Given the massive success of Vampire Survivors and the recently released Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, it’s hardly surprising that the UK-based indie studio poncle is spreading its wings and establishing a new studio in Japan. Leading the studio is none other than former Capcom dev and creator of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Sawaki Takeyasu.
In an interview with Weekly Famitsu (as reported by Gematsu), founder and Vampire Survivors creator Luca Galante revealed that the idea of opening a Japan-based studio had been on his mind for years – fostered by his love for Japanese video games and positive experiences while visiting the country.
His idea started to take shape in 2023, when poncle chief strategy officer Matteo Sapio introduced him to Takeyasu. Galante was a longtime fan of Takeyasu’s artwork and his contributions to Okami, where Takeyasu served as a character and monster designer (the studio name “poncle” comes from the tiny, sprite-like race that appears in the game). Takeyasu, on the other hand, was a big fan of Vampire Survivors, despite the hit indie being released only a year before their meeting.
As the head of poncle’s Japan studio, Takeyasu’s job is to support the company’s broader goals while establishing a firm foundation in the country. While the studio’s scale has yet to be finalized, the plan is for poncle teams to remain relatively small.
Takeyasu said that he hopes to build a studio driven by passion and market trends, and to create opportunities for aspiring developers regardless of their age or experience. His first order of business is to increase awareness of Vampire Survivors in Japan and to foster an environment where developers can experiment with new ideas through small-scale projects. Considering Vampire Survivors has a dedicated Japanese X account with thousands of followers, it seems like he already has a good head start.
Galante adds that “creating games the team wants to make, respecting players, and prioritizing accessibility” form the core principles of poncle’s development philosophy, and apply not just to Vampire Survivors and Vampire Crawlers, but to future projects as well.
Moving forward, the plan is for regional teams to work on separate projects (poncle also established a new studio in Italy). Though collaboration between studios is still possible, the idea is for development to be largely handled independently, with Galente confirming that a new game could be coming from the Japan Studio. While future games might draw from the Vampire Survivors universe, poncle is also interested in creating new IPs.
