Roblox Hits 30M Concurrent Users & 270,000-Yen Pokemon Suite | Weekly Oshikatsu News (June 27, 2025)
Here is our roundup of notable corporate oshikatsu (fan support activities) marketing and fan business news from the week of June 20 to June 26, 2025.
This Week’s Highlights
This was a week in which companies chased the expansion of virtual spaces with infrastructure investments.
The game Grow a Garden on Roblox was certified by Guinness World Records for reaching a peak of 21.6 million concurrent players. Across the entire Roblox platform, concurrent connections also surpassed 30 million. The company operates 24 edge data centers and two core data centers, and it transitioned to a system that forecasts capacity up to two years in advance. Keeping pace with this movement, Dentsu and Dentsu Anime Solutions launched a new brand called “das” on June 16, specializing in the overseas expansion of anime. They cited Roblox Corporation as one of their business partners.
In physical spaces as well, companies continued to create venues for oshikatsu. In a collaboration with Blue Lock, JR Central prepared a project allowing passengers to listen to an exclusive voice drama solely aboard the Tokaido Shinkansen. In a collaboration with Pokémon, Grand Hyatt Tokyo offered a suite stay starting at 270,000 yen per night, plus a 15% service charge and accommodation tax, limited to one room per day. Meanwhile, the Chiikawa x Nagano’s Bear (Nagano no Kuma) UT collection released by Uniqlo featured an accessible price range, with kids’ shirts priced at 990 yen each.
In the VTuber sector, Coconala announced that the transaction volume for VTuber-related services grew 4.2 times over five years. Cover Corporation began operating a new logistics center that consolidates multiple facilities into one. Furthermore, the smartphone metaverse app REALITY surpassed 20 million cumulative downloads.
- 30M+
- Concurrent users across the Roblox platform (with 21.6M in Grow a Garden)
- 4.2x
- Five-year growth in VTuber-related transaction volume on Coconala (April 2025 vs. April 2020)
- 20M+
- Cumulative worldwide downloads of the smartphone metaverse app REALITY
Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article
Roblox’s 30 Million Concurrent Users Drew In the Advertising Industry
Roblox x Grow a Garden — Behind the Scenes of the Infrastructure Supporting 30 Million Concurrent Users
The Roblox game Grow a Garden was certified by Guinness World Records as the most concurrently played video game, reaching 21.6 million simultaneous players. The Roblox platform itself also set a new record by surpassing 30 million concurrent connections. The company operates 24 edge data centers and two core data centers worldwide, building a system designed to minimize latency. Previously, Roblox planned capacity for one to two years ahead on an annual basis, but it has now transitioned to a methodology that forecasts up to two years in advance. At peak times, its matchmaking handled 4 billion possible combinations per second, and its text filter processed 250,000 requests per second. More than 300 AI inference pipelines were running in its production environment (Inside (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Roblox responded to 30 million concurrent users by redesigning its systems rather than making users wait or imposing restrictions. The approach of building infrastructure on the premise of a sudden surge itself—without setting an upper limit at the exact moment fans rush in—serves as a useful reference for companies facing rapid traffic spikes during campaigns or livestreams. The more the oshikatsu market size expands, the more this kind of preparation will be put to the test.
Dentsu Group’s “das” — Leveraging a Network with Roblox for Global Anime Expansion
On June 16, Dentsu and Dentsu Anime Solutions launched a new brand called “dentsu anime solutions (das)” to support the overseas expansion of Japanese anime content. They outlined a policy of providing global marketing solutions centered on anime, focusing primarily on North America, China, and Southeast Asia. Both companies stated that in addition to the client relationships they have built so far, they will also utilize their network of business partners. Those partners included Roblox Corporation, which operates the immersive social platform. Japan’s anime-related market exceeded 3 trillion yen across domestic and international markets combined in 2023, setting an all-time record high (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: The fact that Dentsu specifically named Roblox as a partner cannot be overlooked. Dentsu treats the very places where fans gather as sales assets for overseas expansion. For companies considering expanding abroad, identifying which platforms host the largest gatherings of their own fan communities is likely to become the first item to check.
