The Peak of My Career

My mom plays Starri

Starri is one of my all-time favorites. I’ve spent over 100 hours on it myself. Both of my daughters play. My older one and I compete in 2-player mode. My younger one? She somehow got my mom to play.

Yes—my mom plays Starri. Not just plays. She plays. She even cracked the top 10 on the global calories-burned leaderboard (a feature launching on Nex Playground soon).

I repeat: my mom is on the Starri leaderboard. If that’s not the peak of my career, I don’t know what is. I’ve thought hard about what might top it. I’ve come up blank. I may have peaked.

So here it is—your behind-the-scenes tour of Starri, one of Nex Playground’s most beloved (and personally meaningful) games.

The Origin

Starri started as “SuperHits,” a mini-game inside Active Arcade, our original motion-based mobile game from 2021 (2x Apple Design Award nominee). Active Arcade racked up hundreds of millions of plays. And many of those plays? They went to SuperHits.

It was the grandparent of all Nex motion experiences—and the moment we saw just how joyful active play could be.

In 2022, SuperHits spun off into Starri. We thought it would resonate in Asia, where rhythm games like Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) are already a cultural staple. That’s why Starri launched with a library of fast, expressive, rhythm-forward Japanese tracks—music designed to move you.

Music Licensing 101

At Nex, we deeply respect music creators. To use a song in Starri, we need something called a sync license—the right to pair music with visuals and interactivity. This is very different from Spotify or Apple Music, which pay fractions of a cent per play and only need a streaming license.

Here’s the kicker: Every person involved in creating a song must say yes. If five people wrote it, we need five yeses. A single no? We’re out of luck.

Also, music games aren’t exactly mainstream. A lot of artists simply haven’t thought about licensing for games. But some artists, labels, and publishers are forward-thinking—and they’ve helped us build something special.

A huge shoutout to Randy Eckhardt, our licensing specialist (and former Guitar Hero legend). With his help, we’re building the library—one “yes” at a time.

Japanese Rhythm Game Music

We started by licensing songs that fans of Japanese rhythm games would recognize. Many were written specifically for rhythm gameplay—and a few were composed just for Starri.

Fun fact: Wilson Lam (aka ICE), who has multiple songs featured in major Japanese rhythm games, was once Starri’s music director.

But here’s the thing—Nex Playground is currently only available in the U.S. And as Starri’s audience shifts west, we realize some of these amazing tracks might sound unfamiliar. If you’re one of the players who gave these songs a chance—thank you. We love you.

• Ado – ギラギラ

• Aoi – c.s.q.n

• Apo11o Program ft. YIISAO – It’s not Over

• Caramelo Project – benang merah

• Dimitrix feat. Lulabi – I’ve Been Thinkin

• DOT96 – MAKE IT FUNKY NOW

• Dyolow – Obsesimu

• EBIMAYO – Power Attack (Makinized)

• Emily Lewis – One Shot

• Eric Hunker – Get Better

• Farhan Sarasin – DeTermination

• Girls change the world – Stay as you are

• Girls change the world feat. SeaBunny & Y.U.E. – Maybe…

• Girls change the world feat. Shoki Nanase – Music Power

• Girls change the world feat. Y.U.E. – Roses and tears

• Henry Young – Honestly

• Ice – Beyond The Altostratus

• Jane & The Boy – Starry-eyed

• Jehezukiel – Brave New Adventure

• Jehezukiel – Gugup (Starri Ver.)

• Juggernaut. – Bandit

• Kayoco Yuzawa – Wanna Wanna

• Kirara Magic – Summer Dream (feat. Chevy)

• KO3 – Forget our names feat. Noella

• Kry.exe – NEKOMATA

• Kry.exe – SIGMA

• KIRA – Why Does a Heart Break?

• litmus – Bliss

• MD X LS – Senin

• モリモリあつし – MilK

• モリモリあつし – Paradigm Shift

• モリモリあつし – 天照 (Amaterasu)

• モリモリあつし vs. uma – ETERNAL：DREAMER

• N.M.S.T – Cheezie Bountie

• N.M.S.T – Fluffie Partie

• NanosizeMir feat. Sennzai – Sacrificing Dolls

• Nego_tiator – 夢/あるいは在りし日の (yume-aruiwa)

• NOMA – Brain Power

• onoken – HYPER FESTIVE FIREWORKS (一世一代大花火)

• P3 Studio – Starry Starri

• Quree – Savage Salvation

• Ryo Nakamura – Never

• Sakuzyo feat. Nikki Simmons – Destr0yer

• seatrus – Night Theater Etude

• siqlo – Can U Feel It

• siqlo – Me & U

• siromaru + Cranky – conflict

• Silentroom – NULCTRL

• Spiegel vs Ice – Rapsodie fer za Cactuses (‘v’)

• Synthion – Sky Blue

• technoplanet – healthy life

• technoplanet – Intuition

• technoplanet feat. Iris – Don’t worry baby

• technoplanet feat. Risa Yuzuki – To Be Clear

• technoplanet feat. Shun [RIGEL] – Extraordinary

• uma – Brave My Soul

• WABI – 妖狐の喫茶店 (Café of Huli Fox)

• yaseta – Arty Party

• やどりぎ + s-don – Tsuyosa to Yasashisa

• わかどり – Fuzzy Navel

• XinG – Kaléidoscope

• XinG – 永久のエストレーラ feat. 薜南 (towa-no-esutoreera-info)

• Zekk & poplavor – Drops feat. Such

• Zach Sorgen – Sugarsweet

• ああああ茶漬け – さよならコスモノート (Sayonara Cosmonaut)

• ああああ茶漬け – ミオソティスの花束 (Myosotis No Hanabata)

• しーけー – クロートーと星の観測者

Western Pop in Starri

Staying true to the rhythm game tradition, we’ve also added a strong lineup of Western pop songs—about 30 tracks, or roughly one-third of the Starri catalog.

