Overview:

The ID@Xbox Regional Lead for Japan is accountable for the success of independent developers and publishers in Japan with Xbox. This role owns independent partner relationships in the region and is responsible for driving the best outcomes for developers and for Xbox, across partnership strategy, publishing best practices and platform evangelism.

This is a hands‑on role. Japan requires deep local knowledge, strong language capability, and end‑to‑end partnership support.

ID@Xbox Regional Leads operate with high autonomy, make good judgment calls, and ensure Japanese partners experience Xbox as a reliable, thoughtful, and committed platform partner.

Responsibilities:

Own relationships with Japanese independent developers & publishers:

• The primary point of contact for ID@Xbox partners in Japan locally, driving their success with Xbox globally.
• Build long-term, trust based relationships with developers and publishers, from first engagement, platform adoption and longterm portfolio planning.

Drive ID@Xbox Japan internal collaboration and operational excellence:

• Lead internal cross-team support, including onboarding, launch planning, and post‑launch support.
• Identify and champion for high potential Japanese titles internally with our HQ, including opportunities across Game Pass, marketing, showcases, and other Xbox initiatives.
• Maintain a clear view of the regional portfolio in our CRM database.

Lead with local language and market expertise:

• Ensure Japanese partners can engage with Xbox effectively in Japanese.

• Oversee translation and localisation needs for contracts, onboarding materials, and key communications.

• Act as a cultural and market expert for Japan, helping global teams understand what will and will not work in this region.

• Qualifications- Native Japanese fluency required.

• Business level English required for internal communication requred. (English resume needed)

• Current game playing experience is also a requirement, so that successful candidates can quickly and authentically “talk the language” of developers and games.We deeply value diversity in play style and taste –the type of games you play is unimportant, the important part is that you walk in our customers’ shoes and understand their unique challenges by actively playing videogames

• Translate games into clear partnership opportunities, framing why they matter to Xbox and where they fit across initiatives, build internal support and drive alignment.

• Deep game industry experience ideally in developer relations, publishing, business development or partner management. 5-10 years experience in game industry in Japan. Experience with startup or independent developers is highly preferred.

• Ability to work independently in highly ambiguous environments, with both technical and business groups internally and externally.

• Proven ability to manage complex partner relationships and operate with high collaboration across regions.

• Commercial and growth mindset, with the judgement to challenge existing approaches and introduce ideas that materially improve partner outcomes.

• Self-motivating and self-directed.

• A degree is a helpful way to show an ability to complete goals; it is not in any way required for those with relevant work experience.

This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.