Behind the Scenes of IP Businesses, Data and Logistics Infrastructure Expanded
Spicemart Survey — 21 of 33 Franchise-Expanded Mobile Game Titles Released Follow-Ups Within 5 Years
Spicemart published the results of a survey examining franchise expansion trends in mobile app games. Out of all 33 titles confirmed to have expanded into a series, 23 titles (approximately 70%) developed as “sequels of the same scale or larger” or “titles in a different genre.” Twenty-one titles, accounting for roughly 64% of the total, released a follow-up work to the first game within five years of the original launch. In terms of release timing, the fourth to fifth year was the most common. Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond, the successor to Shadowverse (originally released in 2016), hit number one in both the top-grossing and free rankings simultaneously upon its launch in June 2025 (Inside (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: The four-to-five-year mark can be read as a benchmark for preparing the next phase right around the time the initial wave of fan excitement settles down. Rather than waiting to release a sequel just before a title ends while still missed, companies lay the groundwork in anticipation of the period when demand begins to moderate. For businesses managing intellectual property (IP) over the long term, this timeframe offers a helpful reference for investment decisions.
Coconala, Cover Corporation, and REALITY — Data and Infrastructure Back the Expansion of the VTuber Economy
Coconala published a trend report investigating transaction conditions for VTuber-related services. As of April 2025, both the number of transactions and the number of purchasing users had grown to approximately 2.1 times the level of April 2020, while transaction volume had expanded by approximately 4.2 times. The report also noted that usage is spreading to local government promotions and educational settings (Mogura VR (in Japanese)). On June 23, Cover Corporation, which operates hololive production, began operations at a new logistics center that consolidates multiple locations into one. With the cooperation of transcosmos inc., the company aimed to streamline shipping operations and improve lead times using robots (Mogura VR (in Japanese)). Meanwhile, the smartphone metaverse app “REALITY” announced that its cumulative worldwide downloads surpassed 20 million. Overseas users accounted for 70% of the total, and users aged 22 to 29 made up 38% of the overall user base (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: It is no coincidence that growing transaction data, logistics reorganization, and updated download milestones all aligned in the same week. VTuber-related businesses are shifting from a stage discussed in terms of buzz and topicality to a stage discussed through management metrics such as transaction volume and delivery efficiency. It is becoming necessary to involve not only fan business staff, but also logistics and data analysis departments.
Food Manufacturers Connected Fan Enthusiasm with Virtual Talent
Mizkan x Bullet Train (Choutokkyuu) x “Fibee” — Drawing Out Fan UGC with an “8,888 Reposts” Goal
On June 24, Mizkan launched a collaboration between its fermentable dietary fiber brand “Fibee” and the male idol group Bullet Train (Choutokkyuu). The collaboration features “Chou-tokkyuu” (a pun combining the Japanese word for “intestine” with the group’s name), an anthropomorphized version of the “Fibees” characters inspired by intestinal bacteria. When a campaign post on the official X (formerly Twitter) account achieved 8,888 reposts, a special version of a music video featuring an arranged Bullet Train song was released. The target number of 8,888 was set in reference to “Car No. 8” (Hachigousha), the collective name for Bullet Train’s fans. During its test sales phase in 2024, “Fibee” had recorded retail store and e-commerce mall sales reaching approximately 140% of its planned target on a shipment basis (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Mizkan set a numerical repost target and created a mechanism where fans voluntarily spread the word until that goal was reached. This builds the fans’ actions themselves into the process leading up to the content release, which differs from a company unilaterally distributing content. The more active an IP’s fanbase is in posting user-generated content (UGC), the more effective this format is likely to be.
