r/Games: Atlus Raises Entry Salaries to 330,000 Yen and Cuts Fixed Overtime as Competition for Talent Grows

A widely upvoted r/Games post highlighted an Automaton report on Atlus changing its compensation system from April 2026. According to the report, Atlus will raise entry-level monthly pay for new graduate hires from 300,000 yen to 330,000 yen, lift base yearly salaries for full-time and contract staff by about 15%, and cut fixed overtime from 30 hours to 20 hours per month.

This is not a game launch announcement, but it is significant industry news. Atlus sits behind Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, so pay policy changes at the studio matter well beyond HR paperwork. In a market where major publishers are competing harder for experienced developers and fresh graduates, compensation moves like this can affect recruitment, retention, and the pace at which teams can scale major projects.

Automaton reports that Atlus framed the change as an investment in human resources. The company said it wants to foster creativity, improve productivity, and give employees more stability despite rising prices. The combination of higher base pay and lower fixed overtime is important because it addresses both headline salary competitiveness and the quality-of-life expectations that increasingly shape studio reputation in Japan's game industry.

What Automaton says Atlus announced

Implementation starts in April 2026.

Entry-level monthly pay rises from 300,000 yen to 330,000 yen.

Base yearly salaries for full-time and contract employees go up by about 15%.

Fixed overtime is reduced from 30 hours to 20 hours per month.

The context matters as much as the numbers. Sega, Atlus' parent company, announced its own broad pay increase in November 2025, and other Japanese publishers including Konami and Capcom have also moved to raise compensation in recent years. That suggests this is part of a wider contest over talent rather than an isolated gesture from one studio.

For observers of the game business, the Atlus update is a reminder that the industry's competitive map is shaped by labor policy as much as release calendars. If more publishers follow with similar moves, salary pressure in Japan's development scene could keep rising through 2026.