JETRO Expands Japanese Games Overseas via UK Event and Steam

JETRO is advancing the MADE IN JAPAN COLLECTION initiative to promote Japanese games available on Steam to overseas audiences. Steam is an online platform operated by the US company Valve for selling and purchasing PC games and other products, as well as user interaction.

HYPER JAPAN Festival, the exhibition venue, is one of the UK’s largest Japanese culture events and has been held annually in London since 2010. It covers anime, manga, games, music, fashion, food culture, and traditional culture, among other areas.

The UK is one of Europe’s leading game markets, and London is home to many game publishers and media organizations. It is therefore regarded as a region with strong outreach potential for expanding Japanese games across Europe.

Japanese game developers will have opportunities for overseas players to experience their works directly.

Connections with European publishers, media, and influencers will be established, creating opportunities for business networking between Japan and Europe.

The initiative will provide an effective venue for promoting Japanese games not only to people interested in Japanese culture visiting from the UK and other European countries, but also to content-related businesses, creators, and influencers.

A game area will be established at the London venue, allowing visitors to play 30 Japanese game titles. On July 24, 2026, Japanese game developers will hold pitch sessions for European game publishers, game media, and influencers.

In conjunction with the venue event, a dedicated page will be available on Steam from July 24 to 31, 2026, Japan time. It will list at least 200 titles in total, including the 30 titles at the hands-on booths, and conduct online promotion targeting Steam users worldwide.

Eligible entries are Japanese game works with store pages published on Steam, and participation is free. The program will be implemented online on Steam and at overseas game-related trade fair venues, with a capacity of approximately 500 companies.

JETRO launched the initiative in fiscal year 2023 and has created feature pages listing only Japanese works by using Steam’s regional promotion functions. Since fiscal year 2025, it has increased participation in overseas trade fairs and strengthened online promotion using overseas game-related media.

In fiscal year 2026, in addition to HYPER JAPAN Festival, participation is planned at gamescom in Cologne, Germany, from August 26 to 30; PAX West in Seattle, US, from September 4 to 7; PAX Aus in Melbourne, Australia, from October 9 to 11; gamescom asia × Thailand Game Show in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 29 to November 1; Riyadh Japan Festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 27 to 28; and AGF in Goyang, South Korea, from December 4 to 6.

Steam is said to have approximately 40 million users connected simultaneously each day, and the dedicated page will function as an online point of contact with a large overseas user base.