Koei Tecmo grows to over 3,000 employees and is still targeting 5,000

Koei Tecmo has grown its global workforce from 2,500 to over 3,000 in just two years, with new CEO and president Hisashi Koinuma reaffirming the company's long-standing target of reaching 5,000 employees. The expansion is part of a broader push to increase the studio's number of development lines and release more games across its brands.

The details:

• Speaking to Famitsu (via Automaton), Koinuma confirmed Koei Tecmo grew from 2,500 to 2,850 employees between 2024 and 2025, then added a further 193 domestic hires in 2026 to cross the 3,000 mark. Steady hiring is planned to continue alongside internal training programmes.
• The 5,000-employee target was first announced back in 2024 as part of the company's mid-term strategy, and Koinuma says the commitment to it has not changed.
• Koei Tecmo currently operates through six distinct brands, most notably Team NINJA, Omega Force, and Gust, plus a newly launched AAA Studio. The company aims to build an infrastructure where each division can produce a consistent stream of releases.
• Koinuma also noted he is interested in launching entirely new brands that would allow Koei Tecmo to explore different genres and ideas, given that existing labels already carry expectations tied to specific IPs. He described the direction of any potential new brand as still a secret.
• The company has also moved to handle global publishing in-house wherever possible. This approach led Koei Tecmo to self-publish Nioh 3 rather than going through Sony, as it did with both previous entries. The move allowed a simultaneous PC release, and Nioh 3 became the fastest-selling game in the series.