At a time when tech companies in many countries are making cuts, some are taking a different approach. One of these is Japanese gaming giant, Sega, who will be increasing the average starting wage for university graduates by 30%.

Sega, who’s holdings stretch from classic franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog to modern games such as Total War, announced last week that the starting salaries of entry level employees would increase from ¥222,000 to ¥300,000 with the inclusion of bonuses for other employees.

In a press-release, Sega stated “We are working to reform our various personnel systems so that employees can maximise their respective potential in a comfortable working environment. We will continue to invest in human resource education, including not only the development of a compensation system that treats employees according to their roles and contributions, but also the expansion of measures to support working styles for each and every employee to live their own lives”

Maybe for mobile?

Although this wage increase is unlikely to affect any of Sega’s subsidiary companies, such as Creative Assembly or their mobile development partner Feral Interactive, it’s nonetheless an interesting move. Much like Finnish mobile game giant Supercell, Sega are bucking the trend of cuts and layoffs by increasing wages. This can partly be attributed to the different working environment in Japan, where Sega is based, as competition is stiff and both acquiring and keeping talent is important.

Although Sega’s presence in mobile remains somewhat minimal, there have also been indications the company will be looking to expand further as it concentrates on digital gaming. During the pandemic, Sega was forced to sell many of its iconic arcades across Japan and later divested from entirely.

Meanwhile, last year it opened a new Singapore-based subsidiary. With South-east Asia being a major center for mobile gaming, whether this indicates a gradual movement towards opening more of their brands to mobile, is not yet clear.