SINGAPORE — Hit Japanese game developer and publisher Namco Bandai Games is looking to hire about 10 to 15 locals for its new regional headquarters in Singapore to develop content for its Asia-Pacific customers.

The Singapore headquarters — to open in June — will develop from start to finish social games for mobile phones. It will also work in tandem with Namco Bandai’s Tokyo office to “develop artwork and game programming of some console and arcade games”, said a spokesperson.

Namco Bandai is famed for creating video game hits such as Dark Souls, the Tales series of games, arcade titles such as Tekken and game versions of popular Japanese animations such as Naruto and Dragonball.

In an email reply from Japan, the spokesperson said Singapore has “many talented creators and engineers” — an ideal environment for game development. It plans to hire local programmers, motion engineers, concept artists and data analysts with in-depth knowledge of local markets and trends, and to bring in 10 “experienced” staff from Japan.

To that end, it will “work in close collaboration with local government and educational institutions” to “develop and secure human resources”.

It noted that many of its “important partner companies” are based in South-east Asia, and it was “highly important” to develop content “derived from local culture and trends”.

The studio will be based at Mediapolis at one-north and will have a capital of S$1 million.

The news comes about a week and a half after another big-name developer — Disney-owned LucasArts — closed its studios worldwide, resulting in lay-offs of about 50 to 70 staff in Singapore.

An Economic Development Board spokesperson said: “Singapore continues to be an attractive hub for game companies to tap into opportunities within the region. In the past five years, many top foreign game companies have established operations here. These include Ubisoft, Konami, and DeNA. We are optimistic about the growth of the Interactive and Digital Media industry in Singapore, and are confident that it continues to provide good job opportunities.”

Namco Bandai is also opening a studio in Vancouver, Canada, which will focus on games for North American and European customers.