Bandai Namco President Says Digimon Reached Record Profit in 26 Years Thanks to Games

The Digimon franchise has reached its highest profitability in its 26-year history, surpassing even the numbers from the year 2000 when the original anime series was at the peak of its popularity.

Bandai Namco Entertainment President Nao Udagawa shared this information in an interview for the anniversary issue of Weekly Famitsu, which went on sale on August 6. The executive attributed the record to the simultaneous success of video games and the Digimon Card Game, though he did not disclose the specific profit amount or the calculation period.

Recent successful releases from Bandai Namco include the mobile idle RPG Digimon Up, which generated nearly $8 million in in-app purchases on Google Play and App Store during its first two weeks. However, one of the main drivers was undoubtedly Digimon Story: Time Stranger. The RPG launched on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series in October 2025 and sold one million copies in two months, reaching that milestone faster than any previous installment in the Digimon Story series.

In July 2026, Time Stranger also arrived on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Udagawa believes that the project still has untapped potential, as the game will receive a major expansion in 2027.

Bandai Namco is already preparing for the 30th anniversary of Digimon, which the franchise will celebrate in 2027. A new anime is scheduled to premiere during that period. In addition, Digimon: Our Best Adventure—a compilation of the best episodes from the first four series curated with fan participation—will begin airing in Japan in the fall of 2026.