When fans think of a major manga publisher, they often expect moves into anime or film. But Shueisha, the powerhouse behind One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Shonen Jump, is proving it can expand into new territory — video games. Shueisha Games, the publisher’s gaming subsidiary, will showcase six titles at PAX West 2025, demonstrating the company’s dedication to supporting indie developers globally.
“We’re a subsidiary company of Shueisha, which is the manga publisher for stuff like One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, and the entire Shonen Jump,” explained Alonzo Omotegawa, community development associate, on the show floor. “One of the CEOs and the top people on the board was thinking, ‘Well, we’re good at publication with all these creative mangas and stories — why can’t we do that for the video game industry, specifically for indies?’ Japan actually doesn’t really have much of a support background for indie developers. We wanted to change that.”
The lineup includes Bakudo, Sekiro Dodgeball, Atmosfar, No Straight Roads 2, Opus — described as “Spirited Away with camera mechanics” — and ANTHEM#9, which Omotegawa calls “a puzzle gem match deck builder, as if Candy Crush and Slay the Spire had a baby.”
While Shueisha Games is based in Tokyo, its reach is international. “Our focus is to bring really talented indie developers based in Tokyo and bring that out to the world,” Omotegawa said. “But we also want it with international people. Atmosfar is from Sweden, Opus and Vapid are from Taiwan, Metronomik is from Malaysia.”Fans can find Shueisha Games at Booth 525 in Seattle’s Convention Center through September 1, or online for those not attending PAX West.
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