There’s a lot of horny fanart out in the world, and some of it is so extreme that Dead or Alive publisher Koei Tecmo takes down thousands of posts a year.
In a new report from GameWatch (with translations provided by Automaton) based on the recent Tokyo esports Festa 2025, Tomotoshi Nishimura, general manager of Koei Tecmo’s legal affairs department shed some light on how the company feels about fanart.
Nishimura says that Koei Tecmo has no issue with fans creating art based on characters they love, and the company even supports those profiting from their fanart as evidenced by it sponsoring events like Comiket where people sell fanart.
However, the company does have boundaries it enforces. It takes “strict action” against two to three thousand pieces of fanart each year. One reason it will take down fanart is if it’s based on art from video games that aren’t out yet. Another big reason is if fanart includes characters that have been changed to suit “adult purposes” and could therefore damage their reputation.
Nishimura says the Koei Tecmo developers see the characters they make “like daughters,” which is slightly concerning given just how horny even the official art of the Dead or Alive cast is.
At the same event, Nintendo’s IP manager Koji Nishiura spoke about copyright law, and said, “you can’t immediately claim that an emulator is illegal in itself, [but] it can become illegal depending on how it’s used.”
While you’re here, check out all the upcoming video game release dates for 2025 and see if anything catches your eye.
