{"id":2017199,"date":"2026-06-29T14:40:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:40:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017199"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:40:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:40:35","slug":"pokemon-tcg-pocket-developer-dena-has-received-1-5-billion-yen-in-subsidies-sparking-debate-about-whether-the-studio-actually-needs-the-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2017199","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket developer DeNA has received 1.5 billion yen in subsidies, sparking debate about whether the studio actually needs the investment"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/pokemon-trading-card-game-pocket\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Pok\u00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket developer DeNA has received 1.5 billion yen in subsidies, sparking debate about whether the studio actually needs the investment<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Payday was Super Effective!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Meowth-rare-card-in-Pokemon-TCG-Pocket---custom.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Meowth rare card in Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket - custom\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Meowth-rare-card-in-Pokemon-TCG-Pocket---custom.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer\/The Pok\u00e9mon Company<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-06-29T14:40:35+00:00\">June 29, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"a82ea9cf-d7c5-4b4c-8bfa-bdbf506dda79\" data-name=\"Poku00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Poku00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Poku00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Poku00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Poku00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Pok\u00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket\" title=\"Follow Pok\u00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket\"><br \/>\n  Follow Pok\u00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/pokemon-trading-card-game-pocket\">Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket<\/a> isn&#8217;t what you&#8217;d call a &#8216;small game&#8217;, yet the Japanese government has given developer DeNA a 1.5 billion Yen (or an eye-watering \u00a36,997,500) subsidy to help its mobile game development efforts.<\/p>\n<p>The news were shared by <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-tcg-pocket-developer-dena-receives-1-5-billion-yen-in-government-subsidies-for-mobile-game-development-sparking-debate-over-fund-allocation\/\">Automaton<\/a> following the announcement that Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry &#8220;would provide a total of 1.5 billion yen (roughly $92.7 million USD) in subsidies to live-service game developer DeNA&#8221; as part of the IP360 program, which was created to support the development of &#8220;new domestic IPs&#8221; and boost the country&#8217;s content industry globally.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket - Official Gameplay Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PUwu573uelA?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/PUwu573uelA\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket &#8211; Official Gameplay Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket &#8211; Official Gameplay Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PUwu573uelA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Needless to say, Pok\u00e9mon is neither new nor a tiny intellectual property in need of help. DeNA is a developer that&#8217;s <em>not <\/em>part of The Pok\u00e9mon Company, though TPC does have a 33.4% stake in DeNA Digital Production (which was <a href=\"https:\/\/app.famitsu.com\/20240501_2230371\/\">rebranded as Pokemon Card D Studio<\/a> in 2024).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As reported by Automaton, many Japanese users on X aren&#8217;t happy about the investment in a private company that&#8217;s doing well by all accounts. &#8220;This is what they&#8217;re doing while cutting the budgets for public museums and art galleries. If DeNA&#8217;s mobile games actually do sell, what do we gain from that? It&#8217;s just a private company gaining even more profit,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/momotro018\/status\/2071211657884512332\">one user stated<\/a>. That&#8217;s just one example, but <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KNHjyohokyoku\/status\/2071152827871965200\">more people on socials<\/a> are pointing out the Japanese government is once again failing to &#8220;nurture new talents&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, there are some working in the Japanese games industry <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/aizen76\/status\/2071158147277041736\">who say<\/a> it&#8217;s hard to get substantial development funding due to &#8220;the risk of being unable to meet their obligations if something goes wrong&#8221; when you&#8217;re a solo or small indie developer. The debate is served and far from over.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/pokemon-trading-card-game-pocket\">Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket<\/a> isn&#8217;t what you&#8217;d call a &#8216;small game&#8217;, yet the Japanese government has given developer DeNA a 1.5 billion Yen (or an eye-watering \u00a36,997,500) subsidy to help its mobile game development efforts.<\/p>\n<p>The news were shared by <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/pokemon-tcg-pocket-developer-dena-receives-1-5-billion-yen-in-government-subsidies-for-mobile-game-development-sparking-debate-over-fund-allocation\/\">Automaton<\/a> following the announcement that Japan&#8217;s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry &#8220;would provide a total of 1.5 billion yen (roughly $92.7 million USD) in subsidies to live-service game developer DeNA&#8221; as part of the IP360 program, which was created to support the development of &#8220;new domestic IPs&#8221; and boost the country&#8217;s content industry globally.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket - Official Gameplay Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PUwu573uelA?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/PUwu573uelA\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket &#8211; Official Gameplay Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket &#8211; Official Gameplay Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=PUwu573uelA\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Needless to say, Pok\u00e9mon is neither new nor a tiny intellectual property in need of help. DeNA is a developer that&#8217;s <em>not <\/em>part of The Pok\u00e9mon Company, though TPC does have a 33.4% stake in DeNA Digital Production (which was <a href=\"https:\/\/app.famitsu.com\/20240501_2230371\/\">rebranded as Pokemon Card D Studio<\/a> in 2024).<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>As reported by Automaton, many Japanese users on X aren&#8217;t happy about the investment in a private company that&#8217;s doing well by all accounts. &#8220;This is what they&#8217;re doing while cutting the budgets for public museums and art galleries. If DeNA&#8217;s mobile games actually do sell, what do we gain from that? It&#8217;s just a private company gaining even more profit,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/momotro018\/status\/2071211657884512332\">one user stated<\/a>. That&#8217;s just one example, but <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/KNHjyohokyoku\/status\/2071152827871965200\">more people on socials<\/a> are pointing out the Japanese government is once again failing to &#8220;nurture new talents&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, there are some working in the Japanese games industry <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/aizen76\/status\/2071158147277041736\">who say<\/a> it&#8217;s hard to get substantial development funding due to &#8220;the risk of being unable to meet their obligations if something goes wrong&#8221; when you&#8217;re a solo or small indie developer. The debate is served and far from over.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Pok\u00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket Pok\u00e9mon TCG Pocket developer DeNA has received 1.5 billion yen in subsidies, sparking debate about whether the studio actually needs the investment Payday was Super Effective! Image credit: Eurogamer\/The Pok\u00e9mon Company News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on June 29, 2026 Follow Pok\u00e9mon Trading Card Game Pocket Pok\u00e9mon [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2017199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2017199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2017199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2017199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2017199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}