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PressRelease | FromSoftware, Inc.

You can view all information about FromSoftware including our games, membership website and much more.

www.fromsoftware.jp

Increase in base salary and starting salary for new graduates

FromSoftware, Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Hidetaka Miyazaki) announced that from April 2025, enrolled employees will receive an average basic salary increase of approximately 11.8%. The starting salary for new graduates will also be increased from 260,000 yen to 300,000 yen.

At FromSoftware, we strive to make games that convey emotion, create value, and inspire joy. To this end, we are working towards stable income and a rewarding work environment where our employees can apply themselves to development. The increase in base and starting salaries is one implementation of this policy.

We will continue to develop games with the hope of inspiring players, and creating something of value.

Praised be Miyazaki!

 

[Hohenheim]

Most companies could learn a thing or ten from these guys.
Rock solid stuff.

 

[Klayzer]

This is the way. Investment in your talented employees always pays dividends.

 

[killatopak]

Fromsoft keeps being goated.

 

[SpearHea.:D]

Gods of Gaming.

 

[Kotaro]

Best developer in the world, by far, no one else comes close, except Nintendo EPD

 

[EviLore]

Good to see. Employee retention from project to project is one major thing they have going for them over there.

Salaries in Japan are shockingly low though for technical, educated professionals. But that's not specific to FromSoft.

 

[Robb]

 

[Xavier2337]

still too low for those talented employees. and comparing to western developers the Japanese salaries are way too low

 

[RoadHazard]

Nice, but that starting salary is ridiculously low.

 

[EviLore]

Nice, but that starting salary is ridiculously low.

$12.81/hour equivalent at 40hrs/week. Probably lower in practice due to long hours.

For reference, Massachusetts just passed a law requiring a minimum wage of $32.50/hour for Uber drivers.

 

[RoadHazard]

$12.81/hour equivalent at 40hrs/week. Probably lower in practice due to long hours.

For reference, Massachusetts just passed a law requiring a minimum wage of $32.50/hour for Uber drivers.

Really? That's a very good taxi driver wage. Over $5,000/month, more than most people make.

 

[FewRope]

$12.81/hour equivalent at 40hrs/week. Probably lower in practice due to long hours.

For reference, Massachusetts just passed a law requiring a minimum wage of $32.50/hour for Uber drivers.

Japan is not the USA

 

[EviLore]

Japan is not the USA

Really?!

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Japanese salaries can be pretty dire.

They have the benefit of much more affordable rents in a lot of places which does help, but still pretty awful starting rates for devs.

 

[MALpractice311]

Glad to hear Fromsoft is doing well enough to provide these raises! More devs could learn from them.

1) Hire, train, and retain your employees. You reap the benefits as they acquire more knowledge.

2) Listen to your fans and make games they like. Don't take advice from people who don't buy your games.

3) Don't chase overly expensive and overly risky trends. They can be tempting, but it's tough to break into established/crowded markets. And if you do want to try your hand at a popular trend, put your own personal spin on it.

4) Have multiple projects in the works. If one project doesn't sell so well, you have others ready to release not far out to offset it.

5) Don't be afraid to reuse assets that you created for prior projects. It can save you time and money.

 

[Rentahamster]

Japanese salaries can be pretty dire.

They have the benefit of much more affordable rents in a lot of places which does help, but still pretty awful starting rates for devs.

The cost of food in Japan is also low relative to the USA. It also tastes 5x better and is much healthier for you because of better food quality regulation and cultural practices.

Japanese game dev salaries still suck though, and it's good to see FS lead by example.

 

[Silver Wattle]

I don't understand why more Japanese don't put more effort into learning English, the pay jump for many professions in english speaking countries compared to Japan is significant.

Because even with this wage increase those university graduates are earning around what an 18y/o McDonald's cashier earns in my country.

 

[RagnarokIV]

I give them shit for copy pasta the same game but if it works then it works.

 

[Esppiral]

I should send this post to my company

 

[lh032]

thats not alot.
Japanese devs are low wages

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Good to see. Employee retention from project to project is one major thing they have going for them over there.

I read somewhere an article when they discussed why Koreans can build nuclear power plants (I hope it was this, could have been ships as well) for half the cost in half the time. They interviewed lead engineer and he simply said: "I have been building plants for 30 years ; vast majority of people on my team have been building plants with me for 30 years, it just goes way faster now than doing it with someone new".

