Indonesia Gaming Industry 2024: Beyond Entertainment, A Rising Profession
When we think about Indonesia, what mostly comes to mind is its tourism. The beautiful beaches with clear sands in Bali, Yogyakarta and its historical monuments, and even Palembang’s traditional cuisine that has been nominated as top 20 best dishes in the world according to TasteAtlas 2023. While these aspects are unquestionably true, delving into the creative economy sector, particularly the Indonesian gaming industry, has been making noteworthy steps. According to a post by @VirtualSEAsia on X platform, Indonesia has claimed the top spot among Southeast Asian countries in contributing games on the Steam platform as of January 2024.
From a farm sim game like Coral Island and the pixel-graphic high school sweetheart story in A Space for the Unbound to the strange stories from strange people in Coffee Talk—these are three of the 256 Indonesian games available on the Steam platform. This number encompasses games that have been released, in early stages, cancelled, or postponed, as well as those set to be released soon.
These games on Steam have significantly contributed to the development of the Indonesian gaming industry, selling between 30,000 and 150,000 copies. According to Outlook Parekraf (Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif) 2023/2024, the average gross revenue is reported to be between $400,000 and $3.2 million. What a great number, indeed. Now that we have seen a glimpse of the impact of the Indonesian gaming industry, what are other signs of development in the Indonesian gaming industry? Let's dig into it!
The Top Trend in 2024
Angela Tanoesoedibjo, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia (Kementerian Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif Republik Indonesia), has mentioned mobile games as one of the four projected trends for 2024, following audiovisual, music, and collaboration. The Indonesian gaming industry will no longer be predicted solely as a mood booster for entertainment, not even a time-killer activity, but also as a profession that will continue to thrive.
At the moment, the government is preparing a presidential regulation to enhance the development ecosystem of the Indonesian gaming industry. This regulation will cover seven pillars, namely (1) development of human resources, (2) opening access to financing, (3) enhancement of promotion and market access, (4) provision of adequate and competitive technology infrastructure, (5) formulation of legislation to strengthen the local game ecosystem, (6) construction of hardware industry for local games, and (7) activation of local games in regional and global areas.
Read also: 5 Best Publisher Game in Indonesia
Get Ready: Esports (Electronic Sports) Explosion!
Indonesia successfully for the first time hosted the Indonesia Esports Summit in Bali, in November 2022, providing a platform for local games to gain more global recognition. Three games that have been introduced at this event are Lokapala, Battle of the Guardian, and Eizper Chain. The government through the Sports Fund and Business Management Institute (LPDUK) of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia (Kementerian Pemuda dan Olahraga Republik Indonesia) have kicked off a National Games and Esports Week (PEPERNAS) as a step to develop esports in Indonesia in December 2023. With three main tasks, the Ministry of Youth and Sports focuses on promotion—this includes promoting 30 national games abroad and 100 national games domestically—, encouraging the local games to compete at regional, national, and even international levels, and also organizing a talent search for game developers at the national level.
A few flashbacks, an esports organisation was built under the name "Indonesia Esports Association (IESPA)" on December 12th, 2012, and later officially established on April 1st, 2013. This organization aims to promote esports in Indonesia. Esports was officially recognized as a branch of sports at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, where the Indonesian national team under IESPA proudly secured two silver medals in the competition.
Mobile Gaming Boom
Did you know that Indonesia holds the third position in the mobile game market based on Google Play downloads? According to the Outlook Parekraf 2023/2024 data, spending by Indonesian mobile gaming users through in-app purchases reached approximately Rp5.6 trillion or US$0.37 billion. The number has increased by around 15.6% since 2022 and is predicted to continuously increase in the coming years. The growth of mobile gaming in Indonesia is also fueled by the increasing popularity of smartphones, reaching a significant figure of 353.8 million, or approximately 128% of the total population. Based on this data, the number of mobile gaming users in Indonesia is estimated to reach 68.03 million, with a projected revenue growth of 1.08% this year.
Vast and Various
You don't need to be a professional gamer to play Indonesian games. Games are not supposed to be exclusive, and thankfully Indonesia has various games and genres you can freely enjoy. If you love challenging gameplay with tactics and strategy, try Lokapala. It is the first game in Southeast Asia in the Multiplayer Battle Arena (MOBA) genre with a touch of Borobudur and Prambanan reliefs. Or are you considering yourself a fan of ghost stories? Challenge yourself to defeat ghosts in Dreadout and see what will happen to your bravery after playing the game. From the MOBA genre, survival, and adventure, to role-playing games, the options are varied and continually growing, contributing to the global expansion of the Indonesian gaming industry.
According to data from the Ecosystem Map of the Indonesian Gaming Industry 2021 by the Ministry of Communications and Informatics of the Republic of Indonesia (Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika Republik Indonesia), the top three locations for local game companies are Java with 55.4%, Jakarta with 20.5%, and Sumatra with 9.6%. This highlights the vast reach of the Indonesian gaming industry.
Conclusion
From all this information and data, the Indonesian gaming industry has firmly established itself as a promising sector of the creative economy and it will remain highly relevant in the future. Improvisation from game developers, along with collaboration with government support, as well as us as players, will undoubtedly contribute to the Indonesian gaming industry's growth. So, of all the local games mentioned before, what is your favourite or which one are you planning to play immediately? What are your thoughts as well as your hopes for the local games and the Indonesian gaming industry itself?