WiZ Co., Ltd.

WiZ Co., Ltd. (株式会社ウィズ) was a Tokyo-based toy and game design company established in September 1986 by Akihiro Yokoi, who had previously been with Bandai since 1977. The company gained international recognition in the late 90s after designing the original Tamagotchi and Digimon electronic toys, of which tens of millions were sold by Bandai and which both launched long-running toy and media franchises.

WiZ developed and produced a large number of game and toy properties over the next two decades, though none would prove to be a hit anywhere near the scale of Tamagotchi and Digimon. After posting losses for several consecutive quarters in 2015, Namco Bandai Holdings made a takeover bid in 2016, purchasing a majority share in the company early in the year before acquiring it outright in September 2016. Yokoi retired as president in April 2019, and WiZ was merged into another Bandai subsidiary, Plex.