Rice Games, founded in 2018, is a global, multicultural game studio headquartered in San Diego and Tokyo, dedicated to crafting immersive video games. Known for its flagship project Shujinkou™, the Japanese role-playing game that combines complex gameplay mechanics with Japanese language integration to deliver an innovative experience, Rice Games operates fully remotely with a team spanning the U.S., UK, Germany, Australia, and Japan. Rice Games prides itself on in-house development and a commitment to creativity without generative AI. United by a passion for storytelling, Rice Games aims to introduce fresh, but familiar ways to enjoy role-playing games.
Company Timeline
Now…?
New projects set in the Shujinkou universe are underway. The team is currently working to find a way to bring Shujinkou to the Nintendo Switch 2, either through an upgrade or updated edition.
Julian and the team are also working hard to bring Shujinkou to a greater audience, attract more media attention, and polish the game with post-release patches based on customer and critic feedback.
Meanwhile, the team is gearing up for its second “Retreat”—a gathering in Tokyo where members from around the world will come together for an extended stay to celebrate Shujinkou’s global launch.
October 2nd 2025
After the completion of a challenging technical port, Shujinkou releases digitally on Nintendo Switch™ in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania.
Pre-orders went live on September 18th, and a brand new Announcement Trailer earlier in the month showcased live action actresses operating the Switch—a very rare occurrence for indie game trailers that even required approval from Nintendo Co., Ltd.
- “An amazing learning tool and an even better game” – Gfinity (9/10)
- “One of the most pleasant surprises of the year” – NintendoBlast (9/10)
- “An outstanding video game and effective teaching tool” – VGChartz (8/10)
February 13th 2025
Shujinkou releases in the Americas, Europe, and Oceania on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Steam (PC, Mac).
It debuted with an OpenCritic score of 94, a Metacritic score of 90, and is part of the exclusive PlayStation® Indies collection.
- “A masterfully-crafted JRPG” – Noisy Pixel (9.5/10)
- “The new gold standard of dungeon-crawler RPGs” – RPGFan (95/100)
- “A new watermark for indie RPGs” – Tech-Gaming (90%)
November 2024
Following the reveal of a comprehensive six-minute Gameplay Trailer, Shujinkou‘s Demo is released on Steam on November 1st, followed by its subsequent release on the PlayStation 5 on November 15th. As of today, the demo has been downloaded by over 15,000 players.
June 2024
Rice Games announces Shujinkou’s first Closed Beta, receiving over 500 applications and selecting 20 gamers from around the world to experience the first near-production-ready version of Shujinkou. The beta runs for five weeks, providing the team with valuable praise and constructive critique.
- “An ultimate success in gamified learning!“
- “I’m learning a skill I can use with time, so it’s not even that guilty of a pastime like most other games.“
- “Great for getting me to reengage with learning Japanese“
August 2022
After mourning his mother’s passing, Julian relocates from San Diego to Tokyo, made possible by Japan’s reopening to foreign entrants post-COVID-19. Having worked remotely in a full-time software engineering role at BizReach Inc., he now begins commuting in person, while continuing to lead Shujinkou’s development and manage the Rice Games team.
December 2021
Rice Games hosts its inaugural “Retreat” in Denver, Colorado, bringing together most of its US-based team members for their first in-person meeting.
Days of epic gaming sessions, shared meals, and hands-on Shujinkou build testing set the stage for unforgettable memories.
August 2020
A second trailer for Shujinkou debuts at its online exhibit during the 2020 Tokyo Game Show, highlighting the game’s evolution into a first-person dungeon-crawling JRPG.
Though slated for a 2021 release, the team at Rice Games had yet to discover the true complexities of bringing a video game to market.
Covered by Times of India and more. 
February 2020
Themes from Shujinkou is arranged by Brian LaGuardia and performed by the UCLA Game Music Ensemble for their special concert: Final Fantasy and Friends: The Music of Japanese Role-Playing Games.
In addition to over 100 members performing the four-minute track, Julian delivers a speech publicly revealing his mother’s illness for the first time to a full audience at Schoenberg Hall. He also played Violin 1 for all pieces performed.
September 2019
Shujinkou debuts as a 2D side-scrolling platformer at the 2019 Tokyo Game Show and a Kickstarter is subsequently launched a month later. It fails to reach its goal, but Julian and the team continue development.
October 2018
Julian Rice founds Rice Games, begins to assemble the Rice Games team, and starts developing Shujinkou.