Meet the Singapore trade association balancing support for indies with attracting overseas firms

At Gamescom Asia, former Sony exec Shawn Layden described Southeast Asia as the area “where all the next great opportunities are going to come from” for the video games trade.

And that is precisely what the Singapore Video games Association (SGGA) is tough at work making an attempt to realize in its a part of the area, supporting, rising, and selling the trade of the city-state.

Don Baey, enterprise growth director at indie developer Trueworld Studios and chairperson of the SGGA, is a founding member of the trade physique. He began his video games profession at Ubisoft, one in every of the many AAA builders which have established their Southeast Asian presence in Singapore.

“About five years in, I decided to go into the government,” Baey recollects. “This was the year we were celebrating our 50th year of independence, [and] there was this campaign that was done by a local government agency to promote and support the games industry.

“It was a really significant undertaking for me… As a result of out of your AAA large studio, giant groups, that is your view of video games initially [but] there’s this complete world of impartial creators, from solo builders to small [and] mid-size studios. And I would not skilled video games on this manner. And that was my first taster of falling in love with the indie scene.

“And that’s where, as a collective in the growing Singapore industry, some of the founders also felt we needed to bring the community together, because we knew that the government support may not be there forever. Things may change, so how can we support each other? And at the same time, also be a voice to help advocate for the industry, advocate for Singapore. That’s how the association was started.”

Don Baey, enterprise growth director at indie developer Trueworld Studios and chairperson of the SGGA

That was again in 2017; at the time the SGGA was often called the Singapore Video games Guild, and was not formalised as a trade association. Nevertheless it quickly grew from its early initiatives, together with month-to-month get togethers known as ‘DrinkUp’.

“It started with about ten, 20 people initially just on a monthly basis, and it has grown to a level where today sometimes it’s easily 70 to 100 people just showing up,” Baey says.

He mentions the want for the SGGA to do some “data crunching” to get a newer snapshot however, as of 2021, there have been 160 games-related corporations in Singapore, 50% of which have been builders and 10% have been publishers.

There have been over 250 video games coming from Singapore since the first title shipped from the nation in 1997, and round 20 to 25 video games shipped yearly from the city-state in the previous 5 years. Probably the most well-known examples on the indie facet is perhaps Cat Quest, or Cuisineer, amongst others.

“Post-COVID, how that has evolved, who are still active, who are not… It’s something that is a bit greyer,” Baey says. “But what is interesting is that we are seeing some of the names that I’ve not seen for ages, suddenly coming back [with] new games.”

He mentions the significance of with the ability to share “war stories” with different builders, and support each other, which is why the SGGA focuses quite a bit on offering alternatives for video games professionals to get collectively.

“Singapore has a strong position as an international hub [but] it is also increasingly challenging to operate with rising cost of living”

“Singapore has a strong position as an international hub with many multinational corporations [MNCs] in the games and tech industry, however it is also increasingly challenging to operate with rising cost of living,” Baey says. “Indies generally will have to compete for talent, given talents’ preference to join larger MNCs for a stable career pathway. MNCs also generally prefer and are able to hire experienced talents, which puts a lot of pressure on smaller companies to train the junior talent pool they can only afford.”

There are some challenges on the funding facet as properly, he continues: “Singapore has a strong attraction for investors as a major financial hub and excellent infrastructure. However, most private funding is targeted at mainstream tech sectors – FinTech, Health Tech, Deep Tech, Enterprise Solutions, etc. Investors’ risk appetite or understanding about the games industry in Singapore isusually lacking.

“There are government grant schemes supporting local enterprises, [but] most are generalised across all sectors and not tailored specifically for the games industry. This makes it very challenging for an indie studio to navigate or capitalise on, especially if it’s too early stage or doesn’t have the track record to prove itself. This makes it doubly hard, but critical, for indies to promote themselves at international game conventions like Gamescom Asia and beyond.”

The SGGA sales space at Gamescom Asia 2024

Baey notes that whereas there’s undoubtedly a powerful curiosity to construct these ecosystems and industries, video games often require a little bit of schooling on the authorities facet of issues.