Lotte “Coolish” x Gorgeous — A Comedian Becomes a VTuber to Pitch a Product
On June 24, Lotte released a new web video for its drinkable ice cream product “Coolish.” In the video, comedian Gorgeous (Go☆Jas) transforms into a 3DCG VTuber named “Coo☆Lish” and delivers lines adapted from his signature comedy routines. The motion capture shoot used 32 cameras and 77 markers. Gorgeous commented, “Having passed my 25th anniversary in comedy, I was thinking to myself that maybe I should transition into the virtual world already” (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: The idea of transferring a comedian’s own routines onto a VTuber avatar is lower-cost than creating a brand-new character from scratch, and it brings existing fans along as-is. Turning a figure who already has a dedicated following into a virtual character lands much faster than launching an original character from zero, making it a viable option when designing collaborations.
Railways and Hotels Became Venues for Corporate Oshikatsu
JR Central x Blue Lock — Turning Shinkansen Train Cars into the Stage for “Oshi-Tabi”
A collaboration event between the TV anime Blue Lock and JR Central’s “Oshi-Tabi” (Push-Trip) campaign was announced. Scheduled to run from July 2 to August 17, 2025, the venues are the interior of Tokaido Shinkansen trains and various facilities within Osaka City. Passengers will be able to listen to an original character voice drama exclusively aboard the Shinkansen, and listening will reward them with one “original smartphone wallpaper” per day. A digital stamp rally covering six locations in total—riding the Shinkansen plus five spots inside Osaka City—will also be held, and those who complete all the stamps will be able to enter a lottery for a poster signed by the voice cast. Blue Lock was a popular series whose cumulative worldwide manga circulation had surpassed 40 million copies (Cho! Animedia (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: What makes this unique is that it turns transit itself into oshikatsu content. By preparing an experience completed entirely inside the moving Shinkansen, it allows fans to use their travel time during an ensei (traveling to attend events) for fan activities as well. We think this is an easy-to-adapt design for transportation and tourism operators whose services involve long travel times.
Hotel New Otani x Detective Conan — Collaboration Buffets Across Four Hotels Nationwide
A collaboration buffet called “SUPER SWEETS BUFFET” between the anime Detective Conan (Case Closed) and Hotel New Otani was announced to run sequentially starting in August 2025. The venues were four hotels nationwide: Tokyo, Makuhari, Osaka, and Tottori. The menu featured cakes, sandwiches, curries, and other dishes inspired by characters such as Conan Edogawa, Ran Mouri, and Tooru Amuro. Novelty items such as placemats were also prepared for visitors. At the Tokyo venue, prices were 9,000 yen for adults on weekdays and 10,500 yen on weekends and holidays. It was announced that reservations would open on July 1 (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: We took note of how the event rolls out sequentially across four hotels nationwide and varies its pricing by venue. Expanding not only to the Tokyo metropolitan area but also all the way to Tottori shows an intention to provide the same experience to regional fans as well. For nationwide hotel and restaurant chains, this is a prime example of how having a large number of locations itself becomes a strength in fan business.
Grand Hyatt Tokyo x Pokémon — A 270,000-Yen-Per-Night Suite Stay
“Pokémon Collaboration Summer 2025” was held at Grand Hyatt Tokyo from June 20 to August 31. There were two plans: a standard room limited to 10 rooms per day, and a suite room limited to one room per day. Both room types were decorated with original Pokémon designs. Standard-room guests received a Lapras plush toy, while suite guests received Pikachu and Piplup plush toys, along with the amenity goods included in each plan. Based on double occupancy per room, prices started from 66,000 yen for the standard room and from 270,000 yen for the suite, plus a 15% service charge and accommodation tax (Inside (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Because of the exclusivity of being limited to one room per day, the plan works as a commercial product even at a price of 270,000 yen. Restricting the quantity maintains the density of the experience and creates a sense of justification for the price. In the hotel industry, this “one room per day” model appears to be taking root as an established format.
