Shueisha Games Embarks on a Mission to Become Japan's Answer to Devolver

A year has passed since Japanese manga publishing giant Shueisha launched its dedicated gaming division. Born out of Shueisha's Game Creators Camp, which western PR manager John Davis describes as 'an incubator for indie developers in Japan,' the company has successfully released several games, including Kenei Design's Oni: Road to be the Mightiest Oni and Tasto Alpha's Arcana of Paradise - The Tower. Most of Shueisha's titles originated from its Creators Camp, which serves as a platform for indie developers to showcase their work. According to Davis, 'The natural progression was for us to go from supporting indies to actually publishing and funding indies.' Executive officer Michiharu Mori adds that the main goal of Creators Camp is not just to cherry-pick the best projects, but to create a community where developers, artists, engineers, and influencers can come together and collaborate. Shueisha Games' first published project was Momo-pi's Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions, which features eight IPs from Shueisha's portfolio. While the company is keen to leverage its mother company's IPs, it also wants to venture beyond these boundaries and establish itself as a global indie publishing brand. The team aims to differentiate itself from bigger publishers like Bandai Namco by focusing on smaller teams, smaller games, and fewer restrictions. Davis notes that using big IPs can be restrictive, requiring a lot of approval and involving a lot of red tape. Shueisha Games wants to be like Devolver Digital in Japan, with a distinct personality and a strong brand identity. The company is committed to supporting Japanese indies and indies around the world, with a focus on creating a diverse catalogue of games that showcases different artists and is not necessarily tied to Shueisha's IPs. Mori emphasizes that Shueisha's strength lies in its long-term vision, which allows the company to think with a long-term perspective and invest in game artists. The publisher has already released two board games and a one-shot manga, and plans to continue exploring crossover opportunities between mediums. The team hopes to attract a wider audience and avoid being pigeonholed into a specific category, with Davis noting that the company's catalogue should have enough variety to pull people in and introduce them to new things. Shueisha Games is building up its team, currently employing 20 staff, and plans to expand to 30 or 40 people next year. The company's long-term vision and strong marketing-driven mindset, thanks to its experience with manga and anime, will be key to its success. As the indie development scene in Japan continues to evolve, Shueisha Games hopes to be part of the movement towards bigger and better projects. For now, the company's objectives are simple: to be a profitable company, to get a larger share of global sales, and to create high-quality games that win awards.