The massive Sanrio brand is a force to be reckoned with. They’re the owners of Hello Kitty, Cinamoroll, My Melody, Kuromi and so many more iconic and cute characters, and this empire has made them one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time. Now though, Sanrio are expanding further, as they reveal their latest division: Sanrio Games.
The gaming market is a lucrative one, and Sanrio Games are looking to tap into that market with the creation of their own games using its vast library of marketable characters. There are already 10 games in development within Sanrio games that aim to release within the next three years, starting with the worldwide release of Sanrio Party Land later this year for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. The party game will contain 45+ minigames with over 145 Sanrio characters included.
The announcement comes hot off the success of Hello Kitty Island Adventure, which started life as a mobile game in 2023 before getting dedicated console and PC ports in 2025. It sold over 500,000 copies between Switch and PC within just 30 days from launch, and showed clear demand for the Sanrio characters in the gaming space. As you might expect, there’s a lot of potential crossover between the “cozy” gaming space and the Sanrio brand.
According to Bloomberg, the titles in development involve an investment of over ¥10 billion, which is roughly $63 million. Sanrio are relying on sales to counter the massive investment, but do anticipate a loss early on whilst the company finds their footing in the space and potentially release a hit title that makes up for the losses later.
There are no further details on Sanrio Games’ upcoming projects just yet, but with such fast turnarounds expected for their pipeline of games already in the works, we’ll likely have plenty to cover as they approach.
For all the latest gaming news, including whatever Sanrio announces next, check back often to GameObserver for more!
