We are a publishing and creative studio based in Tokyo, specializing in the creation of original IPs through crowdfunding campaigns for tabletop games.

RELEASES

Within just one year of launching our activities, we successfully released two games. Our first game reached players in 52 countries, while our second game sharply raised our client base during its funding phase and is now in production.

The development of our 3rd game started in early 2025, and we have more than doubled our art investment for it.

The Queen’s New Capital
Raised: ¥15,000,000

JISOGI: Anime Studio Tycoon
Raised: ¥25,000,000

VISION

At Esper Studio, our vision extends far beyond simply publishing board games. We see them as a gateway to launching original IPs. Like comics and novels, board games provide a unique platform for storytelling—one that attracts communities with both purchasing power and a strong appreciation for high-quality, thoughtfully crafted products.

The tabletop gaming industry has become a thriving hub for independent creators. As production costs soar in animation and video games, many talented artists, writers, and designers are seeking new avenues to bring their ideas to life. Board games offer them a perfect medium to do so.

By bringing together exceptional creatives, crafting premium short-run projects, and engaging an adult audience, we are laying the groundwork for our IPs to expand into multiple media formats.

TALENT POOL

We are actively seeking artists from the Japanese and wider Asian creative communities who share a passion for anime-inspired art but bring a distinct, more mature aesthetic. Our goal is to move beyond mass-market appeal to craft visuals that feel fresh, and uniquely expressive. We believe that anime-style art can evolve beyond its current conventional boundaries, embracing a more sophisticated tone while maintaining the charisma that makes it so powerful.

OUR PROCESS

World Building

Before developing any product, we plan a strategic journey of releases, carefully defining the scope of our art development. Our focus is on crafting concept art that not only introduces the IP but also aligns with our planned product launches—ensuring consistent visual identity across all releases.

Game Development

Whether developing an original game design in-house or adapting an external concept, we ensure that gameplay and theme are seamlessly integrated. Every game is designed to fully immerse players in the world of the IP, delivering a cohesive and engaging experience.

Promotion

We take a strategic approach to marketing, leveraging targeted ads and a growing network of specialized content creators. Starting with niche experts, we gradually expand our reach to a wider audience. Additionally, we showcase our games at conventions worldwide, giving players hands-on experiences with our products.

Fundraising

Our team collaborates with skilled video creators/ animators to craft compelling crowdfunding campaigns. We manage the entire fundraising process, ensuring compliance with international banking, and optimizing fund distribution.

Manufacturing

We source competitive quotes from highly specialized factories in China, carefully balancing cost and quality to ensure reliable production that meets the specific needs of each game.

Distribution

Through our network of trusted partners, we efficiently handle global distribution. With multiple hubs (Japan, Asia, Europe, Canada, and the USA) we ensure fast, secure, and cost-effective shipping to backers and retailers worldwide.

CASE - JISOGI

World Building

We scouted eight illustrators (from Japan, France, Malaysia, and Brazil), each specializing in a different style of anime-inspired art. By leveraging their expertise in their favorite genres, we developed unique and compelling visual concepts for our game.

Game Development

We took the game from its early prototype stage to board game meetups, testing it with both experienced designers and casual players. Their feedback helped us refine the game’s balance, sharpen our understanding of market trends, and identify the key elements that made our game stand out.

Once we had a solid concept, we hired a team of game developers to conduct intensive playtesting multiple times per week, ensuring that all components were well-balanced and the gameplay remained engaging.

Promotion

Well before the launch of our crowdfunding campaign, we produced physical copies of the game and sent them to content creators. This gave them ample time to create reviews, generate excitement, and provide valuable feedback. Given their experience reviewing hundreds of games annually, their insights helped us a lot.

In parallel, we ran targeted ads, social media campaigns, and organized booths at fan conventions—ensuring that our game was widely talked about before the crowdfunding campaign even began.