 

[BattleScar]

Japan is not the USA

The cost of living in Japan is also not low. Especially, if they're based in Tokyo.

 

[FewRope]

The cost of living in Japan is also not low. Especially, if they're based in Tokyo.

People dont have to live in center Tokyo, its very usual to live one hour away from the city and take the train every day to work tho

 

[Mattyp]

The cost of food in Japan is also low relative to the USA. It also tastes 5x better and is much healthier for you because of better food quality regulation and cultural practices.

Japanese game dev salaries still suck though, and it's good to see FS lead by example.

Japanese salary sucks across all workforces because of ‘company loyalty’ no one pushes for pay rises or upset the status do of grinding away for nothing. Also food in the US is just as healthy from a magnitude of locations and extremely cheap from supermarkets..? Would say they have some of the cheapest supermarket options in the world that I’ve visited if you’re cooking yourself.

300,000 yen is an insult, people shouldn’t even be getting out of bed for that.

 

[Rentahamster]

Also food in the US is just as healthy from a magnitude of locations and extremely cheap from supermarkets..? Would say they have some of the cheapest supermarket options in the world that I’ve visited if you’re cooking yourself.

Food in the USA is filled with a lot of added stuff that prolongs shelf life and reduces manufacturing costs, but may or may not be bad for you. Europe and East Asia are generally doing a better job on the regulatory front than the USA. The approaches to farming and food supply are also different, and Japanese ingredients just straight up taste better. You might find comparable food prices in rural USA, but when you compare big cities, it's very different. Tokyo is a huge city with high cost of living, but you can get a cheap healthy meal or buy ingredients at a supermarket for less than you would in NYC, SF, or LA.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Meanwhile,

Ubisoft is in financial trouble, but its ok, French workers will strike and get that kind of raise anyway.

 

[MagusMajul]

as a customer why do I care?

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

$12.81/hour equivalent at 40hrs/week. Probably lower in practice due to long hours.

For reference, Massachusetts just passed a law requiring a minimum wage of $32.50/hour for Uber drivers.

Panda Express and Target by me both start new employees at $17/hr. $12.81 seems totally nuts. I wonder how the cost of living differs.

 

[Imtjnotu]

We get an annual 5% a year... But I want that port worker 75%

 

[hemo memo]

Japanese salary sucks across all workforces because of ‘company loyalty’ no one pushes for pay rises or upset the status do of grinding away for nothing. Also food in the US is just as healthy from a magnitude of locations and extremely cheap from supermarkets..? Would say they have some of the cheapest supermarket options in the world that I’ve visited if you’re cooking yourself.

300,000 yen is an insult, people shouldn’t even be getting out of bed for that.

I read somewhere that a service that actually quit for you is available in Japan. I guess that's how that awful process is. I changed jobs 3 times, not once I had an exit interview and the explanation to my bosses was as easy as "better pay". Be loyal to your family. Be loyal to your country. But an organazation? C'mon.

 

[ssringo]

Sound good? I'm guessing those are competitive wages and raises. The starting salary sounds low but it is an entry level position and they don't mention how much the average employee is making, just the raise.

 

[Sentenza]

Good to see. Employee retention from project to project is one major thing they have going for them over there.

Salaries in Japan are shockingly low though for technical, educated professionals. But that's not specific to FromSoft.

It's also EXACTLY one of the areas where a lot of major studios in the "West" are failing badly.
Companies like CDPR, Ubisoft, EA, etc, are becoming "revolving doors" where studios have to constantly re-train a lot of new employees, which is how you get sequels and new games that sometimes can't even live up to what they did in the past, let alone surpass it.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

The cost of living in Japan is also not low. Especially, if they're based in Tokyo.

Tokyo naturally is more expensive than the rest of Japan, but compared to many major city's in the West it's more affordable and the transport links with the metro system means you can live in the suburbs too and not need a car. With the lower salaries it balances out though.

But if you can get an above average salary in Japan whilst living in a modest apartment or small house you'll be fine and be able to save.

 

[RespawnX]

Really? That's a very good taxi driver wage. Over $5,000/month, more than most people make.

Until you see health care costs in US.

It's also EXACTLY one of the areas where a lot of major studios in the "West" are failing badly.
Companies like CDPR, Ubisoft, EA, etc, are becoming "revolving doors" where studios have to constantly re-train a lot of new employees, which is how you get sequels and new games that sometimes can't even live up to what they did in the past, let alone surpass it.

