Writing a Japanese Steam short description that works

The short description is the small block of text next to your capsule image at the top of your Steam page. For many players, it is the only text they read before deciding whether to scroll down or move on.

In Japanese, that block has to do the same job as in English, but the tools are different. Japanese has its own sentence endings, its own rhythm and its own conventions for game genres and titles. A literal translation can be accurate and still feel flat.

This guide looks at what Valve asks for, what real Japanese short descriptions on Steam do, and a simple structure you can use for your own.

What Valve asks for

Valve's Store Page Written Description guide describes the short description as "a brief synopsis, used in locations on Steam where real estate is limited, most notably at the very top of your game's store page." It also says:

• Focus on your unique value. Convey quickly why a customer would want to learn more about this game in particular. Mentioning the genre is often a good idea.
• Save the details for later. The long "About This Game" section is the place for depth.
• Avoid dated phrases such as "Now Available" or "Available on March 4th," because they soon go out of date.
• Get to the point. The short description "is limited to a few hundred characters" and is often read by people skimming the store.

All of this applies in Japanese too. The difference is in how you get to the point.

What real Japanese short descriptions do

I compared the English and Japanese short descriptions of about twenty well-known games, using the Steam store API with the language set to English and to Japanese (retrieved October 17, 2026). A few patterns stand out.

Pattern 1: hook first, genre last

Japanese sentences put the main verb or noun at the end, so a common structure is "what you do… [genre]."

Hades (English):

Defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash out of the Underworld in this rogue-like dungeon crawler from the creators of Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre.

Hades (Japanese):

死者の国の神に背き、戦いを切り抜けて冥界から脱せよ。『Bastion』、『Transistor』、『Pyre』のクリエイターによるローグライク・ダンジョンアドベンチャー。

The Japanese version splits one English sentence into two. The first is a command ("Defy the god of the land of the dead, fight your way through and escape the underworld"). The second ends on the genre: a "roguelike dungeon adventure by the creators of…". The ending noun is where the genre lands, and that is exactly where a skimming reader's eye stops.

Pattern 2: one short, memorable line

Undertale (English):

UNDERTALE! The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.

Undertale (Japanese):

誰も倒さなくていいRPG、UNDERTALE！

The Japanese flips the order: "The RPG where you don't have to defeat anyone, UNDERTALE!" It is shorter than the English and lands the title last. If your game has one idea that explains everything, a single line like this can be stronger than a full paragraph.

Pattern 3: the ending sets the tone

Japanese sentence endings carry tone in a way English does not. Three styles appear again and again on Steam. The "feel" column is my own reading as a native speaker:

None of these is "correct." Choose the one that fits your game's mood. An action roguelike can carry ～せよ. A cozy farming game might sound better with something softer.

Pattern 4: pick です/ます or だ/である, then stay there

Japanese has a polite style (ending in です or ます) and a plain style (ending in だ, である or the dictionary form). Both appear on Steam:

• Stardew Valley uses the polite style: …古い農場を受け継ぎます。…新たな生活を始めましょう。
• DREDGE uses the plain style: …フィッシングアドベンチャーだ。…探るのだ。

Mixing the two inside a short block can read awkwardly. If the first sentence ends in です and the second in だ, it may feel as if two different people wrote it.

Pattern 5: Japanese players know the genre words

You do not need to explain "roguelite" in Japanese. Real short descriptions use katakana genre terms directly:

• Inscryption: デッキ構築型ローグライト (deckbuilding roguelite)
• Dead Cells: ローグライトとメトロイドヴァニア (roguelite and metroidvania)
• Brotato: トップダウン アリーナ シューターのローグライト (top-down arena shooter roguelite)

Using the established term helps players place your game instantly. Inventing a "plain Japanese" description of the genre tends to make the text longer and can be less clear.

Pattern 6: brackets around the title

Inside Japanese text, titles are usually wrapped in brackets: 『Inscryption』, 『Vampire Survivors』, 『Cuphead』 with double brackets, or 「DREDGE」 and 「デイヴ・ザ・ダイバー」 with single brackets. 『 』 is the traditional choice for titles of works. Either is fine if you are consistent.

Mistakes that slip through

Puns and invented words

The English Inscryption short description calls the game "an inky black card-based odyssey" that blends genres "into a blood-laced smoothie," with secrets "inscrybed" on the cards. None of that wordplay can be carried over directly. The Japanese version keeps the meaning instead. The genres are mixed "with blood" (血で混ぜ合わせた), and the secrets are "carved" into the cards (刻まれている). That is the right instinct. Translate the effect, not the joke.

Typos that no one catches

When I checked (October 17, 2026), two well-known Japanese short descriptions contained small typing errors. These may be corrected later:

• DREDGE: ボートをっプグレードし — the word アップグレード (upgrade) is missing its first character.
• Cuphead: 当時のアニメーション制作過程ををを緻密に再現 — the particle を is doubled.

These are popular, well-made games, and the errors are tiny. That is the point. Small mistakes can survive when nobody reads the final Japanese with fresh eyes, and they sit at the very top of the page.

Leaving the English in place

Some games that support Japanese in-game still show an English short description to Japanese visitors. When I requested Slay the Spire with the language set to Japanese, the short description came back in English, even though Japanese is listed among its supported languages. If you have localized your game, check the store page in Japanese too. They are entered separately.

Dated or promotional lines

Valve asks you not to use phrases like "Now Available." The same applies in Japanese: avoid 好評発売中 (now on sale) or 予約受付中 (pre-orders open) in the short description.

A simple structure you can use

For most indie games, three parts are enough:

1. Hook: what the player does, in one sentence with a verb.
2. Twist: what makes your game different.
3. Genre: end on the genre noun.

Here is a made-up example for a fictional game, Tide Mender:

English:

Patch the sea walls of a sinking harbor town, one storm at a time. Salvage what the waves bring in, rebuild homes, and decide which streets to save. A cozy management sim with hard choices.

Japanese (polite, gentle tone):

沈みゆく港町の防波堤を、嵐が来るたびに直していきましょう。波が運んでくる漂流物を集め、家を建て直し、どの通りを守るかを決めていきます。やさしい見た目に、重い選択が待つ経営シミュレーション。

Japanese (plain, dramatic tone):

沈みゆく港町を、嵐のたびに守り抜け。漂流物を拾い、家を建て直し、守る通りを選べ。穏やかな見た目の裏に、重い決断が迫る経営シミュレーション。

Both say the same thing. The first sounds like an invitation and the second like a challenge. Pick the one that sounds like your game.

Before you publish: a checklist

• ☐ Opens with an action the player takes
• ☐ Says what makes the game different
• ☐ Ends on a genre term Japanese players recognize
• ☐ Uses one style throughout (です/ます or plain)
• ☐ The sentence endings match the game's mood
• ☐ Title is in brackets and spelled the same as your localized name
• ☐ No "now on sale" or date-based phrases
• ☐ Fits in the Steamworks field without being cut off
• ☐ A native speaker has read the final version, typos included

Let a native speaker write it

The short description is the smallest piece of text on your page and one of the most important. It is also where a single typo or an awkward sentence ending is most visible.

JapanOps offers a fixed-price Japanese Steam Store Page Pack for US$99: your short description, long description and feature list (up to 1,000 English source words) in natural Japanese, with one revision. AI helps me prepare drafts, and I review the final Japanese myself and take responsibility for it.

See what the US$99 Steam Pack includes →

Kohey Nishi is a native Japanese speaker based in Japan and runs JapanOps. Store descriptions quoted here were retrieved from the Steam store API in English and Japanese on October 17, 2026, and may have changed since. Quotations are short excerpts used for commentary.