High-Exclusivity Experiences
- Grand Hyatt Tokyo x Pokémon: Suite stay limited to 1 room per day starting at 270,000 yen, plus 10 standard rooms per day from 66,000 yen
- JR Central x Blue Lock: Original character voice drama and daily smartphone wallpaper restricted exclusively to passengers inside Tokaido Shinkansen cars
- Sanrio x Chiikawa: Made-to-order online sales from July 10 to 18 across 21 items to recover opportunity loss after an immediate June 13 sellout
Broad and Regional Access
- Hotel New Otani x Detective Conan: Sequential rollout across 4 hotels nationwide (Tokyo, Makuhari, Osaka, and Tottori) with venue-specific pricing
- Uniqlo x Chiikawa x Nagano's Bear: 8 UT shirts divided into women's (1,500 yen) and kids' (990 yen) price tiers so children can buy with pocket money
- MLB Local Manholes: 12 artist-designed manhole covers installed in Japanese players' hometowns and school areas, starting in Iwate Prefecture
Source: The Oshi Lab's summary of the article
Non-Traditional Industries and Established Brands Reached Out to New Customer Segments Through Characters
Nagaken Gumi x ano — A Construction Company Provides Heavy Machinery and Land for an Artist’s Music Video
Nagaken Gumi (based in Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture), which operates in architecture, civil engineering, and real estate, established the “NAGAKEN EXTREME FUND” to support artists’ creative activities. A defining feature of the fund was that in addition to lending heavy machinery, it could also stage productions such as building demolitions and bedrock blasting. As its first installment, the company collaborated with the artist “ano” and released the music video for “Past die Future” on June 18, which utilized an aerial work platform vehicle. The song is a re-recorded track included on ano’s second album, BONE BORN BOMB, released on June 4 (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Routine operations in the construction industry become extraordinary staging at an entertainment shoot. Companies that realize this gain a way to raise their profile outside their own industry. Re-evaluating your company’s equipment and technology from the perspective of “what could this become if we changed how it is presented?” is an approach that can be applied regardless of industry.
Japanet Takata x Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Face of TV Shopping Covers Its Theme Song
Ahead of the release of the latest theatrical film, a one-night-only collaboration between Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and major home-shopping company Japanet Takata was announced. Recorded at the company’s headquarters studio in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, voice actor Natsuki Hanae—who plays Tanjiro Kamado—covered the Japanet Takata theme song and performed it on the program. The broadcast, titled Japanet Kimetsu, was scheduled to air on TOKYO MX starting at 9:30 p.m. on June 29. The program introduced theatrical merchandise ahead of the movie’s July 18 release (Anime! Anime! (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: What is clever here is that they kept the television shopping program format unchanged and simply replaced the contents with anime. Precisely because it is a format familiar to viewers, audiences can embrace the collaboration without feeling out of place. The idea of lending out the exact format of a company’s flagship content can also be applied in collaborations across other industries.
MLB’s “Local Manholes” — Enshrining Shohei Ohtani and 11 Other Players in Their Hometown Streets
Major League Baseball (MLB) produced original-design manhole covers honoring 12 Japanese players active in the league. The manhole covers were installed in locations connected to each player’s career, such as their hometowns and the schools they attended. Installation began on June 16 with manholes for three players from Iwate Prefecture, including Shohei Ohtani (in Oshu City). Each of the 12 designs was created by a different artist (AdverTimes. (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: This is an example of turning an everyday street structure—a manhole cover—into a tourism resource that fans visit. Even without building special new facilities, simply applying designs to existing town infrastructure creates a pilgrimage site (seichi). For local governments and companies considering regional revitalization, this serves as a helpful reference for attracting fans while keeping initial investment low.
Apparel and Lifestyle Goods Prepared the Next Move Following Immediate Sellouts
Uniqlo x Chiikawa x Nagano’s Bear — Releasing a UT Collection
On June 23, Uniqlo released the “Chiikawa x Nagano’s Bear” (Nagano no Kuma) UT collection. The designs brought together characters from Chiikawa and Nagano’s Bear, both created by illustrator Nagano. The lineup consists of eight designs in total: four for women and four for kids. Prices are 1,500 yen each for women’s shirts and 990 yen each for kids’ shirts, both including tax (Inside (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: The kids’ price of 990 yen is at a level that children can afford with their own pocket money. Separating the price tiers between adults and children allows kids to decide for themselves whether to buy one. For IPs with a family demographic, pricing design itself determines the breadth of the customer base.
