Develop from Home: CySphere is Seeking Remote Engineers!

Founded in April 2021, CySphere is a subsidiary of Cygames that is built upon working remotely. By enlisting engineers from all over Japan, CySphere aims to take game development to even greater heights. In this interview, the CEO and the director of CySphere introduce the current state of their operations and their plans for the future development of the engineering division.

With remote work as its cornerstone, CySphere “strives to create exceptional and emotional 3DCG experiences for audiences worldwide.”

Please tell us about CySphere’s corporate vision and philosophy.

Satoshi: Our corporate vision is to “create exceptional and emotional 3DCG experiences for audiences worldwide.” I think it’s safe to say that everyone has at least one fond memory of a game, movie, or book from their childhood. By entering this industry, I hope that we always aim to deliver the same type of lasting impression to our audience. To me, that is the most important and interesting reason to create, and I believe it is a worthy vision to have.

There are three principles to our philosophy as a company—”Join Forces,” “New Challenges,” and “Work Life Integration.”
Join Forces
Since CySphere is a company based on remote work, we want to ensure our employees can demonstrate their abilities without being held back by their location or stage of life.
New Challenges
I believe that 3DCG and engineering are fields that must constantly incorporate the latest knowledge and technologies. This principle is create to remind ourselves that we must pay attention to the newest developments to excel at our work.
Work Life Integration
I don’t think there are many companies that touch on personal matters in their corporate philosophy. Since our remote employees spend no time commuting, I’d like them to be able to make the most of their private time.

CySphere is a company built on remote work. In the three years since its establishment, what kind of work has the company accomplished so far?

Satoshi: Most of our work has been done in conjunction with Cygames. Naturally, we’ve been working on their existing titles, but we have also handled 3DCG work on brand-new titles. Some of the more experienced members of CySphere are involved in leadership positions within Cygames projects, and I think being entrusted with these roles based on your ability is something very rewarding to a creator.
Personally, I have always held that a job should not be about simply doing what you are told to do, but to exceed expectations. We operate under that assumption, and can safely say ours is an environment where such passion is rewarded.

So it’s an environment where you can be entrusted with important roles. Mr. Ryuji, what kind of feedback have you received concerning the remote work policy?

Ryuji: This may be seem surprising, but we have heard that the team finds it easier to communicate and share information. I think remote work has promoted the verbalization and visualization of various types of information. For example, thanks to communication tools, information is more concentrated than ever before. In meetings, even minor details can be easily recorded through text, instead of just a general overview. Since it has become easier to share information with people who are not present, the confinement of knowledge to certain people is no longer an issue, and work efficiency and productivity have improved.

Where do some of your employees live?

Satoshi: We have employees from all over Japan, from the northern tip of Hokkaido to the southern reaches of Kyushu. Most live in big cities like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, or the wider Kanto region, but some work in prefectures like Miyagi, Yamagata, and Niigata. We even had a Kanto employee mention that they wanted to move to Kyoto, so they did just that. You have the freedom to live wherever you want at this company.

Are there any special measures you have implemented to assist remote workers?

Satoshi: Yes, we take advantage of a virtual environment that aims to recreate a physical office space on a PC.

Ryuji: It’s very intuitive, and gives the impression of working in a physical office space. Communication is also easy—”walk” towards someone in the virtual office, and they will see you approaching on their screen. Then, you can voice chat with them as if they were standing next to you. Whether you want to talk about a certain task, or even just shoot the breeze, it’s all very smooth and natural. There are no barriers to communication at all.

Strengthening the Engineering Division

You have started to hire engineers recently. How did you come to this decision?

Ryuji: Modern game development has grown by leaps and bounds, and development periods have also ballooned. In order to delight players, huge teams of creators with specialized skill and knowledge are required, but it can be quite difficult to acquire the necessary amount of talent.

The spread of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic was one of our inspirations. I thought that if we could work remotely, we could create an environment where we could work with talented people across the country. When I talked to Satoshi about my idea of creating a remote engineering division, it turns out that he already had the same idea, so we decided to work together on it.

Satoshi: Having experienced game development, I’ve come to realize that there are limits to 3DCG work. I’ve always thought that working with engineers would further expand the limits of what we can do, and when Ryuji told me that he wanted to create an engineering division, I decided to get involved immediately.

What are some of the perks of working at CySphere?

