So, apparently this headline is just totally misleading.
Browser games were huge in Japan, but that market collapsed (and probably all moved to Mobile), but the “hardcore” PC gaming we’d typically think of, has grown massively.
On Steam, Japanese language has grown from 0.85% in July 2015, to 2.56% in July 2025.
On Steam, Japanese language has grown from 0.85% in July 2015, to 2.56% in July 2025.
Is that Steam users that have set Japanese as their main language or the proportion of games that include Japanese language support?
The former, users with language set to Japanese.
That’s a rather long way of saying “population be agin’”
Japan’s been going through demographic collapse, and has been for a little bit now. Korea, too, is looking squirrelly with regard to pop age balance.
A shame
