Doujin soft (同人ソフト, dōjin sofuto) is software created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups (referred to as "circles"), more for fun than for profit. The term includes digital doujin games (同人ゲーム), which are essentially the Japanese equivalent of independent video games or fangames (the term "doujin game" also includes things like doujin-made board games and card games).[1][2][3]
Doujin soft is considered part of doujin katsudou, for which it accounts for 5% of all doujin works altogether (as of 2015).[4] Doujin soft began with microcomputers in Japan, and spread to platforms such as the MSX and X68000. Since the 1990s, however, they have primarily been made for Microsoft Windows.
Most doujin soft sales occur at doujin conventions such as Comiket, with several that deal with doujin soft or doujin games exclusively such as Freedom Game (which further only allows games distributed for free)[5] and Digital Games Expo.[6][7] There is also a growing number of specialized internet sites that sell doujin soft. Additionally, more doujin games have been sold as downloads on consoles and PC stores such as Steam in recent years, through game publishers such as Mediascape picking them up.[8]