DreamFactory

Japan Founded 1995 Website

Dream Factory Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer founded in 1995, based out of Tokyo. They are best known for developing fighting and beat 'em up games, such as the Tobal No. 1 fighting game series and the high-profile PlayStation 2 launch title The Bouncer, both developed under Square Co. The company's chairman, Seiichi Ishii, is an industry veteran who served as an early designer and director for two fighting game franchises: Virtua Fighter (published by Sega) and Tekken (published by Namco). In 2003 they formed a partnership with Microsoft to develop "Kakuto Chojin: Back Alley Brutal" under the name of Dream Publishing. After the game did not meet their sales expectations, the original name of DreamFactory returned as their mainstay brand. Despite a lack of relevant activity the past decade, it is still not officially deemed as defunct. In August 2015, Seiichi Ishii announced after delivering a mobile game for Bandai Namco (Xevious ガンプの謎はすべて解けた!?) that he is currently the only employee working for the company. He now enjoys the pace of making small projects rather than high budget blockbusters.

DreamFactory at a Glance

DreamFactory is a Japanese developer based in Tokyo that has been active since 1995. The company released 13 games on PlayPile, all as a developer with zero titles listed under their publishing arm. Their catalog spans from 1996 to 2021, showing a clear shift in output volume over time. They produced three games in the 1990s and eight titles during the 2000s. Production slowed significantly in the 2010s with only one game, and they released just a single title in the 2020s so far. The studio is heavily focused on fighting games, which make up eight of their thirteen releases. They also worked on five role-playing games, four hack-and-slash titles, and four arcade games. Other genres like adventure, sport, shooter, and simulator each account for two entries. Their work appeared on a wide range of systems, including the PlayStation 2, original PlayStation, Arcade cabinets, Xbox, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Android, and iOS platforms. Quality varies across their history. The average IGDB rating is 69.4 out of 100 based on five rated titles. Two games received great scores above 80, while two others fell into the good range between 60 and 79. One title landed in the mixed category below 60. Their highest-rated game is UFC: Tapout from 2002 with an 86 score. Tobal No. 1 from 1996 scored 83.3. Crimson Tears (2004) came in at 69, and Ehrgeiz (1998) reached 62.6. The Bouncer, a high-profile PlayStation 2 launch title, received a lower score of 46. The company was founded by Seiichi Ishii, who previously worked on the Virtua Fighter and Tekken franchises. After a partnership with Microsoft in 2003 resulted in a game that did not meet sales expectations, they returned to using the DreamFactory name. By 2015, Ishii stated he was the only employee left working at the company. He shifted focus to small mobile projects rather than large blockbusters. Recent releases include Kenju in February 2021 and Xevious: Gamp no Nazo wa Subete Toketa!? in December 2016. The studio remains active but operates on a much smaller scale than during its peak years.

Total Games

69.4

Avg Rating

1996

First Release

2021

Latest Release