Hi everyone, I’m 27 years old, just finished my bachelor’s degree on videogame development and started working on a big videogame company (one of the biggest of the market, Ubisoft) as a QA. My objective is to work here for a few years to gain experience (I already have 3 years on a programmer job not related to videogames), and then move to Japan where there is a lot of videogame industry and my dream companies there to work on, currently started to learn Japanese and until I don’t have N2-N1 not planing to move, so I will use these years to gain experience and save a lot of money.
I need advice on when can I realistically move or start to apply for jobs on the big companies there. I was thinking as well if I should do a masters related to videogames on a japanese university and then start job hunting there once ended because maybe I will have a better oportunity? I currently don’t know how hard it can be to search for a job on this industry there and how should I approach this to have better chance. I read that one of the requisites to work there is to have a bachelor’s degree so that is the sole reason I studied one, because I really want to work there so it was a process that I was willing to do, and now just gaining experience to move there as soon as I know enough language to be fluent and don’t have problems, but I think I’m missing a lot not being there and practicing every day, as I could learn a lot faster.
I would really appreciate advice on how should I approach this the best way possible. Thanks!
4 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Advice on how to move there to work on the videogame industry**
Hi everyone, I’m 27 years old, just finished my bachelor’s degree on videogame development and started working on a big videogame industry (one of the biggest of the market, Ubisoft) as a QA. My objective is to work here for a few years to gain experience (I already have 3 years on a programmer job not related to videogames), and then move to Japan where there is a lot of videogame industry and my dream companies there to work on, currently started to learn Japanese and until I don’t have N2-N1 not planing to move, so I will use these years to gain experience and save a lot of money.
I need advice on when can I realistically move or start to apply for jobs on the big companies there. I was thinking as well if I should do a masters related to videogames on a japanese university and then start job hunting there once ended because maybe I will have a better oportunity? I currently don’t know how hard it can be to search for a job on this industry there and how should I approach this to have better chance. I read that one of the requisites to work there is to have a bachelor’s degree so that is the sole reason I studied one, because I really want to work there so it was a process that I was willing to do, and now just gaining experience to move there as soon as I know enough language to be fluent and don’t have problems, but I think I’m missing a lot not being there and practicing every day, as I could learn a lot faster.
I would really appreciate advice on how should I approach this the best way possible. Thanks!
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What sort of job? It’s going to be hard to find QA jobs that will sponsor a visa. Otherwise it’s the same process as any other country. Most of the bigger studios job openings are on their website and they’re usually clear on the requirements, and if Japanese fluency is necessary.
I used to work in the video game industry and moved to Japan thinking that it would be a wise move for my career, as my dream company was based here and I could get more familiar with the Japanese side of the industry.
Truth is, it wasn’t a wise move at all.
Many big Japanese companies have overseas offices with waaaaay better conditions and without the downsides. Also, Japanese video game companies are not dominant as they used to be anymore. Their reputation is quite mediocre, and that being generous.
If you want to move for the experience of living in Japan, that’s cool. Career-wise, I don’t think it has any benefits at all.