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Despite global hits, Japan’s board game industry faces overseas publishing skills shortage, Arclight warns – and leads government-backed drive to tackle it
Japanese board game heavyweight Arclight has warned that the country’s tabletop industry faces a shortage of specialists capable of developing internationally competitive games and securing overseas publishing deals, despite a string of existing global successes – and is leading a government-backed initiative to tackle the problem.
Arclight, a major publisher and distributor of games across Japan and organiser of the country’s biggest tabletop gaming convention, is heading up a two-year programme to train Japanese creators in international game development, licensing and commercial expansion.
About 20 creators are set to be recruited through the Japan Tabletop Advancement Network, which Arclight is running alongside board game publisher and café operator Pizzicato Design and specialist Japanese hobby retailer Yellow Submarine.
Arclight said that while overseas demand for Japanese board games and international licensing opportunities had been growing rapidly, the country’s domestic industry remained heavily reliant on “individual passion and doujin activities,” and faces a structural challenge of lacking “core specialists” capable of developing intellectual property “to international standards” and successfully expanding overseas.
The warning comes despite a string of breakout successes for Japanese publishers and designers, including several titles which have sold hundreds of thousands or even millions of copies worldwide.
Arclight itself revealed in July that its co-operative card game Ito from Mitsuru Nakamura had surpassed one million copies sold across Japan and overseas, with the series now available in 11 languages.
Fellow Japanese publisher Oink Games has also established a significant presence in European and North American markets in recent years through successful releases including Deep Sea Adventure, Scout and A Fake Artist Goes to New York.
Oink revealed to BoardGameWire in 2024 that Deep Sea Adventure had passed 300,000 copies printed, while its Spiel des Jahres-nominated Scout managed to secure a dedicated edition for US retail giant Target the same year.
Other Japanese publishers to have built substantial international success include Kyoto-based Saashi & Saashi, which told Japanese outlet 4Gamer in 2022 that overseas sales accounted for about 70% of its business.
Japanese designs have also become major global hits through international licensing deals – most famously Seiji Kanai’s Love Letter, which had sold more than three million copies worldwide by 2022, and Machi Koro, which passed one million copies sold by 2021.
Those two games were among international successes helped by Japon Brand, the long-running collective established to introduce Japanese tabletop designs to overseas publishers.
Board game giant Asmodee acquired Japon Brand from CMON earlier this year as part of a renewed push into the Japanese market, incorporating the collective into a new studio called Nekuma to identify promising Japanese designs for international release.
J-TAN is scheduled to run from February 2027 until March 2029, combining domestic training and game development with up to four overseas industry placements over the two years.
Arclight said participants will receive mentoring in international market trends, publishing and business development, alongside opportunities to present their designs to overseas publishers, obtain feedback and establish industry contacts.
The provisional programme lists potential training destinations including Spiel Essen, UK Games Expo, Gen Con and GAMA Expo, although the organisers have stressed that the final destinations are yet to be determined.
Domestic training will include four sessions a year in Tokyo, covering overseas publishing and the development of internationally competitive games, with participants also receiving practical playtesting support.
Participants will be able to attend the training and overseas placements free of charge, including travel costs, although places on individual international trips may be limited. Both independent creators and people already employed by game companies are eligible, while applicants will retain the rights to their existing designs.
The programme is being supported financially by Japan’s Creator Support Fund, established within the government-funded Japan Arts Council to support the development of creative talent and the infrastructure underpinning the country’s cultural industries.
Arclight was acquired by entertainment conglomerate Kadokawa in April 2024, with international expansion and the development of new intellectual property already identified as priorities for the business.
The deal brought Arclight into the same stable as video game maker FromSoftware, famous for hit titles including Elden Ring, Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series. Kadokawa, which has a stock market valuation of about $3.4bn, also has extensive interests in book and manga publishing, film and anime, and specialises in developing intellectual property across multiple media.
Arclight also runs Game Market, Japan’s biggest tabletop gaming convention, which attracted 32,000 visits across two days in October this year, with a record 1,425 exhibition booths.
J-TAN’s organisers have not specified how much government funding has been allocated to the initiative, or set numerical targets for overseas licensing agreements or sales totals.
Applications for the first cohort close on November 30, with successful candidates due to be announced in late January 2027.
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