Vampire Survivors' Poncle is expanding into Japan

Poncle is expanding beyond its Vampire Survivors roots by establishing a new studio in Japan with Sawaki Takeyasu, best known as the boss of Crim and for his character design work on Okami. Luca Galante said the move comes from a long-standing admiration for Japanese games and from positive experiences visiting Japan, so this is clearly a creative and cultural bet, not just a business foothold.

The part developers should pay attention to is how Poncle says it wants to operate: regional teams will mostly pursue separate projects, with collaboration possible but not the default. That suggests the Japan studio is being set up to develop its own identity and possibly its own future project, rather than acting as a support satellite for the main team.

Takeyasu’s stated goals line up with that approach: build around passion instead of market trends, create opportunities for developers regardless of age or experience, and keep accessibility and player respect front and center. For teams, that’s a reminder that smaller studios can still be intentional about culture, scope, and experimentation while scaling internationally.

Poncle is also looking to open a studio in Italy, and it already launched a publishing division in late 2024 that explicitly said it does not want IP and won’t behave like a traditional publisher. Taken together, this looks like Poncle trying to become a broader creator-friendly platform, with separate regional teams and a funding model aimed at helping developers make their own games.