FromSoftware Raises Salaries to Stay Competitive in Japan’s Thriving Game Industry

FromSoftware, the developer behind Elden Ring and Dark Souls, is set to increase its base salary in Japan starting in April 2025. New graduates will receive a starting salary of 300,000 yen ($2,020), reflecting an 11.8% raise from the current 260,000 yen ($1,750).

This move aligns FromSoftware with other major Japanese gaming companies like Konami, Capcom, and Atlus, all of which have also raised their starting salaries to 300,000 yen in the past year to attract top developer talent. Capcom and Atlus, in particular, boosted their pay by 27% and 15%, respectively. Until now, FromSoftware had been offering the highest starting wage among the three.

The pay increase comes as FromSoftware celebrates a successful year, highlighted by the release of the Elden Ring: Shadow of The Erdtree expansion, which sold five million copies within three days of launch.

While game studios in the West face closures and widespread layoffs, Japanese-owned studios have largely remained unaffected. FromSoftware president Hidetaka Miyazaki has stated that mass layoffs won't occur under his leadership.

Japan's game industry is thriving, in part due to the surge in PC gaming, which has nearly tripled in size since 2019, and the continued dominance of mobile gaming. The country's strict employment laws and language barriers contribute to its resilience. As analyst Serkan Toto explains, outsourcing work isn't as simple in Japan, and with a shrinking and aging population, companies like Bandai Namco, Nintendo, and Capcom are raising salaries out of necessity to retain talent, not just to be generous. Without competitive wages, software engineers could easily transition to other industries like AI.