Umamusume: Pretty Derby crosses the motorsport line as MotoGP Japan’s first game partner

A horse-racing game that turned anime athletes into global icons is now taking on a very different kind of track. Umamusume: Pretty Derby — Cygames’ mobile hit that won Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2025 and has surpassed 30 million downloads across Asia — has become the first video game title in history to serve as an official event partner of the MotoGP™ Japanese Grand Prix.

The collaboration centres on the 2026 FIM MotoGP™ World Championship Round 16 MOTUL Grand Prix of Japan at Mobility Resort Motegi. A 155-meter display near the racecourse will feature eight Umamusume characters — Vodka, Daiwa Scarlet, Oguri Cap, Tamamo Cross, Jungle Pocket, Agnes Tachyon, Almond Eye, and Lucky Lilac — from October 2 through November 8. Photo spots with Umamusume illustrations will also be set up at the central entrance to the event venue.

The event goes beyond banners and branding. Tomoyo Takayanagi, voice actress of the beloved Oguri Cap character, will wave the checkered flag to close the Moto2™ and Moto3™ races on October 4, the final Sunday of the race weekend. It is the kind of gesture that turns a corporate partnership into a cultural moment.

The choice of Umamusume is not incidental. The game draws its characters from the legends of real Japanese horse racing — Oguri Cap is named after Japan’s most celebrated thoroughbred of the late 1980s, an animal with near-mythological status in the country. The game’s DNA is speed and competition, and motorcycle racing and horse racing share a passionate, overlapping audience in Japan. Mobility Resort Motegi also hosts major domestic motorsport events, cementing its place as a speed-culture landmark.

The numbers behind the franchise justify the investment. The Japanese mobile release in February 2021 dominated local charts almost immediately; the global English-language version launched in June 2025 and pulled in an estimated $22 million in its first month, while Cygames’ net profit jumped 136 percent on the back of the game’s international success. The studio has expanded the Umamusume universe across anime series, manga, live concerts, and merchandise. The MotoGP activation marks its first foray into premium international sports sponsorship — territory historically occupied by automakers, energy drink brands, and telecoms.

MotoGP™ runs across 18 countries each season and is the highest tier of motorcycle road racing in the world. For its Japanese Grand Prix to count a mobile game among its official event partners is a genuine milestone for the games industry’s claim on mainstream sports culture. The MOTUL Grand Prix of Japan takes place at Mobility Resort Motegi, October 2–4. Full event details are available on the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix official website.

Tags: Cygames, mobile games, Mobility Resort Motegi, MotoGP, Tomoyo Takayanagi, Umamusume: Pretty Derby