For four years, building a competitive racing team meant staring at menus and burning millions of points just to make your roster viable. That grind officially ends on October 7, 2025. Cygames is ripping out the core progression mechanics in the Japanese version of Umamusume Pretty Derby, permanently changing how trainers prepare their horse girls for the track.
The End of Support Points and Menu Grinding
The developer has completely eliminated the level system for all Support Cards in the game. Under the old rules, players had to spend frustrating amounts of time grinding daily races to earn Support Points. Even if you pulled a rare duplicate from the gacha, you still had to navigate through enhance screens and spend resources before the card reached its true potential.
Starting with the October update, pulling duplicates will instantly apply upgrades like specialty rate boosts without any extra manual steps. According to the official documentation, the game simply checks your Limit Break count and activates the corresponding passives right away. This shifts the focus entirely toward collecting duplicates and building diverse decks rather than resource management.
To demonstrate the change, the developers highlighted the popular SSR Speed Kitasan Black card. In the previous setup, reaching level 45 unlocked a 40-point specialty rate increase, but only after hitting three limit breaks and investing thousands of points. Post-update, that exact bonus turns on automatically the moment you hit the required limit breaks.
| Progression Mechanic | Old System | New System |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrading Method | Manual leveling via menus | Automatic via Limit Breaks |
| Required Resources | Support points and Money | Card duplicates only |
| Bonus Activation | Tied to specific card levels | Instant upon uncap |
| Team Trial Scoring | Based on total card levels | Based on rarity and uncap total |
Because Support Points no longer serve a purpose, the currency is being scrapped entirely. Any existing balances are being converted directly into in-game Money, giving veteran players a fresh start without wiping out the value of the resources they farmed.
The new support card system will automatically unlock those passives when you uncap a card without you having to level it up first.
As Stephanie Liu noted in her coverage of the update, the removal of the leveling step eliminates one of the biggest bottlenecks for both new and returning players. You simply pull the card and put it to work.
A Billion Dollar Game Pivots to Keep Players
The timing of this overhaul aligns with the franchise expanding its footprint outside of Japan. After generating over $2.5 billion in lifetime revenue domestically, the English global version launched on June 26, 2025. That release brought in an influx of new players who were immediately hit with the game’s historically complex progression loops.
Simplifying the experience is a calculated move to retain those new users. Cygames parent company CyberAgent reported a net profit growth of 136.5 percent for the fiscal year ending September 2025, largely driven by the title’s worldwide success. Sensor Tower data indicated the game pulled in over $46.8 million outside of Japan in just its first two months on the global market.
When you have 30 million downloads across Asia before even touching the English market, removing friction becomes the top development priority. Modern mobile gaming trends show that reducing necessary menu time directly increases player retention. By cutting out the Support Point economy, trainers spend more time actually running races and participating in events featuring characters like T.M. Opera O and Oguri Cap.
Here’s a helpful video detailing the resource conversion process:
The Konami Lawsuit Shadow Finally Lifts
Behind the scenes, the mechanics of the training system have been the subject of an intense legal battle that threatened to shut the game down entirely. In May 2023, Konami Digital Entertainment filed a $26 million patent infringement lawsuit against Cygames, claiming the core training loop of Umamusume copied mechanics from their own Power Pro baseball series.
The dispute hung over the game for more than two years. Konami initially threatened an injunction against the game, which would have halted service and effectively killed the franchise. This made deep systemic changes risky while the mechanics were actively being litigated in the Tokyo District Court.
However, the legal clouds cleared shortly after the card system overhaul. In November 2025, the two companies reached an undisclosed settlement involving 18 distinct patents. This resolution secured the game’s future right as the new card mechanics went live.
A CyberAgent spokesperson addressed the resolution directly in their official financial disclosure filings, explaining the decision to end the fight. “Cygames decided to settle the dispute in order to resolve it promptly and ensure that users of Umamusume Pretty Derby can enjoy the service at ease in the long term.”
In a separate public statement regarding the conclusion of the legal dispute with Konami, a Cygames representative added that through the settlement, the studio will “once again strive for the further development of the game industry.”
What Trainers Need to Do Before October 7
If you have been hoarding points or recently dumped your reserves into leveling a deck, you will not lose that investment. The developer has confirmed a generous compensation plan to ensure nobody feels punished for playing by the old rules up until the patch drops.
Players will receive an automatic refund equivalent to the total amount spent on upgrading their existing cards. Because the update converts all Support Points into currency, veterans logging in after the patch will find their accounts flush with in-game Money. This windfall can immediately be used to chase upcoming powerful banners featuring cards like SSR Kawakami Princess or SSR Hishi Akebono.
The removal of levels also changes how certain game modes function:
- Daily races like the Jupiter Cup now drop strengthening items.
- Team trial bonuses base rewards on card rarity and limit break count rather than levels.
- The enhance screen interface is being entirely redesigned.
- Menu navigation during standard training runs is significantly shorter.
While the barrier to building a strong deck is dropping, the reliance on the gacha system remains. You still need to pull duplicates to hit those Limit Breaks, but the sting of needing to farm points afterward is gone. The competitive meta in championships and team trials will likely shift as players experiment with newly uncapped cards they previously couldn’t afford to level up.
As the legal hurdles fade and the mechanics become much cleaner, the future of the premier #Umamusume experience looks secure. This overhaul proves that even top-tier #GachaGaming titles have to aggressively adapt their oldest systems to keep players coming back to the track year after year.
