From Tokyo to Cologne: Alonzo Omotegawa, Community Manager & Marketing Assistant of Shueisha Games, explains why Home of Indies is their trusted partner for taking their games global.
Shueisha Games returned to Gamescom for the third time in 2025—and once again, we chose Home of Indies as our trusted partner. As a young publisher founded by manga giant Shueisha, we are still at the beginning of our global journey. Bringing indie games with Japanese creative DNA to an international audience is both exciting and demanding, and Gamescom is the perfect place to learn, connect, and grow.
Chris and her team are not just service providers. They are partners who genuinely care about your success. If you’re planning Gamescom, contact Home of Indies. They’ve got your back!
Alonzo Omotegawa, Community Manager & Marketing Assistant Shueisha Games
From Manga to Global Indie Games
Shueisha is known worldwide for iconic manga such as Dragon Ball, One Piece and Naruto. All of them were originally published in Shonen Jump, Japan’s leading weekly manga magazine. But behind every global success story was once an unknown indie creation. That philosophy is exactly why Shueisha Games exists: We want to discover new Japanese game concepts and help them reach players around the world. Our company is only four years old, and the global video game industry evolves rapidly. That’s why every exhibition abroad is an important opportunity to present our projects, deepen our understanding of different markets, and continue developing our strategy.
Shueisha Games × Home of Indies: Making it Possible
When we exhibited at Gamescom in 2022 for the first time, everything was new for us. Home of Indies supported us closely during the entire event and helped make the exhibition a real success. We had the same great experience during our second visit in 2024. So in 2025, the decision to team up again was immediate. But this time we came to Chris and Fabricio with a challenge. We brought six different titles to Gamescom. That is unusual for indie exhibitors, who normally present one or two games. However, we felt every project deserved visibility.
Our lineup included a wide range of indie creations: Opus: Prism Peak by Taiwanese studio Sigono, Bakudo by Taiwanese indie team Sayil Games, Anthem#9 by Japanese solo developer Koeda, Unyielder by Singapore-based TrueWorld Studios, Atmosfar by Swedish studio Apog Labs, and NSR2 (No Straight Roads 2) by Malaysian developer Metronomik — all published globally by Shueisha Games.
When we told Home of Indies about our plans, they quickly came up with a solution. They proposed a highly customized booth layout combining two L-sized and two S-sized booths plus an additional M-booth. In the end we had a full corner area that allowed each title to shine.
Because 2024 taught us how difficult it is to transport equipment from Japan (never again will we fly eight laptops across the world in a suitcase!), we fully relied on Home of Indies for our setup. We rented everything from them: PCs, monitors, furniture, branding elements—literally the entire booth setup.
A Cultural Adventure in Cologne
While Japanese events like Tokyo Game Show are extremely structured and every detail is planned to perfection, Gamescom taught us to embrace flexibility. Last year, we were nervous because delivery trucks were delayed. This year, everything went smoothly, thanks to better preparation and great communication from Chris and the team. Their mantra: “If anything happens, we fix it—together.” And that’s exactly what they did.
We never once felt left alone. Chris personally walked the entire Home of Indies area several times a day to check in with every booth. That level of care is rare and priceless.
Connecting With Players Made the Difference
The direct contact with players was a highlight for us. Many of our colleagues were attending Gamescom for the first time and were amazed by the energy and scale of the world’s biggest gaming event. We had a team of 13 people and most of them did not speak English or German. But the excitement of the players bridged any language barrier. Their reactions, feedback and enthusiasm translated into stronger visibility for our games and noticeable wishlist growth. Thanks to Home of Indies support we could build strong media relationships. The connections we made — both with the community and the industry — will help shape the future of our titles. It became clear once more that showing our games in person creates a bond that purely digital communication can’t replace. Players were particularly surprised and curious to see so many manga-inspired indie titles in one place and we loved the attention that brought.
Looking Ahead — Learning and Improving
Even with a successful presence, there are some things we’d like to do better next year. We want to make our booth experience even more engaging and playful, i.e. with more interactive elements. We also want to offer more giveaways and merch, because we realized that players love taking something home. Aside from that, we plan to strengthen our communication around the event and highlight our presence earlier on social media to gain even more attention. Every exhibition teaches us something new. That’s the beauty of growing as a global team.
Home of Indies? The Only Choice for Us
Chris and her team are not just service providers. They are partners who genuinely care about your success. They stay calm in chaos, offer creative solutions, and make even the most ambitious setups feel manageable. If you’re an indie studio or publisher planning Gamescom, contact Home of Indies. They’ve got your back! We say this from experience—now for the third time. We are proud of what we achieved this year. Shueisha Games will definitely be back in 2026. With Home of Indies by our side, we feel ready to take the next steps in bringing indie games shaped by Japanese creative vision to the world.
