• Name: Tomoko Miya

• From: Originally from Kyoto, Japan, now living in Malmö, Sweden

• Age: 40

• Interests: "Cats and playing games in my bed"

• Favorite games: Animal Crossing, Factorio, and all the Kirby Games

• Profession: Founder and CEO of Neon Noroshi, a game marketing agency, and Co-Founder of Yotsuba Interactive, a game publisher

Tomoko Miya

What is your background?

"I previously worked at Flamebait Games in Skövde, Sweden, as a Marketing, Business Development, Community, Social Media, and Advertising Manager. Since it was a small studio of five team members, I often had to wear multiple hats and adapt to different roles depending on the needs of the project. One of Flamebait Games’ well-known IPs is Passpartout, an artist simulation game that has recorded over one million downloads. Previous to my job at Flamebait Games, I worked with digital marketing for various games and with digital art."

"I’ve always loved games, I grew up playing them, so being able to support developers through marketing and publishing feels like a dream job for me."

Why did you start working in the games industry?

"Back in Japan, I had experience working with game studios while I was at an advertising agency, and later at Pixiv, a company that operates an illustration posting platform. After moving to Malmö, Sweden, I saw that there are so many cool game studios here, which inspired me to pursue a career in the games industry. Before joining Flamebait Games, I also worked as a freelancer doing freelance marketing for games as well as translation and LQA.

I’ve always loved games, I grew up playing them, so being able to support developers through marketing and publishing feels like a dream job for me."

How has working in the industry been for you?

"Working in the games industry - which is far from a stable industry - for over four years as a full-time employee as I needed to secure a permanent residency in Sweden was definitely not easy. In the Nordic and European games industry, I’m quite the minority, both as a woman and as Japanese. In the early days, I sometimes felt discouraged, whether it was because English isn’t my native language or because I couldn’t always join in conversations, for example about AAA shooters, at meet-up events, but I slowly found my niche.

I’ve now been in the games industry for more than seven years. I’ve built my own business, gained more opportunities to speak in public, and developed a lot of confidence. All of my current and new projects come through referrals, and I handle promotions for around 50 games a year. My focus is on cross-border marketing campaigns between Asia and the West, and I believe being a minority actually gives me a unique perspective and advantage in this kind of work."

"Be prepared to learn a lot and adapt very quickly, the games marketing world changes really fast!"

What is a day in your work life like?

"Since I now have a child, I usually wake up around six in the morning. I quickly go through my morning routine, and from around 8:30 to 11:30 I have calls with my clients in Asia. Because there’s a seven to eight hour time difference between Sweden, Japan, China, and Korea. I try to finish all client meetings in the morning. In the afternoon, while my child is napping, I get some desk work done - though honestly, not always as much as I’d like these days. About twice a week, I also work at night after my child goes to sleep.

I can do my job from home as long as I have an internet connection, whether I’m in Sweden, Japan, or anywhere else. Aside from attending conferences, it’s very flexible."

What’s best with your job?

"When I get to promote a game I personally love - and when I see great user reviews on their Steam page, it gives me great joy and makes all the hard work worthwhile."

How would you advise others that want a job like yours to pursue it?

"I believe people who play games and feel, ‘I WANT EVERYONE to know about this amazing experience,’ are well-suited for a career in games marketing, but the journey is not easy. Be prepared to learn a lot and adapt very quickly, the games marketing world changes really fast! In general, studying or reading about digital marketing in general and games marketing in particular will help a lot. Talk to other people and learn from their experiences (be it developers or other digital marketing professionals), always try to understand what worked for them - and most importantly try to understand why!"

The WeMakeGames interview series allow individuals in the games industry to tell their story - about their current work, how they got to where they are, and why they believe the games industry is such an enjoyable industry to work in. We move beyond programmers and level designers, to showcase the wide range of roles making up the studios creating some of the world’s best games – right here in south Sweden!