Sanrio x Chiikawa — Announcing Made-to-Order Sales for Immediately Sold-Out Items
Sanrio announced that it would conduct made-to-order production sales for the “Chiikawa x Sanrio Characters” series, which had sold out immediately upon its release on June 13. The order period was scheduled for July 10 to July 18. Sales would be conducted exclusively through the main Sanrio Online Shop. All 21 items—including plush toys, mascot holders, and pochettes—were eligible. Plush toys were priced at 3,696 yen each (Inside (in Japanese), Sanspo (in Japanese), Otonanswer (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Rather than ending an immediate sellout with just a restock notice, recovering lost sales opportunities through made-to-order production is a solid approach. The more popular a product is, the more valuable it is to prepare the “next move” in advance for after the initial batch sells out.
A Major Gaming Event Highlighted the Contrast Between a Sponsorship Withdrawal and Viewing Demand
ahamo — Calling Off Its “Nijisanji Koshien 2025” Sponsorship Just Before the Event
On June 24, NTT Docomo’s mobile plan brand “ahamo” announced on its official X account that it was canceling its sponsorship of “Nijisanji Koshien 2025.” Stating that “while we have engaged in careful discussions with ANYCOLOR Inc., due to various circumstances we have no choice but to cancel,” the company also called off a collaboration campaign that had been scheduled to begin on June 25. Previously, ahamo had sponsored “Nijisanji Koshien 2024” the year before and had run a campaign giving away wallpaper sets (KAI-YOU (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: The fact that the withdrawal was announced just one month before the event shows that a sponsor company’s decision can change right up until the last minute. For partner companies that had built campaigns or product rollouts on the premise of that sponsorship, this is a moment that tests how quickly an alternative plan can be prepared.
“Nijisanji Koshien 2025” — Live Viewing Scheduled in Roppongi
A live viewing event was announced for “Nijisanji Koshien 2025,” a gaming tournament featuring the VTuber group Nijisanji. The venue is Izumi Garden Gallery in Roppongi-itchome, and it is scheduled alongside the main tournament from July 25 to July 27. Seating consisted of 700 unreserved seats per day, with tickets priced at 3,850 yen including tax. Ticket sales began at 10:00 a.m. on June 27 through “Konami Style,” operated by Konami Digital Entertainment (Mogura VR (in Japanese)).
Lab Note: Even after a sponsoring company withdraws, plans for fans to gather at a venue remain in place. This is a reminder that corporate sponsorship and ticket revenue from fans are distinct revenue streams. When designing an event, building a structure that does not rely solely on either sponsorship revenue or fan payments serves as a safeguard against sudden withdrawals like this.
This Week’s Reflections
This was a week in which companies chased the scale of fan gatherings with investments in infrastructure and logistics.
Roblox revamped its data centers and capacity planning to support 30 million concurrent users. The Dentsu Group positioned that same Roblox as a partner for overseas expansion. Both Coconala’s transaction data and Cover Corporation’s logistics reorganization point in the exact same direction. The VTuber and virtual sectors have entered a stage where they are discussed through management metrics like transaction volume and delivery efficiency rather than mere buzz.
At the same time, moves leveraging “exclusivity” as a strength stood out at physical venues: Grand Hyatt Tokyo’s one-room-per-day suite, Sanrio’s made-to-order production, and JR Central’s voice drama completed entirely within the confined space of a Shinkansen train car. Narrowing down quantities or locations to create a sense of justification for pricing and rarity was a common approach across industries.
Finally, ahamo’s sponsorship withdrawal made clear the need for event designs that do not depend entirely on sponsorship revenue. As the plans for the Nijisanji Koshien live viewing illustrate, events with direct revenue from fans have the strength of being less susceptible to corporate circumstances. Where your company’s fan touchpoints lie can be reviewed alongside our guides on oshikatsu marketing design principles and how to build corporate collaborations.
Weekly Oshikatsu News brings you a weekly roundup of oshikatsu and business every week. You can browse past issues in the Oshikatsu x News category.