Ryuji: As mentioned before, there are a lot of opportunities to work on existing Cygames titles, and I think many are pleased by that fact. Cygames aims to be the “best in entertainment,” and I think that our shared visions have made a perfect environment for creating great games.

By working with others who are also aiming to create masterpieces, I believe that we can learn and grow together. If you are someone with a strong desire to develop high-quality content, I think you will find this a very enjoyable and rewarding job.

How do you plan to structure your engineering division?

Ryuji: We are currently hiring client-side, server-side, game engine, and console game engineers. Client-side and console game engineers are an indispensable part of game development, as they are responsible for the core of a game, including its overall experience and features. Server-side engineers are critical for processing heavy amounts of access and data in order to maintain the best possible player experience. Finally, game engine engineers are in charge of developing in-house game engines for high-end consoles, aiming to ensure optimal performance from hardware and game developers.
Currently, there are around 40 3DCG artists at CySphere, and I’d like our engineers to match that number over the next year.

Please tell us about the kind of people that CySphere is looking for. What kind of mindset should potential candidates have?

Ryuji: Since team members work remotely, the must have the discipline to effectively self-manage. This includes both their schedule and their health. The ideal candidate is someone who can maintain good performance while balancing work and private life. It is also important that they can communicate well with the rest of the team, as teamwork is essential to deliver great content. Everyone should be responsible for maintaining a comfortable workplace environment, so if there are any problems, it is important to consult with someone right away. Similarly, if there are any ideas for solving problems, they should be proactive in making those suggestions.

Most importantly, they should be enthusiastic about your work. In order for our players to experience the best content, they should never compromise on any tasks and should ensure quality through teamwork.
Finally, they should never back away from new challenges. Skill is important, but if they stick to doing only what they know, it would be impossible to create games that can capture the hearts of players. In order to truly surprise and delight, I believe it is important that we all challenge ourselves to create brand new experiences.

Anything to add, Mr. Satoshi?

Satoshi: I agree with Mr. Ryuji, but let me add one more thing. Even if you only use existing tools, you should still be able to create something new. For example, we’ve devised quite a number of ways to use a hammer and nails. You should definitely innovate when necessary, but don’t be afraid to consider out-of-the-box solutions within the current limitations. I would like people who can think this way to play an active role within our team, as long as they have mastered the basics through experience.

What’s Next for CySphere

Please tell us about your vision for the engineering division.

Ryuji: First, we aim to establish a strong base team comprised of the four engineering positions mentioned above. After that, I would like to support our game development by strengthening our ability to develop systems and enterprise resource planning. We can only create games that instill great emotional experience by supporting our game developers. To create increasingly better content, I would like to continuously expand our organization in order to bring together the strengths of talented people from all over the country.

What do you think the future holds for game development and entertainment? Is there anything you would like to attempt?

Ryuji: I believe entertainment enriches the lives of those who experience it, so I would love to create better content to enrich as many lives as possible. It could also be interesting to create new forms of entertainment using AI and VR. I hope that we can contribute to technological innovation in those media. Just like how Cygames has expanded beyond games into anime and manga, it would be intriguing to expand into different media and create new forms of entertainment unique to CySphere.

Satoshi: I believe that the forms of entertainment seen in science-fiction mangas and movies are definitely possible in the future, but the most important thing is ultimately what people hope to achieve with those media. Transparent displays and high-quality VR are already available, and if you combine these emerging technologies, wouldn’t you agree that even the most fantastical ideas could be brought to life? I want to be on the side of pioneering such fields.

Thank you very much. By the way, do remote employees ever get the chance to meet each other face-to-face?

Satoshi: Even though we are built on remote work, there are definitely chances for all of us to meet up! To build rapport, we held two company-wide events in 2023. The first was in conjunction with Cygames, so each of us arrived in Tokyo via the Shinkansen or flights. The second event was exclusive to members of CySphere—we all gathered at Tokyo Station before boarding a bus to a hot spring resort. Also, when I go on business trips around the country, I always try to visit team members who are in the area.
There are merits to both remote work and face-to-face interaction, so the key is to find the right balance between the two. As we add more engineers to the team, I think it will become even easier to create an environment where new things can be born through collaboration. If it helps expand everyone’s social circles and strengthen connections, I’d definitely like to continue doing this in the future.