Commercial font services company Fontworks is phasing out licenses that initially cost Japanese developers about $380 a year. Now Fontworks' new US-owned parent company Monotype is charging $20,500 per year for the new plan.
According to Gamemakers And Game*Sparkand translated by Automaton, it began when Fontworks discontinued its Leading Edge Type Solution (LETS) plan on November 28th. In short, this plan allowed developers to integrate Japanese font families, also known as typefaces, into their game builds for around 60,000 yen.
Some notable examples include Atlus with Persona 5 And Etrian Odyssey V, Capcom With Monster Hunter UltimateAnd Type-Moon With Fate/Grand Order.
Now, according to Monotype siteThe standard annual plan costs US$20,500, which is approximately 3.2 million yen. Moreover, the plan can be applied to up to 5 apps, but each app can only have “up to 25 thousand registered users in the aggregate.”
As such, as of November 28, Fontworks has stopped supporting further extensions of the LETS license and will now redirect all existing subscriptions to its own Monotype font service.
The American company Monotype acquired Fontworks at the end of 2023.
Monotype acquired Fontworks back in September 2023which was one of the most famous font companies in the Japanese gaming industry.
According to the Japanese network and UI/UX designer Yamanakawhich I was working on Attack on Titan VR And Testament of the SoulDevelopers of current live-service games could be significantly impacted by the service change. For example, if they decide to switch to another company, this will require a rework of the font integration, which will lead to another round of quality control and re-release, which can be especially burdensome for games like Fate/Grand Orderwhich have been operating for more than ten years. Changing fonts can also mean a change in branding.
As Game*Spark notes, via RPG websiteSome alternatives include Mojimo Game, which is currently available in Japan for 5,280 yen per year (about $34 US). But these services are primarily aimed at independent developers, since the subscription is available exclusively to individuals and does not apply to corporations. Moreover, Mojimo is also managed by Fontworks.
Alway, CEO of the development studio Indie-US Games, commented that “this is a little-known problem, but in some circles it has become a huge problem.” After receiving quotes for a license renewal, the company decided to switch to DynaFont instead.
