Japanese software company SalesNow recently unveiled (via Automaton) a ranking of domestic game companies based on average annual employee income. Sony Group claimed the top spot, while Nintendo ranked as the third-highest game developer on the list. Notably, Square Enix did not appear in the top 20.
Covering the period from June 2024 to June 2025, the ranking utilizes data from SalesNow DB, one of Japan’s largest corporate information databases, encompassing approximately 5.4 million companies. According to SalesNow’s press release, their database sources information from commercial registries, real estate records, tax filings, Japan’s official gazette, and data disclosed by government agencies and corporations. In other words, these figures may differ from information officially released by the respective companies.
According to the results, the company with the highest average annual income in the game industry this past year was the multi-sector conglomerate Sony Group, with approximately ¥11.13 million (about $75k USD based on recent exchange rates). Second place went to the video game and toy manufacturing giant Bandai Namco Holdings, with an average salary of nearly ¥10.95 million (around $74k USD). These were the only two companies surpassing the ¥10 million mark.
Nintendo took third place with nearly ¥9.63 million (approx. $65k USD), followed by SEGA in fourth and mobile game developer Akatsuki in fifth.
| Rank | Company | Average Annual Income (yen / USD) |
| 1 | Sony Group Corporation | 11,132,231 ($75k USD) |
| 2 | Bandai Namco Holdings | 10,950,000 ($74k USD) |
| 3 | Nintendo | 9,626,857 ($65k USD) |
| 4 | Sega Sammy Holdings | 8,791,596 ($59k USD) |
| 5 | Akatsuki | 8,557,000 ($57k USD) |
| 6 | DeNA | 8,540,000 ($57k USD) |
| 7 | Capcom | 8,328,000 ($56k USD) |
| 8 | Koei Tecmo Holdings | 8,105,686 ($54k USD) |
| 9 | GungHo Online Entertainment | 7,504,000 ($50k USD) |
| 10 | Bank of Innovation | 7,421,000 ($50k USD) |
| 11 | Crooz | 7,290,000 ($49k USD) |
| 12 | Nexon | 7,256,000 ($49k USD) |
| 13 | Drecom | 7,188,223 ($48k USD) |
| 14 | Konami Group Corporation | 7,108,375 ($48k USD) |
| 15 | Digital Hearts Holdings | 6,743,000 ($45k USD) |
| 16 | Colopl | 6,719,000 ($45k USD) |
| 17 | Imagineer | 6,528,603 ($44k USD) |
| 18 | KLab | 6,449,000 ($43k USD) |
| 19 | MyNet | 6,339,917 ($42k USD) |
| 20 | FuRyu | 6,231,302 ($42k USD) |
