In early 2025, Techscaler Japan brought eight of Scotland’s most exciting gaming companies to Tokyo and Osaka to explore one of the world’s most dynamic and competitive games markets. The mission: to build lasting international connections, showcase Scotland’s creativity, and learn from Japan’s globally renowned games industry.
Why Japan? Why Now?
Japan’s gaming sector is legendary, home to some of the biggest studios, boldest ideas, and most passionate players. For companies in Scotland looking to expand globally, Japan offers not only a huge consumer base, but also a powerful model of creativity, craftsmanship, and commercial ambition. While market entry comes with cultural and language challenges, the opportunities for learning and inspiration - and even collaboration - are significant. This trip was about more than inspiration. It was about action.
Supported by CodeBase and the Scottish Government, the delegation included founders and team members from Konglomerate Games, Buildstash, Yaldi Games, Speech Graphics, Blazing Griffin, Wardog Studios, BearHammer Games, and GLITCHERS.
"We came away with a much better understanding of how to do business in Japan, many new connections, and a clear roadmap for expanding Buildstash into this exciting market.” - Robbie Cargill, Buildstash Ltd.
What We Did
Our packed itinerary spanned two cities and a host of key events:
- Startup Showcase at Venture Café Tokyo
- Exhibiting at the UK Pavilion at Osaka World Expo
- Pop up Techscaler hub at Tunnel Tokyo, a gaming specific coworking space run by Sega
- Pitching at the Antler IbexGaming Series event at Megalis
- Meetings with Skeleton Crew at 404 Not Found, and Leland Madren (ex-EA, PlayStation)
- Shibuya Startup Support - networking with international founders at ‘snack and connect’ event
- Studio visit to Q Games in Kyoto
Every moment was designed to create meaningful engagement between our Scotland-based founders and Japanese industry leaders, investors, publishers, and creators.
“Techscaler Japan was incredibly useful for building our international network and connections within the Japanese games industry. The trip was also really helpful for learning more about the games market and the different events within the Japanese gaming scene.” - Jamie Bankhead, Konglomerate Games
Highlights & Insights
1. A Creative Base at Tunnel Tokyo
Our journey began at Tunnel Tokyo, a collaborative space run by SEGA Sammy and Pegasus Ventures. The atmosphere was electric, startups and corporate giants working side-by-side, showing Japan’s commitment to supporting innovation in action.
2. Pitching with Purpose at the Antler IbexGaming Serie
At Megalis, founders pitched alongside participants in a top-tier VC programme. A fireside chat with actor-producer Masi Oka underscored the power of IP in Japan, where successful characters often leap from games into anime, manga, and merchandising. These ideas sparked new strategies among our cohort, with several founders rethinking how they design for commercial longevity.
3. Bitsummit and the Indie Scene
Meeting Murakami from Skeleton Crew offered a behind-the-scenes look at Japan’s indie games ecosystem. From its humble beginnings, Bitsummit has grown into a global conference, and Murakami’s advice was clear: localisation is non-negotiable, and success depends on long-term commitment and Japanese-speaking representation.
4. Startup Support in Shibuya
The Shibuya government’s Startup Visa programme presented a rare opportunity for foreign founders to build a base in Japan, with hands-on application support and access to a thriving international founder community. This session opened doors to potential long-term expansion for several of the cohort’s studios.
5. Showcasing Scotland at Venture Café
At Tokyo’s weekly Venture Café Gathering, each founder pitched their game to a packed room of investors, entrepreneurs, and creatives. The reception was enthusiastic, many attendees were surprised by the scale and innovation of Scotland’s games sector. New relationships sparked here continued throughout the trip.
6. Expo 2025 Osaka: A Grand Finale
At the Osaka World Expo, founders from Scotland took over the UK Pavilion, sharing the stage with thought leaders like Chris van der Kuyl, Steven Drost, and others in a series of insightful panels. Later, the cohort demoed games to the public and met the First Minister, with one founder featured on national Japanese news, bringing huge visibility back home.
7. Learning from Q Games
In Kyoto, a visit to Q Games and founder Dylan Cuthbert reminded the cohort that bold pivots and long development cycles are often behind great games. His insights mirrored the startup journey: iterate, experiment, and stand out.
“The Techscaler Japan programme provided a valuable opportunity to meet both existing and potential Japanese clients in person. It helped me better understand their production needs and processes, and also allowed me to provide hands-on technical support." - Pauline Lecomte, Speech Graphics
Key Lessons from Japan
- IP Is Everything
Japanese studios build IP with cross-media potential from day one. Characters are designed to live across games, anime, and beyond. Inspired by this, some founders are now redesigning their characters with licensing and merchandising in mind. - Localisation Is Critical
Fluent Japanese representation and high-quality localisation are essential to doing business. It’s not just about translation, it’s about cultural nuance and relationship-building. - Business Culture Matters
Trust takes time. Meetings often focus more on shared purpose than hard metrics. Founders learned that respect, patience, and storytelling are core to Japanese business success. - Creative Distinctiveness Wins
The market is competitive and crowded. Standing out requires bold ideas, a willingness to take risks, and deep cultural research, something Q Games has clearly mastered.
Key Founder Takeaways
Participants deepened their industry networks across both indie and mainstream creative sectors in Japan, fostering valuable partnerships and opening new marketing channels. Many gained insights into Japanese business culture, localisation, and IP strategy, critical factors for long-term engagement in the region.
The trip surfaced new funding opportunities, informed product and design choices, and inspired potential future participation in local events. Several founders are now considering strategic moves such as showcasing at Japanese game festivals or expanding operations to Japan, with cultural immersion proving a rich source of creative and commercial insight.
Beyond individual wins, the cohort bonded as a community, sharing insights, supporting one another, and continuing collaborations after returning home.
“I loved being part of this program and I learned a lot - learnings that had direct impact on my design choices for my next product. I would recommend it to everyone!" - Elena Höge, Yaldi Games
What’s Next
The connections made in Japan are just the beginning. Here’s what’s ahead:
- Sharing insights with the wider Scottish games community via workshops and events.
- Continuing conversations with Japanese partners and publishers.
- Exploring joint IP projects, knowledge exchanges, and future visits.
- Building a long-term bridge between Scotland and Japan’s games industries, and looking at further opportunities in healthtech, education, and creative media.
Techscaler Japan 2025 showed what’s possible when creativity meets international ambition. Scotland’s games sector has a unique voice, and Japan is listening.
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