Koei Tecmo Holdings Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company that makes and sells video games, amusement products, and anime. It was formed in 2009 when two companies, Koei and Tecmo, joined together. The company and its parts were called Tecmo Koei until 2014, when the name was changed to Koei Tecmo. The logo stayed the same during this change.

Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies. The largest one is Koei Tecmo Games, which is the main video game company in the group. This company was started in 1978 as Koei. Since 2010, Koei Tecmo Games has managed the game series from both Koei and Tecmo. Sometimes, the company used both names on new games for marketing until 2016.

The company is well known for creating several popular game series, including Atelier, Dead or Alive, Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Fatal Frame, Monster Rancher, Ninja Gaiden, Nioh, Nobunaga's Ambition, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It also works on games from other companies, such as Square Enix's Final Fantasy and Intelligent Systems' Fire Emblem.

History

Koei Co., Ltd. (株式会社コーエー Kabushiki gaisha Kōē, formerly 光栄 (Kōei)) was started in July 1978 by Yōichi and Keiko Erikawa, a married couple. Yōichi was a student at Keio University. After his family’s business failed, he decided to work in programming. The company was located in the Hiyoshi area of Yokohama, near Keio University. The name "Koei" is a play on words based on the school’s name.

At first, Koei sold personal computers and made custom business software. In 1983, it released Nobunaga’s Ambition, a strategy game set during Japan’s Sengoku period. The game won many awards. Koei later created other historical games, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, set in China’s Three Kingdoms period, and Uncharted Waters, set in Portugal during the Age of Exploration.

In 1988, Koei created a North American branch, Koei Corporation, in California. This branch translated Koei games for international markets and made new games, including Liberty or Death and Gemfire, under the leadership of Stieg Hedlund. After Hedlund left, the branch stopped making games in 1995 and focused only on translations and sales.

A Canadian branch, Koei Canada, Inc., was created in 2001. A European branch, Koei Limited, was formed in 2003 in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. In 2004, a Lithuanian branch was also formed.

Tecmo, Ltd. (formerly Tehkan Ltd.) was founded in 1967 by Yoshihito Kakihara as a supplier of cleaning equipment. In 1969, it began selling amusement machines. Tecmo’s main office was in Kudankita, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its U.S. office was in Torrance, California.

In March 1981, Tecmo opened a U.S. division called U.S. Tehkan, Inc. A month later, in April 1981, Tehkan released its first arcade game, Pleiades, in Japan. It was sold in the U.S. by Centuri. Later, as Tehkan, the company made games like Bomb Jack and Tehkan World Cup. In 1986, Tehkan changed its name to Tecmo. In 1989, Tecmo was involved in a lawsuit when a football player, Eric Dickerson, sued the NFLPA for using his image in the game Tecmo Bowl.

In January 2006, Tecmo’s president, Junji Nakamura, left the company, and Yoshimi Yasuda became his replacement. In 2006, Tecmo’s founder, Yoshihito Kakihara, died from a lung disease.

In 2008, Tecmo’s head of Team Ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki, resigned and sued Yoshimi Yasuda for unpaid bonuses and emotional distress. Later that year, two employees sued Tecmo for unpaid wages. In August 2008, Tecmo’s president, Yoshimi Yasuda, resigned, and Yasuharu Kakihara became the new chairman.

In August 2008, Square Enix proposed to buy Tecmo for ¥22.3 billion. Tecmo rejected the offer but later announced plans to merge with Koei. In November 2008, the companies agreed to merge on April 1, 2009, forming Tecmo Koei Holdings. Koei shareholders would own three-fourths of the new company. However, some shareholders, like Effissimo Capital Management, opposed the merger.

In January 2009, Koei and Tecmo shareholders approved the merger. Effissimo later asked for more information about the merger. In February 2009, Koei sold its French subsidiary, and Tecmo received a request from a major shareholder to buy back shares.

On April 1, 2009, Tecmo Koei Holdings was officially formed. Kenji Matsubara became CEO, and Yasuharu Kakihara became chairman. Effissimo continued to oppose the merger, asking for a higher stock price than what Tecmo Koei offered.

In June 2009, Tecmo Koei reorganized its international branches. Koei Europe became Tecmo Koei Europe and published Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. A new branch was created in Hanoi, Vietnam. In 2010, Tecmo and Koei’s U.S. branches were combined into Tecmo Koei America. Koei’s Canadian, Korean, and Taiwanese branches were also rebranded as Tecmo Koei.

