Game publisher and developer Cygames, whose games include Princess Connect! Re: Dive and the horse girl-starring Umamusume: Pretty Derby, has announced its partnership with the 151st Kentucky Derby.
As part of the partnership, there will be a Cygames booth on May 2 and 3, featuring demos of games like Shadowverse: Worlds Beyond, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, Granblue Fantasy: Relink, and, of course, Umamusume: Pretty Derby. The booth will also feature a “360-degree panoramic” photo spot .
Additionally, there will be a Cygames-sponsored event called the Unbridled Sidney Stakes on May 2, Kentucky Oaks Day. This is a “1,100-meter (5 1/2 furlong) Grade III race for fillies and mares aged three and older,” and has a purse amounting to US$400,000. Expect to see the Cygames logo on the starting gate, saddle towels, and finish line signage at this event.
The Kentucky Derby is part of the so-called “Triple Crown” of thoroughbred horse racing, with the other two races being the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. The three races take place within weeks of one another. According to the Kentucky Derby website, only 13 horses have won all three races to achieve the Triple Crown.
Last year, Cygames teamed up with the Breeders’ Cup, a year-end international racing championship, to become the name-in-title partner of the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint. The Breeders’ Cup’s announcement said that the partnership marks the upcoming launch of Umamusume: Pretty Derby‘s English version, which was announced in June 2024 (there is no release date yet at the time of writing).
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a media mix franchise that includes anime and manga. The Japanese version of the mobile game was released in 2021, after missing its 2018 launch date. The latest Umamusume anime is this season’s Umamusume: Cinderella Gray, an adaptation of a manga series focused on the character Oguri Cap.
Source: @Cygames_EN
