Tokyo Design Studio was founded on brand design, web development, and video production. Those capabilities haven’t gone anywhere — but we’ve spent the past two years quietly building something new. Today, we’re announcing our expansion into game development outsourcing through two dedicated properties: TDS Saigon Games and TDS Game Outsource.
Two Studios, Two Markets
We’ve structured our game development capabilities around two distinct offerings because the market demands it. Studios looking for cost-competitive production have different needs than studios looking for a premium creative partner. Trying to serve both from a single brand creates confusion. So we built two.
TDS Saigon Games is our production studio based in Ho Chi Minh City. The team consists of directly employed artists, animators, and developers — not freelancers, not subcontractors. They produce game art, character design, environment art, UI/UX design, animation, and full game production for studios worldwide. The cost structure reflects Southeast Asian rates, but the creative direction comes from our Australian leadership team. This matters because it means Western studios get culturally aligned output without the premium of a Western production house. For more detail, see our graphic design pricing in Australia.
The Saigon Games portfolio speaks for itself: stylised characters, detailed environments, and production-ready assets delivered on schedule.
The Premium Partner Model
TDS Game Outsource takes a different approach. It’s designed for Australian, UK, and US studios that need more than a production line. These studios want a creative partner who understands their market, speaks their language, and takes ownership of deliverables rather than just executing briefs.
The Game Outsource model includes local project management, design-led methodology, and direct accountability. When something isn’t right, there’s an Australian project lead who owns the problem and fixes it. That level of service comes at a higher price point than pure offshore production, but it’s still significantly more cost-effective than building an equivalent team in-house.
For studios evaluating outsourcing partners, the Game Outsource services page outlines exactly what’s on offer and how engagements are structured.
Why Games, Why Now
The skills that make a great brand designer — visual storytelling, composition, typography, colour theory, user experience thinking — translate directly into game development. Our Saigon team was already producing illustration, character work, and motion graphics for brand clients. The step into game art was natural.
The Australian game development industry is growing rapidly, but local production costs make it difficult for studios to scale. Southeast Asian outsourcing solves the cost problem but often introduces quality and communication challenges. We believe our hybrid model — Australian creative direction with Saigon production capacity — addresses both issues.
This expansion is part of a broader strategy to build a network of specialised creative properties under the TDS umbrella. Each property serves a distinct audience, but they share infrastructure, talent, and creative standards. Game development outsourcing is the latest addition, and it won’t be the last.
If your studio needs production support, get in touch through TDS Game Outsource for premium partnerships or TDS Saigon Games for cost-competitive production.
