Industry at a New Transition Period: ASEAN Must Seize the Moment to Benefit
Despite challenges such as layoffs and triple-A game flops, the gaming industry continues to show remarkable growth in sales. “Despite many layoffs and Triple-A flops, and the negative perception of the gaming industry, guess what? Sales are just going up,” said Saranpat Sereewiwattana, Vice President of the Thai Game Software Industry Association. He made these remarks during the “Associations Driving Industry Synergy” panel at the ASEAN Digital Content Summit held in Johor Bahru from September 3–7.
The panel, moderated by Don Baey, Chairperson of the Singapore Games Association, also featured Ken Natasha, Operations and Strategic Partnership Manager at Asosiasi Game Indonesia (AGI).
### Collaboration and Talent: The Next Step for Southeast Asia’s Gaming Industry
Saranpat emphasized that the next step for Southeast Asia’s game development sector is straightforward: **collaborate more, especially on talent**. With generative AI lowering the costs of game production, ASEAN studios have a unique opportunity. “Generative AI is already lowering the cost of making games—and ASEAN should seize the moment.”
By offloading production tasks to AI under human supervision, gaming studios in the region can reallocate their talent toward idea generation and design. “We are now at another transition period in the gaming and animation industry, comparable to previous milestones such as the launch of the App Store and the introduction of Unity and Unreal Engine platforms.”
Saranpat urged ASEAN companies to act quickly and benefit from this disruption before the industry settles into a new status quo and opportunities fade.
### Indonesia: A Large Market with a Small Gaming Workforce
Ken Natasha highlighted a significant gap in Indonesia between its massive audience and the size of its game development workforce. “We have almost 300 million people, and there are only like 3,000 people who work in the Indonesian video game industry,” she stated.
Though Indonesia’s gaming sector has existed for around 20 years, meaningful growth only started after 2016. The number of new studios rising annually has increased from “two or five” to “between 10 and 20” recently.
One contributing factor is that no major gaming company has established operations in Jakarta to share best practices and expertise with local talent. “Everyone had to self-learn,” Ken said.
### Funding Challenges and Calls for Regional Support
Funding remains a “big, big challenge,” according to Ken. While Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy offers some support, it is insufficient even for developing prototypes.
On ASEAN collaboration, Ken expressed her desire to see more support aimed specifically at **small studios for prototype development and market testing**, saying, “I think that would be awesome.”
### Learning from Each Other Through Collaboration
Saranpat agreed wholeheartedly. “We should come together and think about ASEAN more as one group of people.” Different countries have supported gaming industries at varying times and in diverse ways, making mutual learning essential.
Rather than working in silos, ASEAN countries need to **collaborate on talent development** to help young people anticipate industry changes and prepare accordingly.
A major problem is the outdated nature of industry training curricula. “Students spend years learning what the industry is supposed to need, only to graduate into a different world,” Saranpat explained.
To address this, Thailand has run a national gaming and animation pipeline program over the last four years. Students submit projects and compete nationally and at events like Gamescom Asia, connecting with peers and industry professionals from across ASEAN and beyond. “They can learn how things are going to be after they graduate,” said Saranpat.
### Attracting and Retaining Talent in the Industry
Ken agreed that a significant hurdle is attracting enough talent. “The video game industry is not as sexy as the IT industry. We really need to make young people feel comfortable with the industry first, because if you don’t know the industry, then you won’t love the industry.”
With mainstream education rarely covering how the gaming industry works, many students gain practical experience by joining ‘game gyms’—informal training hubs where they collaborate, learn, and develop skills.
Successful participants often go on to start their own studios and participate in events like the Indonesia Game Developer eXchange (IGDX), an annual gathering hosted by the Ministry of Communication and Digital.
### Navigating Uncertainty and Looking Ahead
With ongoing debates about AI’s impact and persistent funding and talent gaps, Ken admitted she has no definitive answers. However, she stressed the need for resilience and adaptability. “I have no idea how all this uncertainty is going to turn out, but we know that this is happening now. And, the most important thing is that we need to find ways to be on top.”
Clearly, various ASEAN gaming and animation associations have a crucial role in guiding the ecosystem through these changes. The question remains: **who will step up to take the lead?**
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*This article highlights the evolving gaming industry landscape in Southeast Asia and the importance of regional collaboration to harness emerging opportunities.*
https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/digital-economy/asean-digital-content-summit-2025-regions-games-industry-needs-fewer-silos-more
