Sometimes it's worth taking the short route. An indie team released The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles on Steam with a cheap Japanese localization, and the result was unexpectedly funny, attracting the attention of the Japanese audience.
The story was told by Paolo Nicoletti, one of the creators of The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles, a classic dungeon crawler in a fantasy world. In August 2025, Nicoletti and the team decided to make a Japanese version of their game's demo on Steam.
Since the localization was unprofessional, the Japanese version was named "Kuso Dungeon," which literally translates to "Shitty Dungeon." The name sparked interest among Japanese players and quickly spread on social media, which, according to Nicoletti in an interview with Game*Spark, had a positive impact on the game's popularity.
"Everyone was laughing, including me. It was pure chance, but the game became more popular because of it."
After the Japanese page of the game was published, its rating in the list of the most anticipated Steam games rose sharply.
The Italian developer considers this an example of "accidental marketing." The Crazy Hyper-Dungeon Chronicles now has mostly positive reviews. Players note that they would never have known about it without the translation error.
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