Amidst massive industry-wide layoffs and downsizing, Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei developer Atlus has given all employees a 15 percent pay rise and upped the incomes of new graduates to 300,000 yen ($1,977).
According to a Nov. 14 press release via machine translation, Atlus will “revise the remuneration system for April 2024” to “improve the environment in which the employees can perform best with a stable income.” All employees will receive a 15 percent increase in their salaries, and new university graduates joining the company will start with 300,000 yen instead of the previous 257,000. The company claims this move is necessary to attract and retain talent as it seeks “global expansion.”
“In addition, due to the strong development of overseas business, we have been providing performance bonuses based on worldwide profits since 2021,” the company stated in the machine-translated press release.
This is not Atlus’ first salary increase, with the company giving employees a 5 percent boost in April 2023.
This positive development in Atlus is starkly contrasted with the rest of the gaming industry, as gaming and tech companies are seeing massive layoffs almost daily. Just this year, in 2023, over 6,000 jobs have been lost in the gaming industry alone, with recent examples including Amazon Games, Bungie, and 505 Games. It’s refreshing to see not all is grim and dark in gaming and tech, though the market continues to be volatile at the moment.
Salary increases in Japan have become more common, as the country is seeing a surge in inflation and economic development for the first time in three decades. Since the 1990s, Japan has largely remained stagnant economically, with this year’s rise in wages being among its most prominent, according to Reuters.
Whatever the reasons, it’s only good news to hear of better work conditions in the gaming industry, and we hope that Atlus will set an example for other tech and gaming studios.
Published: Nov 15, 2023 06:22 pm