Irem: History and Key Facts

Irem Software Engineering, Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher and manufacturer of pachinkos. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo.

The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Software Engineering. It was established in 1997 by its parent company Nanao (now Eizo) for the purpose of taking over the development department of the original Irem Corporation, that had left the video game industry in 1994 to concentrate itself on the rental and sales of coin-op electronics. Irem Corporation was founded in 1974 as IPM and still exists today under the name of Apies.

Irem is known internationally for three 1980s arcade games: Moon Patrol (1982; licensed to Williams Electronics in North America), the earliest beat 'em up, Kung-Fu Master (1984), and the scrolling shooter R-Type (1987). Irem has been popular in Japan with games like Gekibo: Gekisha Boy for the PC Engine and In the Hunt and Undercover Cops for arcades.

Since the 2010s, Irem has largely abandoned the development of console video games in favor of games based on pachinko machines.

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