Bandai Namco Entertainment

Bandai Namco Entertainment
Information
Industry	Video games, network content, entertainment
Founded	31 March 2006 (as Namco Bandai Games)
Headquarters	Bandai Namco Mirai-Kenkyusho, Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Notable Personnel	Nao Udagawa (President and CEO)
Products	Tekken, Ace Combat, The Idolm@ster, Summer Lesson, VR Zone
Parent	Bandai Namco Holdings
Website	https://www.bandainamcoent.co.jp/english/

Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. is a Japanese video game publisher and the game company of the Bandai Namco Group. It was established on 31 March 2006, when the group combined Bandai's home video game operations with Namco's home, arcade and mobile game operations, and it took its current name in April 2015. Its home console games include the Tekken, Tales of and Mobile Suit Gundam series, and it publishes Elden Ring outside Japan.

In 2016 the company started Project i Can, a virtual reality entertainment program, and opened a temporary VR research facility in Odaiba, Tokyo. In July 2017 it opened VR Zone Shinjuku, a large VR arcade whose attractions used HTC Vive headsets and motion platforms, which ran until March 2019. It has also published PlayStation VR games and VR modes, including Summer Lesson, The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls: Viewing Revolution and the VR missions of Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, and in 2026 the PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest and SteamVR game Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes.

Reviewed 13 October 2026. Corporate history, name changes, 2026 corporate data and CEO, Project i Can and VR Zone dates, prices and attractions, VR Zone Shinjuku closure, PS VR titles and modes, Little Nightmares VR release and MIRAIKEN studio checked against the cited company, store and press sources. About review dates.

History

Formation and name changes

Namco and Bandai announced a management integration in May 2005, and their holding company, Namco Bandai Holdings Inc., was established and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in September 2005. On 31 March 2006 the group formed Namco Bandai Games Inc. by integrating Bandai's home game operations with Namco's home game, arcade game and mobile game operations. The company gives 1 June 1955, the founding date of the former Namco Ltd., as its own date of establishment.

Banpresto's home console and arcade game business was folded into the company in April 2008, and Bandai Networks merged into it in April 2009. In April 2012 its internal development divisions were split off to form Namco Bandai Studios Inc. (now Bandai Namco Studios Inc.). In April 2014 the company's English name was changed to Bandai Namco Games Inc. It was renamed Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. in April 2015, a change the company said reflected the expansion of its business domain. It moved its headquarters to Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo, in February 2016.

In April 2018 the company's amusement machine business was transferred to Namco Ltd., which was then renamed Bandai Namco Amusement Inc. Later group companies set up by or under Bandai Namco Entertainment include Bandai Namco Research Inc. (April 2019) and Bandai Namco Aces Inc., a joint venture with ILCA formed in June 2022.

Corporate data

As of 1 April 2026 the company had capital of 10.0 billion yen and 835 employees, excluding temporary staff. Its head office is in the Bandai Namco Mirai-Kenkyusho building at 5-37-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo. It lists four business fields: network content, home console games, "Asobi Entertainment" (events, music and live streaming) and licensing. Nao Udagawa, who joined Bandai in 1994, became president and CEO in April 2023.

XR work

Project i Can and VR Zone

On 28 March 2016 Bandai Namco Entertainment announced Project i Can, a program to develop VR entertainment by combining VR with its experience in building motion and ride machines. The same announcement introduced VR Zone Project i Can, a limited-run "VR entertainment research facility" at Diver City Tokyo Plaza in Odaiba, operated by group company Namco, that would collect visitor feedback. The facility was scheduled to open on 15 April 2016 and required reservations. The announced attractions were a plank walk 200 metres above the ground, a steep downhill skiing ride, a sports driving game on a dome screen without a headset, a horror escape from an abandoned hospital for two to four players, a train-driving simulator based on Tokyo's JR Yamanote Line, and Argyle Shift, in which the player rides in the cockpit of a giant robot. Prices ranged from 700 to 1,000 yen. A Gundam VR Daiba Assault experience was added from 26 August 2016, and the facility closed on 10 October 2016.

In June 2017 the company announced VR Zone Shinjuku, a flagship venue at 1-29-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku, with a floor area of about 1,100 tsubo (a Japanese unit of area). It opened on 14 July 2017. Its six new headset attractions were based on Evangelion, Mario Kart (Mario Kart Arcade GP VR) and Dragon Ball, plus a winged-bicycle ride, a fishing game and a dinosaur survival experience. A four-versus-four arena game, Ghost in the Shell: Arise Stealth Hounds, using headsets and backpack PCs, was scheduled to start in August 2017. Admission was 800 yen for adults, and a set of four activity tickets with entry cost 4,400 yen including tax. Road to VR described the planned VR Zone venues as using seated motion platforms and HTC Vive-powered experiences, and described Mario Kart Arcade GP VR as one of the first VR experiences to carry official Nintendo approval.