We know many of you want even more recognizable hits. And yes, we’re working on it. In the meantime, here’s what we have:

• Aqua – Barbie Girl

• Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea – Problem

• Calvin Harris – Summer

• Dua Lipa – Don’t Start Now

• Dua Lipa – Levitating

• Dua Lipa – New Rules

• Fall Out Boy – Centuries

• Fall Out Boy – Sugar, We’re Goin Down

• Imagine Dragons – Believer

• Imagine Dragons – Thunder

• Imagine Dragons – Whatever It Takes

• J Balvin & Willy William – Mi Gente

• Lady Gaga – Bad Romance

• Lady Gaga – Paparazzi

• Lady Gaga – Poker Face

• Lorde – Royals

• Lorde – Tennis Court

• Miley Cyrus – Midnight Sky

• Miley Cyrus – Party in the U.S.A.

• OneRepublic – Rescue Me

• OneRepublic – Run

• OneRepublic – Someday

• Panic! At The Disco – High Hopes

• Panic! At The Disco – Victorious

• Sia – Bird Set Free

• Sia – Chandelier

• Sia – Cheap Thrills

• The Chainsmokers feat. Daya – Don’t Let Me Down

• Train – Drive By

• Train – Hey, Soul Sister

Classical Music

A fun direction suggested by our community: classical remixes.

We don’t need to pay royalties to Mozart or Tchaikovsky, but we do work with modern artists to remix and adapt their masterpieces for Starri. So far, it’s been surprisingly delightful.

• nm-y – His Name is Will

• Starri Sound Division “Wilson” – Starri Starry Christmas Party

• Starri Sound Division “Wilson” – Can-Can

• Jehezukiel x Arcavento – The Best Christmas Ever (2022 Remake - Starri Ver.)

• Jehezukiel – Dancing Figaro

• Ace – Flight of the Bumblebee

• Ace – Wedding March

• Ace – March of the Toy Soldiers

• T. Bless & the Professionals – Turkish March

More is coming. Maybe Bach or Vivaldi next? Stay tuned.

Beatmap Production (Starri choreography)

Once a song is licensed, it’s passed to our beatmap production team—the choreographers of your gameplay.

Every track gets: 2 gameplay modes, 3 difficulty levels, and a ton of QA love.

Yes, those 9-star, “how is this humanly possible?” beatmaps are beatable. We test them. All-perfect scores at full-star difficulty are real—and if that’s you, we salute you.

Even my mom says playing Starri helps her brain. I can’t verify that claim with science, but I’ll absolutely take the credit.

New Music in 2025-26 (so far)

We’re actively licensing new tracks. Here’s what we’ve locked in already—rolling out in Starri starting July 2025:

• Chumbawamba - Tubthumping

• LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem

• Imagine Dragons - On Top of the World

• Lady Gaga - Just Dance

• Lady Gaga - Stupid Love

• Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still

• A-ha - Take On Me

• Shawn Mendes - There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back

• Tones and I - Dance Monkey

• Pharrell - Happy

• MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This

• Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop the Feeling!

• Katy Perry – Roar

• Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso

• Sia – Unstoppable

• Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe

• Carly Rae Jepsen – I Really Like You

• Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Murder on the Dancefloor

• Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen – Good Time

• Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera – Moves Like Jagger

• Maroon 5 – Sugar

• Sabrina Carpenter – 15 Minutes

• Ariana Grande feat. Zedd – Break Free

• Taio Cruz – Dynamite

We’ve been listening to your requests. While we can’t promise anything, every “yes” starts with someone asking. So ask.

The Music Cell

I only play assist. Starri was created by the Music Cell, one of Nex’s internal studios. These folks are absurdly talented, deeply passionate, and extremely opinionated (in the best way).

They’ve also made:

• Tumbobots

• Doodleheads

• Elmo Says

• 2048 Arms

• Elmo & Abby’s Magical Letter Hunt

• Move & Groove with Grover

• Barbie Dance Party

• Nex Lab: Music Box

• Mirrorama

…and more in the works!

Basically, If you—or your kids—were dancing and laughing? That was probably them.

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Closing Notes

This turned into a loooong post. Thanks for sticking with me.

Starri has been one of the most joyful things we’ve ever built. And if you’ve ever played, enjoyed beating someone in 2P, grinded toward an “ALL PERFECT,” or got your mom to play with you—then you’re part of this story too.

More music is coming. More magic, too.

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