Game Programmer – Japan & Global Game Development

• About Keywords Studios

Keywords Studios is a global provider of creative and technical services to the video games industry, with over 13,000 professionals across 70+ studios in 25+ countries. We support clients across the entire game lifecycle through three core Service Lines:

• Create - Game development, art production, and audio
• Globalize - Localization, localization QA, functional testing
• Engage - Marketing, LiveOps, community, and player support

In Japan, Keywords Studios delivers its full range of services across Create, Globalize, and Engage, supporting leading publishers and developers through both local and international production teams. Our presence includes the Tokyo-based development studio Wizcorp, alongside established localization, QA, player support, and marketing capabilities serving some of the most influential companies in the Japanese games and entertainment industry.

Keywords Studios is increasingly trusted by Japanese partners to support productions that span multiple regions-combining Japanese creative leadership with global delivery capacity across Asia-Pacific and beyond. These engagements require not only strong production execution, but creative sensibility and cultural understanding to align vision and delivery across teams.

As one of the world’s most influential and production-intensive markets, Japan represents a strategic growth area for Keywords Studios. This role plays a key part in strengthening client partnerships, driving business opportunities, and ensuring high-quality delivery across projects.

Applicants must be currently residing in Japan and possess valid authorization to work in Japan. (Fully remote work may be available within Japan, depending on the project requirements/needs, candidate’s seniority, experience, and location.)

• Position Overview

We are seeking a Game Programmer to support technical implementation across game projects of varying scope - from small-scale productions up through AAA titles. This is an individual contributor role focused on hands-on development of gameplay systems, prototyping, and tooling within our prototype-driven environment. Working under the direct supervision from Technical Director and alongside senior engineers, you will implement game mechanics, contribute to reusable libraries, and grow your expertise across multiple engines - primarily Unreal Engine C++, with exposure to additional platforms as projects require. You will be supported throughout the transition from prototype to co-development or full production, receiving guidance across areas such as CI/CD, gameplay development, tooling, automation, and reusable library development.

We are especially interested in curious programmers who enjoy prototyping, experimenting with new approaches (ECS architecture, automation workflows, custom tools), and building systems that make other people's work easier. Whether you're drawn to gameplay programming, tooling, or the intersection of both - if you're eager to learn and ready to contribute from day one, we'd like to hear from you.

• Key Responsibilities

Technical Implementation & Prototyping

• Feature Development: Implement gameplay systems and mechanics under the guidance of senior engineers, translating design concepts into functional code.
• Rapid Prototyping: Build iterative prototypes to test new gameplay ideas and support project pitches, focusing on proof of concept, playability, and feel.
• Library Contribution: Contribute to existing reusable technical libraries and frameworks (networking, simulation, core utilities) following established patterns. Learn to design modular, decoupled systems - such as ECS architectures - that scale cleanly across projects.
• Engine Versatility: Work primarily in Unreal Engine C++, while adapting to and supporting other platforms or engines as project requirements evolve.

Tooling & Workflow Support

• Developer Experience: Create and optimize internal tools and editor extensions that empower designers and artists to work more independently and efficiently.
• Pipeline Support: Assist with the automation of technical workflows and CI/CD pipelines to improve build stability and deployment speed.
• Systems Optimization: Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, ensuring smooth gameplay and stability across different hardware targets.

Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration

• Design Partnership: Work as a technical partner to designers and producers, providing feedback on technical feasibility and proposing practical solutions to creative challenges.
• Global Coordination: Collaborate with distributed teams across different regions, ensuring technical alignment and consistent implementation of features.
• Team Engagement: Share progress openly, flag blockers early, and actively participate in technical discussions to help the team find the best path forward.
• Documentation: Proactively maintain clear technical notes and documentation for the systems you build to support team scaling and knowledge sharing.

Technical Growth & Quality

• Engineering Practices: Adopt test-driven development (TDD) and write unit tests for critical gameplay logic, ensuring reliability and confidence in refactoring.
• Continuous Learning: Proactively experiment with new patterns and industry trends to bring innovative technical solutions to the team.
• Peer Review: Participate in code reviews, receiving guidance from senior engineers to improve your craft while providing constructive feedback to teammates.
• Mentorship Engagement: Actively seek feedback, ask questions, and engage with the team's knowledge base to accelerate your growth as a game programmer.

• Required

• Strong Programming Foundation: Show good proficiency in C++ and a solid understanding of computer science fundamentals (data structures, algorithms, and memory management).
• Version Control Proficiency: Comfortable working with Git or similar version control systems in collaborative environments.
• Demonstrated Interest in Game Development: A portfolio of personal projects, prototypes, or contributions to existing games or mods that demonstrate your ability to turn an idea into a functional system.
• Problem-Solving Mindset: Ability to break down complex technical challenges into manageable tasks and find practical, maintainable solutions.
• Collaborative Spirit: Experience working with others (whether in a professional team, a game jam, or an open-source project) to achieve a shared goal.

• Preferred

• Engine Experience: Familiarity with Unreal Engine (C++), though a strong foundation in other engines or languages is welcome.
• Technical Curiosity: Interest or experience with modern architecture patterns, such as ECS, data-oriented design, or modular system architecture.
• Gameplay sensitivity: Showing an understanding of what makes a game mechanic, or system engaging, intuitive, and fun is a definite plus.
• Tooling Interest: Experience building custom tools, editor extensions, or automation scripts to improve development workflows.
• Global Context & Language: Experience working in multicultural environments or an interest in the Japanese game development industry; Japanese language proficiency is a plus but not required.

• Skills & Competencies

• Technical Curiosity - A willingness to experiment, learn new languages and engines, and understand how things work under the hood.
• Prototyping Mindset - Able to balance fast exploratory prototyping for pitches with clean, modular implementation for production.
• Engineering Discipline - Appreciation for code quality, readability, and the value of test-driven development (TDD).
• Debugging & Profiling - Comfortable tracking down performance bottlenecks, memory issues, and logic bugs using profiling tools and systematic debugging techniques.
• Versatility - Comfortable jumping between gameplay logic, tool development, and pipeline automation.
• Collaborative Communication - Able to translate technical constraints into clear information for designers and producers.
• Adaptability - Eager to pivot between projects of different scales and scopes as the studio grows.

• Application process

① Online selection

We review resumes from all applicants within 2 weeks.

② Interviews

We conduct 2 technical interviews to assess your technical skills, motivations, and interest in what we do. We also take the time to share our vision and values, as we believe you are interviewing us as much as we are interviewing you.

③ Offer

We make our final decision and send a detailed offer upon success.

• What We Offer

• Opportunity to represent a highly reputed global leader in game services.
• Competitive compensation package with performance-based incentives.
• Chance to work with some of the biggest and most exciting game developers in Japan.
• A collaborative, growth-oriented global culture.

Role Information: EN

Studio: Keywords Studios

Location: Asia Pacific, Japan

Area of Work: Game Development

Service: Create

Employment Type: Full-time, Contract

Working Pattern: Hybrid/Remote

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