Industry at Another Transition Period: Southeast Asia Must Seize the Opportunity
Despite recent layoffs, Triple-A game flops, and a lingering negative perception of the gaming industry, sales continue to rise in Southeast Asia. “Sales are just going up,” said Saranpat Sereewiwattana, Vice President of the Thai Game Software Industry Association. He shared these insights during the “Associations Driving Industry Synergy” panel at the ASEAN Digital Content Summit held from September 3-7 in Johor Bahru.
The panel, moderated by Don Baey, Chairperson of the Singapore Games Association, included Saranpat along with Ken Natasha, Operations and Strategic Partnership Manager at Asosiasi Game Indonesia (AGI).
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### Collaboration and Talent Development: The Next Step for ASEAN
Saranpat emphasized that Southeast Asia’s next big move in game development is clear: **collaborate more, especially on talent.** With generative AI already lowering the cost of game production, ASEAN studios can offload routine tasks to AI—under human supervision—and focus their human resources on ideas and game design.
“We are now at another transition period in the gaming and animation industry,” Saranpat said, drawing parallels to past upheavals such as the launch of the App Store and the rise of game development platforms like Unity and Unreal Engine. He urged ASEAN companies to seize this disruption before the industry settles into a new status quo and opportunities slip away.
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### Indonesia: A Huge Market with a Small Workforce
Ken Natasha highlighted a striking disparity in Indonesia’s gaming scene: nearly 300 million people make up the audience, yet only about 3,000 individuals work in the local video game industry. While the sector has grown over the past two decades, significant expansion only started post-2016. Recently, the country sees between 10 to 20 new studios emerging annually.
One challenge Indonesia faces is the absence of large gaming companies establishing offices locally, which limits the transfer of best practices and expertise to local talent. As Ken noted, “Everyone had to self-learn.”
Funding remains a significant barrier. Although Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy provides some support, it often falls short of covering even the development of game prototypes. Ken expressed hope for greater regional collaboration to support small studios in prototype development and market testing.
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### Learning and Growing Together Across ASEAN
Saranpat agrees that ASEAN should act as a unified community. “Countries have backed games at different times and in different ways, so learning from one another should be the starting point,” he said.
He stressed the importance of collaborative talent development to prepare young people for the industry’s future. A major issue is the disconnect between industry curricula and actual market needs—students graduate only to find the industry has evolved beyond their training.
Thailand offers a promising example: for the past four years, a national gaming and animation pipeline program has invited students to submit projects, compete nationally, and connect with peers from across ASEAN and beyond. Participants receive guidance from industry professionals to better navigate the post-graduation landscape.
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### Attracting Talent and Changing Perceptions
Ken pointed out that attracting talent remains one of the biggest challenges. “The video game industry is not as sexy as the IT industry,” she said. She emphasized the need to educate and familiarize young people with gaming careers early on.
Since mainstream education rarely addresses the gaming industry, aspiring developers often gain experience through extracurricular programs like “game gyms.” Within a year, successful participants may form their own studios and participate in events such as the Indonesia Game Developer eXchange (IGDX), an annual government-supported gathering.
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### Facing Uncertainty and Looking Ahead
With ongoing speculation about AI’s impact and persistent funding and talent gaps, Ken admits there are no clear answers yet. However, she stresses the importance of adaptability: “I have no idea how all this uncertainty is going to turn out, but we know that this is happening now. The most important thing is that we need to find ways to be on top.”
Clearly, ASEAN’s gaming and animation associations have a crucial role to play in helping the ecosystem stabilize and thrive. The question remains: who will step up to lead the way?
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*By fostering collaboration, bridging talent gaps, and embracing new technologies like generative AI, Southeast Asia’s gaming industry is poised at a pivotal moment. Seizing this opportunity could usher in a new era of creativity, growth, and global impact.*
https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/digital-economy/asean-digital-content-summit-2025-regions-games-industry-needs-fewer-silos-more
