Japanese PvP hero shooter Brazen Blaze has a predominantly North American playerbase with very few players from Japan, devs say 

MyDearest recently released their VR 3v3 hero brawler Brazen Blaze on Steam and the Meta Quest Store. Despite being developed and published by a Japanese studio, it seems the title’s playerbase consists of very few Japanese players, the majority being from North America. This article summarizes parts of the full interview with Brazen Blaze’s directors Noriyuki Ikeya and Tetsuo Yoshioka, conducted by our Japanese sister-site. 

Described officially as a “smack and shoot” title, Brazen Blaze is a VR fighting action game that combines hero shooter elements with melee combat. The cast of playable characters, known as Runners, each possess unique skills, weapons, and ultimates, but are not limited to specific roles such as healer, tank and the like. Players clash against each other in 3v3 battles. 

According to Brazen Blaze’s director Yoshioka, 60 percent of the title’s current player base is made up of users in the US, who were also the most represented in beta tests. On the other hand, only 10 percent of the VR shooter’s players are Japanese, while the rest are from other regions such as Europe. Yoshioka reckons that the biggest cause for this is the size of the VR market in Japan vs. in North America: “North American users, especially teens, play VR multiplayer games a lot, and they have picked up Brazen Blaze too.”  

Aside from the difference in demand, Yoshioka also mentions that the team had difficulty getting Brazen Blaze noticed by a wider audience. The beta test was hosted on Meta Quest’s App Lab, rather than the Meta Quest Store, which made it hard to gain exposure. In addition, the released game does not come up when searched for on the Meta Quest Store unless the whole name is typed out exactly. However, Yoshioka adds that the developers are relieved that overseas users in particular seem to be stumbling across and picking up Brazen Blaze despite these issues. 

Currently, MyDearest plans to give Brazen Blaze monthly updates, and the development team is going through “thousands of feedback messages” from users and community Discord members. 

Brazen Blaze is currently available on Steam and the Meta Quest Store.