The world of gaming seems always fascinating to discuss. The word 'gaming' itself could not explain the vast range of this industry could offer. Over the years, gaming has become more of a sport that is called electronic sports or esports. This branch of sport has experienced tremendous growth around the world, including esports in Indonesia. The rapid growth of esports in this country can be linked with the massive population. With more than 200 million people in total, it is not a surprise that the esports market in this country is counted as one of the fastest. To understand the fast growth, you need to understand the situation of the esports market in Indonesia. This article will give you a little bit of explanation about the current conditions and the development of esports development. Check it out.

The Development of Esports in Indonesia

To understand Indonesia's development on esports, you need to know that this country has a prominent fan base for some of the games, such as Free Fire, PUBG Mobile, Dota, and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. The popularity of this game seems to be growing due to the high smartphone ownership. Indonesia ranks fourth in smartphone ownership around the world. These statistics show that Indonesia is only behind China, India, and the United States. For sure, these facts are also affected due to the total population in Indonesia. With the statistics, Indonesia is proven to have the potential and the power of mobile sports. The popularity of esports in Asia has made it one of the sports games in many traditional sports competitions. Such competitions are the Asian Games and SEA Games. In the SEA Games 2023, Indonesia was able to achieve an impressive goal. Three gold medals and two silver medals are proof of the Indonesian esports team's achievement. The medals are the results of competition in the PUBG Mobile team and also Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Indonesian as well as other SEA gaming ecosystems hold different approaches from one in western. The esports in SEA is localized therefore it could create some ecosystems that are deeply rooted in the local as a whole. Since every nation in SEA has a different culture and language, localization of the game content could be unique to one another. This idea seems foreign to the Western world.

• Government Involvement in Esports in Indonesia

The growth and achievement of the Indonesian esports team have the involvement of the Indonesian government. In the year of 2020, the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Indonesian Sports Council officially made esports one of the branches of sports. This decision made it easy for esports teams to take part in competitions held in Asia and around the world. This decision was also followed by the formation of the Indonesian Esports Central Board or PB ESI. The organization of the Indonesian Esports Central Board is made to foster athletes and hold competitions in Indonesia. Prior to that, the institutions in SEA also recognized esports by allowing it to be integrated into the traditional sports ecosystems. Hence, esports is now included in sports tournaments such as the Asia Games in 2018.

• Esports Education

Esports in Indonesia has an opportunity as one of the highly regarded sectors of sports. Hence, it is not a surprise to see there is a push to provide better education for this branch. The Indonesian government also seems to like the idea. In 2020, the ESI of Esports Indonesia which works under the supervision of the Indonesian National Sports Committee and PBESI or Esports Indonesia's Indonesian Esports Executive Board was established. The ESI was inaugurated to help incorporate esports into Indonesia's school curriculum. Later on, in 2022, PBESI launched Garudaku Esports Academy in Indonesia. This is a project as an extracurricular activity for high school and university students in Indonesia. Garudaku Esports Academy is to provide learning and training material that is comprehensive. The project also has a partnership with MOONTON as a Mobile Legends developer and also with esports organizations such as EVOS Esports. This academy also provides a certification program for Indonesian students who want to get a license as an extracurricular coach in Garudaku Esports Academy.

• Notable Esports Tournaments

There are many major esports tournaments held in Indonesia. In the future, it is predicted that there will be a lot more to be expected. One of the many that held its respected tournaments in Indonesia is the PUBG Mobile Championship in 2022. It is a PUBG tournament with a total prize of USD 4 million. The tournament featured 48 teams from around the world. The Grand Final of this competition was held at the Jakarta International Expo Stadium with thousands of spectators. In 2023, there will be the Mobile Legends M4 World Championship held in Jakarta. The tournament is held with a total prize of USD 800 thousand. Around 16 teams held battle for over two weeks. The results are successful. And in July 2023, there were Dota 2 Major Tournaments in Bali with 18 teams playing in the competition.

Indonesian Esports Teams

Indonesian esports teams have made a lot of achievements in the world competitions. There are notable teams that Will You be mentioned in this article. However, the teams that are not mentioned in this discussion are not indications that the teams are not successful.

• Rex Regum Qeon

One of the most prominent names of esports teams in Indonesia is Rex Regum Qeon. Rex Regum Qeon or RRQ has quite a lot of history in Indonesia's esports. The team was established in 2013 by Andrian Pauline and David Thein. Later on, the team became a much more prominent team not only in Dota 2 but also in Mobile Legends, Free Fire, and PUBG Mobile. RRQ also has quite a big fanbase. RRQ has many achievements in national or International such as winning the M1 World Championship in Mobile Legends.

• Evos Esports

The next big esports team in Indonesia is Evos Esports. This team has its claws in many esports games such as Mobile Legends and Free Fire. Evos Esports was established in 2016 by Ivan Yeo and Hartman Harris. At first, this team only focused on Mobile Legends. However, later on, I became more focused on other games too. They have a lot of achievements from the start until now.

• Aerowolf Pro Team

This team is a must-mention if you ever talk about a prominent team in esports in Indonesia. The Aerowolf Pro Team has won many games, especially in PUBG Mobile. The team was established in 2014 and was only focused on Call of Duty. However, it became wider and reached Free Fire and PUBG Mobile. The team has established many achievements in global and national.

Most Popular Game Esports in Indonesia

Esports games are varied, however, Indonesian younger generations seem to hold several games in their heart. Here are some of the most played esports games in Indonesia.

• Valorant

Valorant from Riot as the developer will be released in 2020. Even though some people regard this game as new, there are a lot of tournaments on this game already. The biggest tournament is VCT. League of Legends: Wild Rift The next most-played game in Indonesia is League of Legends: Wild Rift. This game is not as popular as Mobile Legends. However, League of Legends Wild Rift is still considered one of the most popular esports games in Indonesia. League of Legends is released in 2020. Several tournaments have also been held from the official one and the unofficial one.

• Arena of Valor

In the next position, we have Arena of Valor. Arena of Valor has Garena as its publisher. The game is definitely one of the favorites among esports players in Indonesia. With its popularity, it is common that there are a lot of tournaments held using this game. Such tournaments are A or Arena of Valor Star League. In this competition, Indonesian esports players are apparently taking part and winning the prize.

• Call of Duty Mobile

The game of Call of Duty is released in 2019. After that, the game was so popular that it became most played in Indonesia up until now. With the best graphics and a nice plot story, many Indonesian gamers seem to dive deep into this game.

• Free Fire

Indonesian gamers are very fond of Free Fire. The younger generations probably have played this game at least once on their phone. Tournaments of Free Fire also seem to have been held with a lot of participants.

• PUBG Mobile

PUBG Mobile is known not only in Indonesia but also internationally. Games from the publisher of Tencent are really popular in this country. With its popularity, it is not a surprise that many Indonesians take part in PUBG Mobile tournaments.

• Mobile Legends

The next most played game in Indonesia's esports is Mobile Legends. The game reached its peak in the years before. However, its popularity has not decreased since then. With many tournaments local and international, Indonesian players have won many of them.

Conclusion

The development of esports in Indonesia will continue for years ahead. With the development of gaming regulation and industry, Indonesia will still be changing for the better. Still, the collaboration between game players and the government will also need to develop further. Hence, gaming sports could achieve more in the future.