That's an area where a lot of companies fail. The fluctuation costs of changing specialised employees can be enormous. If you factor in all the circumstances, it can be as much as 50-150% of an annual salary. It must still be worthwhile, otherwise the companies wouldn't do it, right? I can't imagine that they haven't done their calculations.

However, when I look at the sales figures and developments at companies like Microsoft, I get the suspicion that someone is on charge who is not particularly good at maths. If you haven't factored in employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, employee engagement, public perception and brand impact, you really fucking suck at your job.

And there is hardly a company that is currently failing as badly as Microsoft with brand loyalty. That's the reason why PlayStation is doing much better despite a similarly poor output this generation. So ...

I don't know what the salary trends are in Japan. In terms of global inflation, however, an 11.8% salary increase is only an adjustment. You can also do it in a press-effective way and the employees are still happy. After successful hits such as Elden Ring, it is probably more important how employees participate in such successes on a performance basis.

 

[Bernardougf]

Good to see. Employee retention from project to project is one major thing they have going for them over there.

Salaries in Japan are shockingly low though for technical, educated professionals. But that's not specific to FromSoft.

When you form a good team based on talent and love craft that constant delivers you tend to want to retain them.... its just good business... when you are hiring whining hacks who are not the top talent and are worried about other things its more easy to see this constant changing of chairs in this later years or the western industry.

 

[cash_longfellow]

as a customer why do I care?

Do you want to continue to get quality products?

If yes, stfu
If no, gtfo

 

[SlimySnake]

FromSoftware, Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Hidetaka Miyazaki) announced that from April 2025, enrolled employees will receive an average basic salary increase of approximately 11.8%. The starting salary for new graduates will also be increased from 260,000 yen to 300,000 yen.

$12.81/hour equivalent at 40hrs/week.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Japanese companies keep showing that keeping your employees in your payroll, investing in them, making them happy and motivated is the best way for decent videogame development. Instead of firing them after a year and half after months of including them in projects only to fire them later.

I really think this is one of the reasons why Japanese games these past few years are kicking everyone elses games in the ass tbh. Not just From Software games.

The west is much more worried about their stockholders.

Sony used to get this as well...not so much anymore.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Better than the 3 percent a year I get. Good on them.

 

[Gamerfan81]

Very interesting stuff. I didn't realized the starting salaries were that low for devs in Japan.

 

[blastprocessor]

That seems very low like £18.5k PA for a graduate.

 

[Holammer]

They do this to fend off companies with foreign capital headhunting talent on the cheap, because Japan is a low-wage country. Want to keep your talent? Give 'em a raise.
Monthly average salary in the US is $4,960. In Japan it's $2,275 (2024 numbers on both).

The bubble bursting fucked Japan into the ground and they still struggle with it.

 

[NickFire]

Really?!

Are you sure it’s not? I thought it was that little tail we have on the east coast. Oh wait, never mind. That’s just Florida.

 

[Celcius]

When I plug 300k yen into google, it tells me it's $2k dollars... that can't right can it? Annual salary?

 

[RoadHazard]

Until you see health care costs in US.

Yeah, but most people in the US don't make that much.

 

[MagusMajul]

Do you want to continue to get quality products?

If yes, stfu
If no, gtfo

 

[Loomy]

When I plug 300k yen into google, it tells me it's $2k dollars... that can't right can it? Annual salary?

That's monthly.

Good that more Japanese developers are following Capcom from earlier this year.

 

[Decal4]

Yeah part of this is the Japanese government encouraging companies across the board to bump up salaries to fight covid related cost of living increases, the carrot is to do it now in a coordinated way so as to not have as much job hopping, the stick is minimum wages will be going up over the next 5 years.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/japan-firms-have-offered-510-pay-rise-biggest-33-years-2024-07-03/

 

[Rentahamster]

One more thing to note that a lot of cost of living discussions tend to miss out on - health care accessibility and cost in Japan is very different vs the USA. Healthcare in Japan is affordable and accessible, while healthcare in the USA, for many people, is accessible only if you're making good money or have a solid employer plan.

Look up savings rates of Japanese households. It ranks very highly among developed countries. That has to do with cultural behavior to some extent, but you have to admit that you can't have that high of a savings trend for so many average citizens if a lot of them are living paycheck to paycheck like many in the USA are. The same American citizens who are at risk for random, savings-destroying healthcare emergencies because they get sick from their expensive unhealthy food, and don't maintain regular health checkups because that is too expensive as well.