Japan’s game industry is currently grappling with a major issue that has rarely surfaced in public discussions. Following the acquisition of leading Japanese font provider Fontworks by Monotype, commercial font licensing costs have surged—reportedly up to 50 times higher than before. This sudden spike has put significant pressure on game studios that rely on affordable, renewable font licenses.
Previously, the well-known LETS licensing program cost roughly ¥60,000 per year (around $380) and provided flexible usage within games. However, Monotype’s replacement package is now priced at approximately $20,500 per year, accompanied by a surprising limitation: the license only covers applications with up to 25,000 users. For game titles that routinely reach millions of players, such restrictions are simply impractical.
Live-service games are the most severely impacted. Changing fonts in Japanese titles is not a simple visual adjustment—developers must reintegrate UI systems, conduct extensive QA testing, and sometimes overhaul branding elements. Even long-running hits like Fate/Grand Order, now over a decade old, may face legal obstacles when issuing updates if they cannot meet the new licensing requirements.
Some developers have started migrating to alternatives such as DynaFont, yet the transition is far from easy. Japanese fonts contain thousands of characters and require high-quality, nuanced design, making the replacement process slow and costly. Analysts expect the full impact of this licensing crisis to become increasingly visible throughout 2026, with many studios hoping Monotype will eventually introduce more sustainable pricing solutions for the Japanese market.