Jast Usa
JAST USA is a San Diego-based, privately held publisher that distributes English-localized Japanese visual novels and games to individual consumers worldwide through its direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at jaststore.com, offering digital downloads of titles in the $4.99–$14.99 price range.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Jast Usa does
JAST USA is a privately held, San Diego-based publisher and digital distributor specializing in English-localized Japanese visual novels and games, founded in 1996 and operating with a 1–10 person team. The company's core offering is a curated catalog of niche interactive fiction — including serialized franchises such as the VenusBlood AfterDays and DarkChronicle sub-series and standalone titles like Heavenly Island and Hyperphallic — distributed exclusively through its direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at jaststore.com. The platform provides genre-based browsing, search, creator profiles, sale promotions, and user-account functionality with digital download delivery, and is accessible globally with English UI and USD pricing.
The underlying technology is a standard e-commerce digital distribution platform with SEO-friendly URLs, category pages (browse by genre, browse by content, on-sale sections), and catalog/discovery features; the platform is built on a Nuxt-based stack (per the logo asset URL) and integrates with proprietary CDN-hosted media assets. JAST's revenue model is one-time unit pricing on individual titles, with products priced between $4.99 and $14.99 and promotional discounts applied selectively (e.g., –20% on Heavenly Island, –10% on Hyperphallic Episode 2); there is no subscription, recurring, or in-app purchase component. The customer base is individual visual-novel enthusiasts globally, reached solely through organic discovery (SEO) and the proprietary storefront — no third-party marketplaces, mobile apps, or wholesale channels are referenced in available source material.
Jast Usa firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Jast Usa
- Website
- https://jastusa.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- JAST USA is a San Diego-based, privately held publisher that distributes English-localized Japanese visual novels and games to individual consumers worldwide through its direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at jaststore.com, offering digital downloads of titles in the $4.99–$14.99 price range.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Jast Usa industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Visual Novel Publishing
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Game Distribution Platforms & Storefronts (PC/Mobile/Console) (MPAFABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Publisher-Owned Direct-to-Consumer Stores (MPAFACAK)
Keywords
Where Jast Usa is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Jast Usa business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Digital Game Sales: One-time purchase model for visual novels and games sold through the JAST online storefront. Customers purchase individual titles at set prices, with occasional sales and discounts offered. No subscription or recurring revenue component.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Individual game/visual novel purchases with standard and discounted pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Jast Usa product offering
Product offeringCore offering
JAST USA publishes and digitally distributes Japanese visual novels and games through its direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at jaststore.com. The company offers individual titles for one-time purchase with USD pricing, including episodic releases from series such as VenusBlood (AfterDays and DarkChronicle sub-series) and standalone titles like Heavenly Island and Hyperphallic. Products are delivered as digital downloads to a global customer base via the English-language storefront.
Product overview
JAST is a digital distribution platform for visual novels and games, operating as a single unified e-commerce store. The platform offers a curated catalog of visual novel titles including episodic releases from series like VenusBlood (AfterDays and DarkChronicle sub-series), standalone titles like Heavenly Island, and other game products. Customers browse and purchase titles through catalog browsing, search functionality, and curated collections (JAST, Bestsellers, New Titles, Upcoming, Highly Rated) with pricing in USD.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Heavenly Island
Companies that use Jast Usa
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Jast Usa technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Jast Usa partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Jast Usa competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MangaGamer: MangaGamer is the most direct peer: an English-language publisher and DTC storefront for Japanese visual novels, including many of the same types of mature/adult titles. JAST and MangaGamer compete head-to-head for Western VN customers and Japanese localization licenses.
- Sekai Project: Sekai Project localizes and publishes Japanese visual novels in English through its own storefront and Steam, covering the same core product category as JAST and competing for both licensed titles and end customers.
- NekoNyan: NekoNyan is a boutique English localizer and publisher of Japanese visual novels, operating a DTC store and selling on Steam. It competes with JAST for the same Western VN enthusiast buyer and similar Japanese creator partnerships.
- Denpasoft: Denpasoft is a Japanese adult VN developer/publisher whose English releases are sold through JAST and other VN storefronts. It is directly comparable as a content partner/peer publisher in the same localization and distribution ecosystem.
Broad incumbents
- itch.io: itch.io is a broad indie-game distribution platform that hosts a large catalog of visual novels and adult games. It competes with JAST's DTC storefront for the same indie and adult VN buyer, but as a wide marketplace rather than a specialized publisher.
- Valve (Steam): Steam is the dominant PC game distribution platform and carries a rapidly growing visual novel category. While JAST does not sell on Steam today, Steam is the primary alternative channel where VN buyers discover and purchase competing titles.
- GOG (CD Projekt): GOG is a DRM-free PC game storefront that distributes select visual novels and indie titles. It is comparable as a broader PC distribution platform overlapping with JAST's category, though it skews away from adult content.
Emerging players
- Fakku: Fakku is a specialized English-language storefront for licensed adult manga and adjacent games, including some visual novels. It is comparable as a DTC platform serving the same adult-content buyer that JAST's mature VN titles target.
- Nutaku: Nutaku is a storefront focused on adult games, including visual novel and anime-style titles. It overlaps with JAST's mature VN audience and serves as an alternative discovery and purchase channel for the same buyer segment.
Others
- Humble Bundle: Humble Bundle runs pay-what-you-want game bundles and a storefront that periodically features visual novels and indie titles. It is adjacent to JAST as a discovery and bundle-distribution mechanism for the same indie/adult-game buyer, though it does not specialize in visual novels.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Jast Usa social profiles
Digital presenceJast Usa financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Jast Usa leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Jast Usa funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Jast Usa M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Jast Usa
What does Jast Usa do?
JAST USA publishes and digitally distributes Japanese visual novels and games through its direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at jaststore.com. The company offers individual titles for one-time purchase with USD pricing, including episodic releases from series such as VenusBlood (AfterDays and DarkChronicle sub-series) and standalone titles like Heavenly Island and Hyperphallic. Products are delivered as digital downloads to a global customer base via the English-language storefront.
Is Jast Usa a public or private company?
Jast Usa is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Jast Usa founded?
Jast Usa was founded in 1996. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Jast Usa based?
Jast Usa is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does Jast Usa make money?
One revenue line is on record: digital Game Sales.
Who are Jast Usa's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MangaGamer, Sekai Project, NekoNyan and Denpasoft. Broad incumbents are itch.io, Valve (Steam) and GOG (CD Projekt). Emerging players are Fakku and Nutaku. Humble Bundle is listed as an others.
Does Jast Usa have an API?
No public API is recorded for Jast Usa.
What industry is Jast Usa in?
Jast Usa's product category is Visual Novel Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFABAB, Digital Game Distribution Platforms & Storefronts (PC/Mobile/Console), with a secondary code of MPAFACAK, Publisher-Owned Direct-to-Consumer Stores. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 5734.