“When you have government offices that move in and out, not many of them or very few of them really come from the games industry. So while there’s an interest, how they support [and] where they support sometimes is a bit challenging.

“However our Singapore authorities has been very supportive normally. For instance, for first time founders, there are schemes that truly support that, in addition to schemes that encourage corporations to rent interns or recent graduates. Nevertheless it’s not concentrating on particularly the video games trade… Video games is its personal factor, it is so broad and so cross disciplined.

“This is where we have to lend that voice and help educate, help our government agencies to better understand the industry, where it’s going, the trends. There was an era where it was [more] about mobile games, but it shifted so much today, you can see more and more PC [gaming].”

“We can’t just rely on the big studios alone, but it’s still an important piece for them to have that presence in the local ecosystem”

The presence of AAA might be seen as a bonus in the nation, we point out, with corporations together with Ubisoft, Riot, EA, Hoyoverse, Koei Tecmo, and extra, established in Singapore – their position might be essential particularly on the subject of levelling up expertise.

“But, with the big companies, you also need the education side of the ecosystem,” Baey factors out. “Our local institutions [are] also building up programs that are targeted for this industry. So, you have the AAAs or the big studios, and the education system. Of course, not every talent will end up in the big studios. Some may aspire to start up [their own company], some may work at smaller studios, etc.

“In order that has to go very a lot hand in hand. We will not simply depend on the large studios alone, but it surely’s nonetheless an vital piece for them to have that presence in the native ecosystem, to support hiring [local graduates], to have the expertise circulating round the trade. So we additionally do see that impact of: a few of the abilities might begin their profession in the larger studios after which transfer out into extra indie, both beginning their very own or working for different impartial builders, or the different manner round.

“It’s part and parcel of any industry. You need to have a certain critical mass that allows the talents to circulate because we also want to minimise that kind of situation where we are actually bleeding talents into other industries.”

The SGGA organises common occasions for the Singapore trade to community, known as DrinkUp, this one final September in partnership with Indie Wavemakers

The SGGA may be very targeted on its mission to alleviate the challenges indies are dealing with, with Baey saying one in every of the predominant goals stays to construct group.

“We do that through networking, as well as organising sharing sessions. We typically have the annual industry day that we use as a bridge [between] students and the industry. Every year we always have cohorts of students, some of them [with their] game projects – so we use that as a platform for them to do that showcase with the hope to engage with the wider community, with publishers, and build that experience up.”

The position of the SGGA can also be to assist worldwide corporations and people who would possibly need to develop into Singapore, he provides, which is why reveals like Gamescom Asia are vital.

“We are that guiding post, a landing place for aspiring businesses that want to expand here”

“That is additionally a part of the position being a trade association to assist them perceive, assist them navigate, assist them join with us as a result of often, it is so overwhelming while you need to develop to someplace overseas. Like, the place’s your start line? How do you incorporate? What’s the expertise pool like, the colleges, the infrastructure? We’re that guiding submit, a touchdown place the place we generally interact with different trade associations overseas for aspiring companies that need to develop right here.

“And then last but not least, [the SGGA] is also going out to shows, to [other] countries to promote our Singapore games. So that’s where the Singapore Pavilions or, working with international event organisers [comes in], to secure certain deals for our own local community. Or we’ll lead a delegation to help them understand the overseas ecosystem, especially if they have aspirations to also expand or work with businesses overseas.”

He additionally mentions the significance for the SGGA to work with different trade associations throughout Southeast Asia (for occasion Thailand had a giant presence at Gamescom Asia), to search out paths collectively and construct native ecosystems and communities in the area.

“For us as a community, [there’s] that reflection point that the global games industry [has] a need for diversity and inclusivity,” Baey says, mentioning that issues throughout video games are sometimes very targeted on the West.

“But Southeast Asia is a melting pot of cultures and very diverse communities, languages, food. There’s this thing that’s also deep in our hearts, to continue to build that diversity and also to advocate and promote that. Creativity thrives on diversity.”

GamesIndustry.biz is a media accomplice for Gamescom Asia, with organisers offering us with journey and lodging for this yr’s occasion.