The Foreigner Indie Video Game Community in Japan from Tokyo Indies to Bitsummit

Abstract Indie games are a relatively novel phenomenon in the Japanese video game industry. Despite a rich history of hobbyist games and dōjn communities, the development of the indie scene was hindered by social and political factors. How indie, as a genre, became prominent in Japan can be better explained by exploring the foreigner communities of indie developers. Indie communities appeared at the beginning of the 2010s as grassroots events organised by homesick foreigners. Despite linguistic barriers they built a flourishing indie scene that welcomes both Japanese and foreigners and helped create a mediator between local developers and Western markets through Bitsummit and Tokyo Indies. This article explores the involvement of foreigners in the popularization of the indie games by analyzing twelve interviews with foreigners involved in all areas of game development. It then contextualizes their experiences by introducing the role and history of Kyoto Indies, Tokyo Indies and Bitsummit and their complicated relationship with the mainstream Japanese video game industry.