Yuke's Co. Ltd. is a Japanese

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

based in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

. It was established on 26 February 1993 by

Yukinori Taniguchi is a Japanese businessperson and auto racing driver. He founded Yuke's, a video game developer company, in Sakai, Osaka in 1993. Early career As a child, Taniguchi became an enthusiastic arcade gamer, spending much time on early arcade games such ...

. The company is best known for developing the ''

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

'' video game series, based on the

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

promotion of the same name, until 2018.

History

Founded in 1993, Yuke's was named after founder Yukinori Taniguchi's high school nickname. The first two games that the company developed were the platform game ''

Hermie Hopperhead is a video game developed by Yuke's and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. It was released in Japan in September 1995. Gameplay The game features extensive use of parallax scrolling. The player can collect stars ...

'' and the

pro wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

game ''

Toukon Retsuden ''Power Move Pro Wrestling'' (NJPW 闘魂列伝 Toukon Retsuden or Furious Legend in Japan) is a video game developed by Yuke's Co., Ltd. and published by Tomy for the PlayStation. Gameplay ''Power Move Pro Wrestling'' is a pro wrestling game ...

''. The latter title was a best-seller in Japan. Though

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...

purchased the rights to publish the game in North America and began localization work, only the first game was localized, becoming ''Power Move Pro Wrestling'' with a different roster of wrestlers. Beginning in 2000, Yuke's began to develop wrestling games for

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...

based on the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWF; now WWE). They were recommended to THQ by Aki, who had developed their own line of wrestling games. From 2005 to 2012, Yuke's owned 54% of

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

, the top

promotion in Japan. In August 2019, then-series publisher

2K Games 2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. 2K was founded under Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports labels, following Take-Two Interactive's acquisition of Visual Concepts that same m ...

announced it had moved ''WWE'' game development to California-based studio

Visual Concepts Visual Concepts Entertainment is an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in May 1988, the company is best known for developing Sports video game, sports games in the ''2K'' franchise, most recently ''NBA 2K'' and ' ...

. Earlier that year, Yuke's had revealed its frustration over what it had been able to achieve with recent ''WWE 2K'' games and suggested that its relationship with publisher 2K Sports was partly responsible. Producer Hiromi Furuta revealed that Yuke's had established a new development team tasked with creating a rival wrestling IP, with the intention of reinvigorating its staff. On November 10, 2020,

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

(AEW) announced an upcoming console game developed by Yuke's, led by ''

Def Jam Vendetta ''Def Jam Vendetta'' is a 2003 professional wrestling video game that combines hip hop with pro wrestling. It was released for the PlayStation 2 & GameCube by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports BIG label in North America & Europe, and the E ...

'' and '' WWF No Mercy'' director, Hideyuki "Geta" Iwashita.

Games developed

These are the list of games that the company developed.

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.yukes.co.jp/en/ Video game companies established in 1993 Video game companies of Japan New Japan Pro-Wrestling Video game development companies Japanese companies established in 1993 Companies based in Osaka Prefecture