SBI Holdings has announced a 100 billion yen ($661.7 million) fund targeting startups across web3, gaming, and tech. Major financial backers including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Nippon Life Insurance, and Daiwa Securities Group have committed over $330 million to the initiative.
The fund plans to support 150 to 200 startups, with individual investments ranging from hundreds of millions to a billion yen. Japan has positioned itself as a serious player in web3 development, and this capital injection arrives as the country doubles down on its gaming and startup infrastructure. Several major Japanese publishers are already building web3 projects worth watching.
Japan's gaming heavyweights — Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Sega, and Konami — have all moved into web3 territory early. The new funding could accelerate these existing projects.
Bandai Namco: RYUZO (Oasys)
Bandai Namco teamed up with Oasys to build RYUZO, an AI-driven virtual pet game built around NFT-based creatures. Bandai Namco Research is developing it alongside Japanese startup Attructure, with Double Jump Tokyo handling publishing.
Square Enix: Symbiogenesis
Square Enix launched Symbiogenesis, a web3 project running on the Polygon blockchain. The game promises fast transactions and lower environmental impact compared to older blockchain infrastructure. Square Enix worked directly with Polygon Labs to integrate the network.
Sega: Battle of Three Kingdoms (Oasys)
Battle of Three Kingdoms - Sangokshi Taisen is a trading card gamebeing built by Double Jump Tokyo on Oasys in partnership with Sega. It marks Sega's first web3 release and pulls from the Sangokushi Taisen franchise, mixing classic card mechanics with blockchain tech.
Konami: Project Zircon (TBD)
Konami, the studio behind Yu-Gi-Oh! and Castlevania, announced Project Zircon, a new web3 game aiming to deliver "a new co-creation experience by utilizing blockchain technology."
Final Thoughts
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has repeatedly backed web3, gaming, and tech startups, calling them engines for cross-sector innovation. The SBI Holdings fund fits directly into that strategy. The government wants to push startup investments from 800 billion yen in 2022 to 10 trillion yen (roughly $66 billion) by 2027, a clear signal that Japan is treating web3 and gaming infrastructure as national priorities.