On April 1, 2010, Tecmo was officially dissolved in Japan, and Koei became Tecmo Koei Games. The development teams of both companies were made into separate subsidiaries. Koei Singapore was also rebranded as Tecmo Koei.

In November 2010, Kenji Matsubara resigned as CEO due to financial losses. Yoichi Erikawa, co-founder of Koei, took over his roles.

In April 2011, Tecmo and Koei’s development teams were merged back into Tecmo Koei Games. The company continued to make games under the Tecmo and Koei names.

In July 2014, the company changed its name to Koei Tecmo. In February 2016, Koei Tecmo removed the brand names Team Tachyon, Koei, and Tecmo from its operations.

Subsidiaries/divisions

AAA Games Studio was created as part of Koei Tecmo in 2024, with Yosuke Hayashi named as its leader. Its first game was Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, which combined Koei Tecmo's Warriors series with Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. The game was released on November 6, 2025, for the Nintendo Switch 2.

Gust Co. Ltd. was founded in 1993 and is known for creating role-playing games (RPGs), including its long-running Atelier series, as well as other games like Surge Concerto, Nights of Azure, and BLUE REFLECTION. Koei Tecmo purchased Gust Co. Ltd. in 2011 and fully integrated it into its company in 2014.

On February 18, 2016, as part of Koei Tecmo's restructuring, the company announced the creation of Kou Shibusawa, named after the stage name of Koei's founder. This division has developed historically based games such as the Nobunaga's Ambition series, Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, Uncharted Waters series, and Nioh series. It also worked with Intelligent Systems and Nintendo on Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Midas is a new division that aims to create games for smartphones and develop new intellectual properties (IPs). As of 2025, its only product is Shin Hokuto Musou, a Japan-only game in the Warriors series based on the Fist of the North Star manga. It is available for Android and iOS devices as part of the Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage series.

Omega Force (ω-Force) is a division of Koei known for making action games, including "hack and slash" games and monster-hunting games. It is most famous for its Dynasty Warriors series, as well as spin-offs like Samurai Warriors and Warriors Orochi. The division has also developed games outside the Warriors series, such as Dragon Quest Heroes, WinBack, Attack on Titan, and Toukiden.

Ruby Party specializes in games labeled as Neoromance, which include visual novels and dating simulations, often with additional side quests. Among the three Neoromance series, the most well-known is the Angelique series, which has been in production since 1994. The first game in the Angelique series was the first otome game (a type of visual novel and dating simulation for women) ever created.

Team Ninja (stylized as Team NINJA) is a video game development studio founded by Tecmo in 1995. It creates games in genres such as masocore games, fast-paced action games, and fighting games. The studio was previously led by Tomonobu Itagaki and is best known for the Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, and Nioh series.

Koei Tecmo also operates international branches and offices, including Koei Tecmo Europe in Hertfordshire, England; Koei Tecmo America in Burlingame, California; Koei Tecmo Taiwan in Taipei; Koei Tecmo Vietnam in Hanoi; Koei Tecmo Singapore; and two offices in China, located in Tianjin and Beijing.

Former subsidiaries

Team Tachyon is a Japanese video game development team that works for Koei Tecmo. It was created in 2007, similar to Team Ninja, to make important games, including some from Tecmo Koei's well-known series. The name "Team Tachyon" was chosen because a tachyon is a particle that moves faster than the speed of light. Important members include producers Keisuke Kikuchi (Rygar, Fatal Frame) and Kohei Shibata.

Team Tachyon helped develop the 2008 game Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse for the Wii, the 2008 game Rygar: The Battle of Argus for the Wii, released the game Undead Knights for the PlayStation Portable, and created the game Quantum Theory for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010.

As of February 18, 2016, Team Tachyon was merged with Team Ninja, and some staff members were moved to Gust.

Koei Tecmo Canada was founded in 2001 as Koei Canada. It was the North American branch of the company, based in Toronto. The studio began as a computer graphics studio for Koei games but started making video games in 2005, including Fatal Inertia, Prey the Stars, and Warriors: Legends of Troy. The studio closed at the end of March 2013.

Franchises

Here is a list of video game titles:
• Atelier
• Dead or Alive
• Dynasty Warriors
• Fatal Frame
• Kessen
• Monster Rancher
• Ninja Gaiden
• Nioh
• Nobunaga's Ambition
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms
• Samurai Warriors
• Toukiden