The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia announced that it is partnering with a Japanese multinational conglomerate which does business in consumer and professional electronics, gaming, entertainment and financial services to establish the latter’s first Southeast Asia studio in Malaysia.
The announcement was made at the end of the country’s Level Up KL Biz 2019 video game conference held 8 November 2019.
The Minister of Communications and Multimedia hailed the development and stated that Malaysia will be working closely with the media and electronics giant to create more opportunities for the local and regional games industry.
The Minister predicting a brighter future for the gaming ecosystem, noting that together, the two parties will work to uplift creative talents in Malaysia and even establish a partnership with local educational institutions. This is to ensure the accelerated growth of the industry in Malaysia will be supported.
The President and CEO of the media and electronics firm noted that the nation’s impressive talent, vibrant game ecosystem, and support from the government were key reasons they firm decided to partner with Malaysia to the next level.
The new studio will be providing art and animation services as well as help develop global exclusive titles for the firm’s PlayStation platforms. This means that the next PlayStation game may well be created in Malaysia. The studio is expected to open in Kuala Lumpur in 2020.
Growing an Ecosystem
The partnership follows an earlier announcement that a Belgium-based developer popular for the Divinity: Original Sin series of video games, will be opening a studio in Malaysia as part of its global expansion.
This is part of an ongoing effort by the Malaysian government, and Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in particular, to turn the country into a digital content hub.
Over the past two decades, Malaysia’s digital creative content industry has seen the creation of 149 IP titles and RM7.6 billion revenue, with a global reach to over 120 countries.
Speaking to the press after the announcement, the Minister stated that the studio in Malaysia is part of the effort to build a world-class ecosystem that supports the gaming industry as it will most likely form an integral part of Malaysia’s digital economy in the years to come.
The government has been reaching out to global companies to gauge their interest in coming and investing in Malaysia, as well as bringing their talent here to work with local talent.
The aim is to ensure Malaysia has global companies making Malaysia their first choice when it comes to making investments; to relocate or to start new studios in this region.
Malaysia has shown that not only does it have talent, but has also built an ecosystem in terms of infrastructure. Notably, the Ministry placed much focus on determining ways to expand its infrastructure. Now, with this world-class infrastructure in place, the Ministry can grow an ecosystem that becomes attractive for industries of this nature.
The ultimate goal, the Minister reiterated, is to establish Malaysia as a gaming hub. For this, the minister says that they will be making further announcements in a few weeks as regards to other initiatives that are being created or undertaken.
Broadening the Scope
The Ministry stated that the media and electronics giant has been given incentives in terms of grants. The Minister elaborated that different gaming companies looking to enter Malaysia have asked for different types of support, based on what they can do and how they want to contribute to the country’s gaming ecosystem as a whole.
This does not only pertain to video games. The government is similarly looking to attract other big players in the content creation industry to the country.
Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC)’s CEO stated that currently there is a convergence of interactive media. Digital content creation is technology coming together with creativity – those two skills are what the country needs to succeed in the new world.
The agency is looking at animation, visual effects and games, and also the technology that powers them.
The Minister concurred, noting that the digital economy is going to be a key area to focus on in the years to come, and those are the areas we’re definitely looking at.
