Gaijinworks
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game publishing |
| Founded | July 2006 |
| Founder | Victor Ireland |
| Headquarters | Redding , United States |
Area served | North America, Europe |
Key people | Victor Ireland (lead translator) |
| Products | Video game localizations and publishing |
| Website | www |
Gaijinworks is a U.S.-based video game publishing firm established by Victor Ireland in July 2006, following the shutdown of his earlier enterprise, Working Designs, in December 2005. The company's name derives from the Japanese term gaijin, meaning "foreigner," symbolizing its dedication to localizing specialized Japanese titles for American gamers while maintaining close partnerships with original developers. After a quiet phase, Gaijinworks revealed its inaugural localization project in March 2009: Miami Law, developed by Hudson Soft for the Nintendo DS.
Company history
Victor Ireland announced the end of Working Designs in December 2005, citing internal disputes with Sony Computer Entertainment and challenges in obtaining approval rights for PlayStation 2 games such as Bōken Jidai Katsugeki Goemon. The company’s final North American release, Growlanser Generations (December 2004), encountered financial setbacks after Sony mandated merging two projects, which doubled production expenses and cut profits by half. Ireland conveyed his determination to continue in the gaming sector and initiated talks with Microsoft to localize role-playing games on the Xbox 360 platform.
By July 2006, Ireland launched Gaijinworks to carry on the legacy of Working Designs, taking on the role of lead translator. Although plans were made to disclose projects by mid-2007, the company remained mostly dormant until early 2009. In January 2009, Ireland hinted at forthcoming "game related news," and by March confirmed Gaijinworks' first localization: Hudson Soft's crime-themed adventure Miami Law for Nintendo DS. Ireland worked closely with Hudson’s design team, including conducting a tour of a U.S. city to support development efforts.
Following this, Gaijinworks collaborated with Sunsoft to bring Blaster Master to the North American Virtual Console and produce the WiiWare remake Blaster Master: Overdrive. Later partnerships with MonkeyPaw Games led to titles like Vanguard Bandits being released on the PlayStation Store as PSone Classics. Additionally, Gaijinworks digitally reissued classic games previously published by Working Designs such as Arc the Lad Collection and Alundra. Ireland has also indicated ongoing initiatives to introduce both Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete onto the PlayStation Network.
Works published