Umamusume: Pretty Derby fans in the U.S. were supposed to be treated to their first home concert this week during the game’s world musical tour. But an issue with getting visas granted in Trump’s America forced the last minute cancelation of the anime horse girl event. Fans have been distraught, but gacha game maker Cygames is trying to make it up to them with an unusually gracious refund policy.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a game where you bet on races except instead of horses running it’s anime girls. The game has been a huge success and a passionate fan base has grown up around in since the 2025 release. Having won mobile GOTY at last year’s Game Awards, this fall’s concert tour was something of a victory lap for fans to be able to celebrate over 12 months of sports anime life sim gambling. But Cygames announced at the last minute that it was unable to get all of the paperwork necessary for its performers to enter LA for the concert series this week.
“Thank you so very much for trying, it’s heart-breaking but we know you tried until the very end,” one fan wrote on X. “This is not the America I wanted to live in,” another wrote. Some blamed the Trump administration. Others blamed poor planning. “Cygames waited until the last minute to obtain visas for the talents and didn’t pay to expedite them,” another Umamusume stan wrote. “This sucks, but you are supposed to settle visa paperwork BEFORE an event. Cygames dropped the ball here.”
Cygames had always planned to refund people for their tickets to the canceled concert, but overnight the company added that it would refund flights and accommodations for anyone who was also traveling to LA specifically for the event. “For trainers who canceled their travel and lodging reservations due to the concert’s cancellation, we will reimburse the cancellation fees incurred,” the company announced on October 21. “For trainers who have already traveled to Los Angeles, we will reimburse travel expenses and lodging expenses incurred during the target period that meet the requirements for reimbursement.”
The concert tour’s next stop is London, though dates are still TBD. Maybe fans can use the refunds to plan a trip to the Old Blighty.