Dearly beloved sports life anime Umamusume: Pretty Derby has struck new popularity heights after its mobile game’s global launch. The derby horse girls celebrate their worldwide return as an online competitive gacha. After releasing in June, how did this game become an addictive training management simulator?
Cygames’ Successful Gacha Marketing Campaign
Umamusume: Pretty Derby has been a multi-studio production since its 2018 debut. Cygames became the Jump anime’s mobile game developer, launching the horse derby game on February 24, 2021, in Japan. Players filled the role of ‘Trainer’ of their chosen athlete for a chance to compete in horse racing. With the anime’s large character roster, the developers implemented trainee recruitment as a gacha machine.
Participating in special events and daily logins rewarded players with Carats to spend on recruitment and racer support cards. Cygames incentivized them with in-app purchases for an abundance of Carats, generating $125.4 million USD (Â¥13.39 billion) in its first month. Umamusume: Pretty Derby consistently gained $10 million USD (Â¥1.15 billion) monthly, successfully funding it for a global release.
Cygames promoted an English-translated demo at the Los Angeles Anime Expo 2024 alongside Oguri Cap’s 2025 anime spin-off, Umamusume: Cinderella Gray‘s announcement. The developers continued marketing the game by partnering with two derby events in the Spring of 2025. Umamusume: Pretty Derby officially sponsored the 151st Kentucky Derby and appointed lead sponsor of the G1 Grand Prix de Paris, Elle Hennau, for Cygames’s promotion race.
When April arrived, Cygames Pictures released the 1st season of Umamusume: Cinderella Grey. They then advertised the mobile game’s pre-registration with an added in-game bonus of 25 gacha pulls and 3,750 Carats. The developers were confident that the anime’s Western audience would increase the player base.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s Core Gameplay
As a Trainer of Tracen Academy, players are tasked to assist their Umamusume (horse girl) to achieve their dream goal and the URA Finale. Tutorial guide Hayakawa Tazuna helps players navigate the school’s hub area and Career mode. She’ll give out two free gacha pulls for scouting Trainees and Support Cards to get you started on your path to glory and fame. After a week of playing, I found myself determined to aid my Umamusume.
Training your athlete is determined through a combination of two Legacies and six Support Cards. Legacies are based on the Japanese ranking from G+ to A. Higher ranks can be achieved from various Career playthroughs, offering over 100 combinations for stat boosting, track terrain, and skills to your chosen derby horse. Support Cards serve the same purpose, but Cygames took it a step further for the sports school life experience.
On certain days, fellow Tracen students will train alongside your Umamusume. You will be rewarded with friendship and skill points to improve in derby races. If a Support Card friendship is at max, your horse will receive rare skills. You will also get to interact with and watch Scenarios to gain ideas to improve your training routine. Legacies have a similar effect to the Inspiration Event. Your athlete will encounter the Three Goddess statue and gain a large stat boost.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby has set up a good management system in Career mode. Your horse’s racing capabilities are determined by five stats:
- Speed: Helps your horse run faster.
- Stamina: Improves timing on your horse’s breathing.
- Power: Gives your horse better dashing performance without overexertion.
- Guts: Maintains racing performance on various track terrains and conditions.
- Wit: Encourages your horse to study racing techniques.
The game will encourage you to try races from OP (Easy) to G1 (Hard) for Hayakawa to examine your horse’s strengths and weaknesses. Her hints are helpful in understanding the stats better. There were times I lost races due to lacking certain stats or my horse couldn’t handle certain distances or terrain.
Pay attention to your Umamusume’s energy and mood levels as well. Low energy can lead to training failures, while mood levels affect their racing performance. Rest and Recreation will help them recover their energy and regulate their mood. It can also backfire based on their relaxation activity.
Your athlete’s sleep level is measured from All Refreshed to Sleep Deprived. The top 3 students I see struggling with the Sleep Deprived statues are Matikanefukukitaru, Agnes Tachyon, and Mejiro Ryan. It can sometimes lead you to the Night Owl condition, which slightly lowers the stat boost by 1 or 2 points.
Luckily, negative status conditions can be cured mostly through the Infirmary or a positive Trainee scenario. Recreation events are rare and will appear randomly in Career mode. I got lucky with Matikanefukukitaru twice. We played a claw machine, and I accidentally gave her a bad luck fortune slip.
The most exciting thing about Umamusume: Pretty Derby’s horse derby simulation is watching everyone race. You can adjust your racer’s running style before starting:
- End: Conserve your horse’s energy until the final corner.
- Late: Let your horse stay in the middle, then catch up at the third corner.
- Pace: Have your horse tailgate the front runners.
- Front: Your horse will take the lead and defend their position till the end of the race.
Everyone will react differently to their racing position, and you can either encourage them or share their dread. And like the anime, winning a G1 race will reward you with a Ceremony Concert. Watching them will unlock new songs for the school’s lobby jukebox.
Your horse racing career will end if you reach the URA Finale or fail to reach a specific milestone. You’ll see how your horse ranks to participate in the other racing modes. Team Races allows you to assemble a team of 5 from Sprint Distance to Dirt Tracks. Race against online teams to show you’re the best Umamusume trainer. Legendary Races offers a daily challenge to race against a B Rank racer. And finally, you can arrange a Room Match against your friends. Cygames gave the gacha crossplay support for mobile and Steam players.
The Umamusume Fanbase Grows Larger
Umamusume: Pretty Derby has now reached over 31 million downloads, breaking its previous record of 30 million from Asia alone. The sports life gacha simulator has attracted new fans thanks to its competitive gameplay. Soon, the game is responsible for increasing interest in the girls’ real-life counterparts. The top favorite is underdog derby racer Haru Urara, who has never won a race and retired with 113 losses. Her Western fans were determined to train her anime persona to win her 1st place at the G1 Arima Kinen. The 29-year-old derby horse’s farmer later replied after gaining new followers:
“For some reason, the number of likes on Urara-san’s birthday tiara this year increased to another 10,000. […] I don’t know if her overseas fans will understand, but Haru Urara is doing well. In fact, she’s healthier and more energetic than me!”
As for Pretty Derby’s anime, the game’s fans are beginning to watch its three seasons. I, too, have finally watched the first episode after knowing its whereabouts back in 2019. The anime is perfect for anyone who enjoys watching character growth with a hint of comedy and wants to be educated on horse derbys. I’ll soon follow Oguri Cap’s journey as well once I finish.