Very positive first impressions from @solomode_games and @thinkerthemer for JISOGI! Our whole team is very happy to hear your kind words. Thank you so much! 🔥 Also, good news for our backers: The game is now waiting to be boarded in China. They migh
Very positive first impressions from @solomode_games and @thinkerthemer for JISOGI! Our whole team is very happy to hear your kind words. Thank you so much! 🔥 Also, good news for our backers: The game is now waiting to be boarded in China. They might start moving in the following days. After that, depending on the country, it will take between 1-3 months for it to reach you. Can't wait for you to see how much love was put into this product ❤️
Tokyo Game Market was, once again, a blast! We were able to connect to many old and new supporters, some of our favorite content creators, and teaser our new game. It has been only our 3rd GM event, but we already feel very connected to the community
Tokyo Game Market was, once again, a blast! We were able to connect to many old and new supporters, some of our favorite content creators, and teaser our new game. It has been only our 3rd GM event, but we already feel very connected to the community. Thanks for all your support! #tokyogamemarket #東京ゲームマーケット2025春
We have an amazing surprise for the TOKYO GAME MARKET convention this weekend. We will be showcasing the game we have been working on for the first time, titled ELDERTIDE: A THOUSAND LIGHTS. This is the first in a trilogy of board games we will rele
We have an amazing surprise for the TOKYO GAME MARKET convention this weekend. We will be showcasing the game we have been working on for the first time, titled ELDERTIDE: A THOUSAND LIGHTS. This is the first in a trilogy of board games we will release following the same universe. We gathered an amazing team for this project. /o/ We cannot wait to share more information with you! #ゲームマーケット2025春
The pin badges from our Art Patron pledge have arrived for our inspection and they look gorgeous! We made them quite big, since we love @senkawa.teien art so much 💕
We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with CMON, who will be our licensing partner for the Simplified Chinese release of JISOGI! Their team is already working on the translation, and a pre-order campaign is in the works. Their production run will follow closely after ours, so we expect the Chinese version to be available just a few months after the English edition ships. This partnership has allowed us to increase our print quantity and reduce the per-unit cost. Instead of pocketing the savings, we chose to reinvest them into making JISOGI even better! Here’s what’s being upgraded: UV finish on the box; Printed inner lid; Acrylic first-player token; Reverse varnish gloss on the foil cards; Lenticular print on the art book cover; Thicker pages in the art book for a more premium feel. Everything is looking absolutely beautiful! #Jisogi #boardgame
We've officially locked in our orders and submitted all final files. A huge thank you to all our backers who completed their orders in the pledge manager! Now that we have a clear picture of what’s ahead, we’re one step closer to getting the game into your hands. We're also happy to share that Senkawa Teien created the new cover art for our game, and we couldn’t be happier with it! This new artwork better represents the game’s theme and mechanics, making it a perfect fit. #Jisogi #boardgame
You cannot tell due to her charm, but look deep into her eyes and you wil know she was cheating #boardgame #jisogi
You cannot tell due to her charm, but look deep into her eyes and you wil know she was cheating #boardgame #jisogi
Throughout December, we have been working together with our partners from @sambaestudios.en to fine-tune the game's balance! In our most recent update, we changed the end-game trigger and several cards. We’ve also added 2 new boards to the game: the Trend Board and the Opportunity Board. The information on them was previously crammed into the top and bottom of the central Action board. By giving them their own space, we’ve improved the overall flexibility of component placement, and, with the extra room on the main board, we increased the font size and the dimensions of action spaces. This makes the game easier to read and play—a win-win for everyone! #jisogi
JISOGI performed really well on Kickstarter, reaching 1200%+ of our initial goal. We knew there was a demand for Anime style, but we did not expected such a warm response to our tight economy tycoon game. It seems our bet that fans have matured payed of. Thank you very much!! 🙇✨
We are now less than 48 hours away from the end of the Kickstarter campaign for Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon, and we could not be happier about our success so far! Join us now and get amazing value! #boardgames #jisogi
Very positive first impressions from @solomode_games and @thinkerthemer for JISOGI! Our whole team is very happy to hear your kind words. Thank you so much! 🔥 Also, good news for our backers: The game is now waiting to be boarded in China. They migh Tokyo Game Market was, once again, a blast! We were able to connect to many old and new supporters, some of our favorite content creators, and teaser our new game. It has been only our 3rd GM event, but we already feel very connected to the community We have an amazing surprise for the TOKYO GAME MARKET convention this weekend. We will be showcasing the game we have been working on for the first time, titled ELDERTIDE: A THOUSAND LIGHTS. This is the first in a trilogy of board games we will rele
The pin badges from our Art Patron pledge have arrived for our inspection and they look gorgeous! We made them quite big, since we love @senkawa.teien art so much 💕
We’re thrilled to announce a new partnership with CMON, who will be our licensing partner for the Simplified Chinese release of JISOGI! Their team is already working on the translation, and a pre-order campaign is in the works. Their production
We've officially locked in our orders and submitted all final files. A huge thank you to all our backers who completed their orders in the pledge manager! Now that we have a clear picture of what’s ahead, we’re one step closer to getting
You cannot tell due to her charm, but look deep into her eyes and you wil know she was cheating #boardgame #jisogi
Throughout December, we have been working together with our partners from @sambaestudios.en to fine-tune the game's balance! In our most recent update, we changed the end-game trigger and several cards. We’ve also added 2 new boards to the ga
JISOGI performed really well on Kickstarter, reaching 1200%+ of our initial goal. We knew there was a demand for Anime style, but we did not expected such a warm response to our tight economy tycoon game. It seems our bet that fans have matured payed
We are now less than 48 hours away from the end of the Kickstarter campaign for Jisogi: Anime Studio Tycoon, and we could not be happier about our success so far! Join us now and get amazing value! #boardgames #jisogi

Fundraising

When we finally launched our Kickstarter campaign, our pre-launch promotional efforts paid off—we reached our funding goal within the first 24 hours. To maintain momentum and expand our audience, we introduced stretch goals that unlocked additional content as funding milestones were reached, along with multiple blog updates each week.

Kickstarter fundraising lasts for one month and covers only the base product sales. Around two months after the campaign ended, we launched a Pledge Manager service, allowing backers to pay for shipping, taxes, and optional add-ons. This approach helps mitigate discrepancies in shipping costs that may arise after manufacturing and makes the purchase more attractive by breaking the cost into two separate payments.

Manufacturing

For JISOGI, we obtained quotes from seven different factories, all with extensive experience producing well-known board games. We ultimately chose a manufacturer that not only offered a competitive price but also provided exceptional samples—especially for card components, which make up the majority of our game.

Distribution

Even before manufacturing is completed in May, we have secured a trusted freight agency to coordinate global shipping. The games will be distributed to five logistics hubs worldwide, each managed by specialized partners with proven experience in handling board game fulfillment. These partners were either successfully used in our past releases or highly recommended by other companies in the industry.

*One of the most exciting side benefits of setting up convention booths is the connections we’ve made with other independent publishers, both in Japan and internationally. Sharing insights on suppliers and effective promotional strategies has helped elevate the entire community, fostering collaboration and innovation across the industry.