At the launch, Project i Can executive producer Junichiro Koyama said that Odaiba had drawn many VR enthusiasts, while Shinjuku was built around multiplayer play so that people unfamiliar with VR could take part. The company set a target of one million visitors by the end of March 2019. It also planned a smaller format, VR Zone Portal, with three or four VR activities for shopping centres in Japan and abroad. In July 2018 Road to VR reported that Mario Kart Arcade GP VR would arrive in the UK on 3 August 2018 at the VR Zone London Portal inside the Hollywood Bowl at The O2 in London, priced at 8 pounds per person, using HTC Vive headsets, Vive Trackers and a motion platform with a steering wheel and pedals.

By late 2018 VR Zone Shinjuku was operated by Bandai Namco Amusement. In December 2018 that company announced that the venue would close on 31 March 2019, after 21 months, because its operating period had ended. The VR Zone article covers the arcade attractions in more detail.

PlayStation VR games

Bandai Namco Entertainment released two PlayStation VR titles at the headset's Japanese launch in October 2016: Summer Lesson: Hikari Miyamoto Seven Days Room and The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls: Viewing Revolution. In Summer Lesson, directed by Katsuhiro Harada, the player tutors a teenage student, Hikari Miyamoto, in her bedroom. It was released in Japan on 13 October 2016, and Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia announced a download-only, English-subtitled version for Southeast Asia for early 2017. Viewing Revolution was released in North America on 18 July 2017 at 19.99 US dollars, with thirteen downloadable content packs on the first day.

Some of the company's flatscreen PlayStation 4 releases carry PlayStation VR content. Tekken 7, released on PS4 in North America on 2 June 2017 by Bandai Namco Entertainment America, includes PS VR content that requires the headset and the PlayStation Camera. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown was released on PS4 in North America on 18 January 2019 with three modes made for PlayStation VR: standalone combat missions, a hangar tour and aerial display showcases. The VR missions are separate from the main campaign. During a Gamescom 2018 livestream a Bandai Namco representative put the VR mode at five missions and about three hours, and said it would be exclusive to PS4.

Later VR releases

Bandai Namco revealed Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes at its Little Nightmares Showcase on 24 June 2025. It was developed by the French VR studio Iconik. Bandai Namco gave 24 April 2026 as its release date for PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S, and PC VR headsets through SteamVR; the Steam store lists the PC release as 23 April 2026.

MIRAIKEN studio and investment

On 26 May 2021 the company opened MIRAIKEN studio, an in-house studio at its headquarters that it describes as an xR base for creating and distributing entertainment. MoguLive reported that its A studio is enclosed by LED panels on its walls and floor, with 4K-compatible 2.6 mm pitch LEDs on the walls, and uses a system the company calls "LEDxR" to place performers in virtual spaces, while its B studio is used for motion capture that can drive characters in the A studio in real time. The company says the studio is used to bring characters from its franchises to life with xR technology. In April 2022 it launched the Bandai Namco Entertainment 021 Fund, a startup investment fund that it said would help build an "IP metaverse" and new forms of entertainment.

Products

Title or venue	Type	Date	Platform or hardware	Notes
VR Zone Project i Can	Temporary VR facility	15 April to 10 October 2016	VR headsets, motion machines	Diver City Tokyo Plaza, Odaiba
Summer Lesson: Hikari Miyamoto Seven Days Room	Game	13 October 2016 (Japan)	PlayStation VR	English-subtitled Southeast Asian release announced for early 2017
The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls: Viewing Revolution	Game	October 2016 (Japan); 18 July 2017 (North America)	PlayStation VR
Tekken 7	Game with VR content	2 June 2017 (PS4, North America)	PlayStation VR
VR Zone Shinjuku	VR arcade	14 July 2017 to 31 March 2019	HTC Vive, motion platforms	Operated by Bandai Namco Amusement at closure
VR Zone London Portal	VR attraction	3 August 2018 (scheduled)	HTC Vive, Vive Trackers	Mario Kart Arcade GP VR at Hollywood Bowl, The O2
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown	Game with VR mode	18 January 2019 (North America)	PlayStation VR (PS4 only)	Separate VR missions
Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes	Game	24 April 2026 (Steam: 23 April 2026)	PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2, 3 and 3S, SteamVR	Developed by Iconik

See also

• VR Zone
• Location-based virtual reality