Eight Scottish games companies are set to showcase their products and expertise to a global audience during a two-week visit to Japan, one of the world’s biggest and most influential gaming markets.
Leaving 5th April, the gaming startups will head to Tokyo to meet potential new investors, customers and commercial contacts at Tunnel Tokyo, a startup incubator operated by the SEGA Sammy group and venture capital firm Pegasus Ventures.
They will then showcase their products at a Scottish Government event focused on gaming at the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, which is expected to host over 28 million attendees from more than 150 participating countries.
Developed as part of the Scottish Government’s Techscaler programme, the visit is designed to build international partnerships and attract new investment to Scotland’s gaming sector, which has added a GVA of £188.5 million according to figures from last year.
Participants include Blazing Griffin a Glasgow-based multi-media entertainment company spanning games, film and post-production, Dundee-based Konglomerate Games, Edinburgh firm GLITCHERS, whose products include games technology aimed at the healthcare sector, and Wardog Studios, also from Edinburgh, which develops virtual reality weapons and vehicles.
“We’re incredibly excited to take part in Techscaler’s market visit to Japan,” said Justin Alae-Carew, Blazing Griffin’s co-head of games.
“Japan is not only an incredible consumer and producer of games, but also home to a fantastic array of multi-media intellectual property.
“We see huge opportunity in exploring cross-border partnership with a specific focus on IP – either Japanese IP coming to the West or Western IP gaining foothold in Japan.”
Also supporting the Scottish cohort at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai is Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scottish Enterprise, which hopes to strengthen ties between the two countries by showcasing the country’s technology and craftsmanship in the consumer, gaming, healthtech, and energy transition industries.
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Speaking during a visit to Blazing Griffin, the Scottish Government’s business minister, Richard Lochhead, said: “Japan is synonymous with gaming technology and, with a market valued at around $50 billion, it offers phenomenal economic opportunities for our own, hugely talented Scottish sector.
“Techscaler is about helping entrepreneurs unleash their ability to innovate, spearheading Scotland’s presence in expanding new markets.
“Techscaler Japan will present some of our most exciting gaming start-ups with considerable opportunities to unlock further investment, develop new commercial partnerships and drive and showcase their businesses on a global stage.”
The Scottish Government is keen to build Scotland’s presence in the Japanese market, which has already seen over £182 million in Scotch whisky imports, and last year appointed the country’s first Trade Envoy to Japan, Stephen Baker, in the hope of identifying new opportunities in Japan’s energy, pharmaceuticals, med-tech and food sectors.
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