, suchas purchasing data and behavioral data on e-commerce sites andcreate new businesses for our clients and turn the business intoa sustainable growth industry by leveraging our track record inoperating digital advertising, developing technologies for the addevelopment of AI technology.

Takahito Naito

apps, will build their own advertising business.
In recent years, regulations governing the use of third-party data
to protect personal information have become more stringent,
making it more difficult to obtain cookies (recorded data from

Future Opportunities of Generative AI
and LLMs

websites visited) and IDFAs (identifiers for advertisers used on
iOS devices) that can be used for advertising.

*Thundermark Capital, AI Research Ranking 2022 (May 2022)

distribution infrastructure, and conducting research andManaging Executive Officer, Head of AI Business Unit
Apr. 2001 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.
Apr. 2008 Head of Internet Advertising Headquarters, CyberAgent, Inc.
Oct. 2014 Head of Ad Tech Division (currently AI Business Unit), CyberAgent, Inc.

―The AI lab developed and released an LLM (Large Language

Dec. 2010 Director, CyberAgent, Inc.
Oct. 2020 Managing Executive Officer, CyberAgent, Inc. (current position)

043

Kiwami AI Odaiba Studio opened in September 2023. Equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including threeof Japan's largest LED walls, various scanning systems, including 4D scanning, and a BOLT motion control
camera, the studio pursues advertising effectiveness and image quality while utilizing AI and CG technologies.

044

Grow th Strategy

046

Create a Steady Streamof High-Quality Hit Games
Koki Ukita

Yusuke Hidaka

Managing Executive Officer

Director, Executive Vice President

Since its 2009 entry into the market, CyberAgent's Game Businesshas grown in parallel with the growth of the smartphone game market.
We spoke with Yusuke Hidaka, Director, Executive Vice President,
and Koki Ukita, Managing Executive Officer,
about the events of the past few years
that have brought about major changes in the environment,such as the impact of COVID and the full reopening,as well as CyberAgent's current competitive advantages
in the gaming business and future prospects.

047

We believe it is critical to strengthen
our company's collective capabilities inorder to consistently create hit titles. (Hidaka)
Leveraging Our Collective Capabilities
to Compete in a Highly
Competitive Environment― What is happening in the smartphone game market in

Pursuing a "AAA Strategy" withJapan's Largest Development System― What is your long-term business strategy?

Japan now?

Hidaka: In our game business, our strategy leverages the

Hidaka: The domestic smartphone game market has changed

in ongoing game development.

dramatically in recent years, as the gaming population has
grown in response to demand from the home-nesting that tookroot during the COVID pandemic. The market's current size isaround 1,212.9 billion yen*, placing Japan third in the world after
China and the United States.
"Umamusume: Pretty Derby"*2, released in February 2021,
became a massive hit for our company, indicating a significant
transition period.
The smartphone gaming market has been growing steadily.
However, growth is slowing, partly due to the impact of thereopening of COVID.
We expect competition to intensify further as the market maturesand more foreign companies enter. As consumers demand higher
quality, we believe it is critical to strengthen our company's
collective capabilities to consistently create hit games.

strengths of each of our 10 game-centric subsidiaries to engage
Cygames, which specializes in original IP, has already produced
several hit games. Even after the 9th anniversary, "Granblue
Fantasy"*3, one of its flagship titles, remains a mainstay title forthe company, with console games scheduled for release in
December 2023 and February 2024.
For "Umamusume: Pretty Derby"*2, we are currently striving tocreate a title that users will love for years through a multimedia
franchise that will expand the title beyond the scope of asmartphone game to include the production of TV anime andcomic series.
Ukita: At another one of our game subsidiaries, SGE(Smartphone Game Entertainment Division), we haveestablished a "AAA (Triple-A) Strategy," with the goal of
producing global hits with powerful IPs.
A good example of this is "FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS"*4

CyberAgent, Inc.
Yusuke Hidaka Mar. 1998 Establishedand was appointed as Managing Director.

Director,
Executive Vice President

Oct. 2010 Director and Vice President of CyberAgent (current position)
May. 2011 Director, Cygames, Inc. (current position)
Oct. 2020 Executive Officer, CyberAgent, Inc. (current position)*1 Kadokawa Ascii Research Institute, "Famitsu Mobile Game White Paper 2023" (March 2023)

048

To develop hits in the face of fierce competition, we must havea solid development system, technological capabilities,
a commitment to pursuing quality, and operational capabilities. (Ukita)
which was released in September 2023. Without altering the
beloved world and lore of the highly popular FINAL FANTASY
VII*5 series, we hope to not only satisfy existing fans but also
expand our new fan base through smartphone games.
― What are your competitive edges?
Ukita: I believe we have the largest smartphone gamedevelopment organization and operational capabilities in Japan.
To develop hit games in the face of fierce competition, we musthave a solid development system, technological capabilities, acommitment to pursuing quality, and operational capabilities.
Although the development time for each title is longer than in
the past, each member has worked with great enthusiasm,
which has helped to further increase confidence in the quality ofCyberAgent, and we have recently received more and more
inquiries from prominent IP content holders.
Another advantage is the flexible collaboration between
subsidiaries, each with its own strengths, and the flexible
movement of personnel.

Koki Ukita
Managing Executive
OfficerThroughout the game industry, information is actively exchanged
2011 Joined CyberAgent, Inc.
2014 President, Applibot, Inc. (current position)

between offices from the development stage, in addition to2018 Director, Colorful Palette Inc. (current position)

pre-launch tests performed by top management team.

2020 Managing Executive Officer, CyberAgent, Inc. (current position)

By maximizing group synergies without organizational boundaries

between subsidiaries, we are now able to produce high-quality
titles regardless of which company is working on them.

Production Team s Passion is Essential forGames to Become Timeless Classics― Game business consists of several subsidiaries, but dothey all follow the same HR strategy?
Hidaka: The major titles we are currently working on take atleast three years to develop and require around-the-clock work
even after release. Titles that are destined to become timelessclassics are born not only from a high level of technical skill but
also from the passion of developers, who must thoroughly
consider the user's perspective and whether they will truly findthe game entertaining.
Ukita: In this regard, I feel that every member of the production
team has a deep passion for their project.
It has been six years since we launched the "AAA Strategy," andthe titles that core members have experience working on are
now in their third round, which creates a virtuous cycle. I feelthat the organization has become stronger by having more049

experienced staff, and we anticipate that their knowledge-sharing
and training will accelerate in the future.
Hidaka: The CyberAgent Group, which launched its gamebusiness in 2009, is now one of the largest companies in thesmartphone game market in Japan. We also have the mostmodern development facilities, and I believe we have anenvironment that allows our talent to maximize their abilities.
By implementing a variety of approaches that leverage thestrengths of each subsidiary, we will continue to develop titles of
the highest quality that are universally popular around the world.

*2 Umamusume: Pretty Derby, © Cygames, Inc.
*3 Granblue Fantasy, © Cygames, Inc.
*4 FINAL FANTASY VII EVER CRISIS, © SQUARE ENIX
Powered by Applibot, Inc. CHARACTER DESIGN: TETSUYA NOMURA /CHARACTER ILLUSTRATION: LISA FUJISE*5 FINAL FANTASY VII, © SQUARE ENIX

050

© SQUARE ENIX Powered by Applibot, Inc. CHARACTER DESIGN: TETSUYA NOMURA / CHARACTER ILLUSTRATION: LISA FUJISE

051© SQUARE ENIX Powered by Applibot, Inc. CHARACTER DESIGN: TETSUYA NOMURA / CHARACTER ILLUSTRATION: LISA FUJISE