Seeing the National in Gaming and Esports in Southeast Asia

Electronic sports, better known as esports, made a historic debut at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games after its appearance as a demonstration event at the Games’ 2018 iteration in Jakarta. With every esports session nearly sold out at each of the 5,000-person capacity venues in Hangzhou, the electrifying atmosphere – similar to one at a tense soccer match – is indicative of how the gaming scene is booming in Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia, home to the world’s fastest growing esports market. The mobile and computer game industry’s growth in six ASEAN countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Vietnam) is reportedly forecast to reach US$7.2 billion by 2027, estimated at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4 per cent from 2023 to 2027, according to Niko Partners.

However, beyond the apparent potential as a profitable industry, gaming and esports are emerging as possible arenas for non-economic pursuits. Gaming, as manifested in its competitive form of esports, is increasingly becoming a national affair, especially as it has the potential to boost a nation’s image. As the controversial military service exemptions of South Korean pro-gamer Lee “Faker” Sang Hyeok and his teammates have shown, esports are as much a matter of national pride as with traditional sports. Normally granted to high-performing South Korean musical talents, artists, or athletes for furthering national honour in their fields, such exemptions are uncommon and this was the first time that it was awarded to an esports team. This underscores how esports are an emerging source of prestige. This is especially so as esports have become increasingly mainstream and part of global events where players compete based on their nationality rather than as individuals or multi-national teams.

With Southeast Asia and Asia’s esports gaming industry set to grow in the coming years, regional policymakers will be well placed to think about how they can harness the advantages that this growth can bring.

Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia have likewise moved to accord esports a similar status as traditional sports, thus giving athletes some measure of government support. For instance, in Indonesia, the recognition of esports as an official sport coincided with the inauguration of the Indonesian Esports Central Board (PB ESI) to support athletes and make Indonesia a vibrant esports hub. The aspiration to boost the national reputation becomes clear with PB ESI’s chairman Professor Budi Gunawan’s statement that “Every step these athletes take will be taken with a full realisation that they are carrying…the chance to serve Indonesia by defending the national dignity at the global level”.

Similarly, esports teams, ventures, and related merchandising companies have the potential to become a country’s soft power resource by putting their nation on the world map. Some have opined, for example, that Chinese game developer miHoYo’s Genshin Impact – popular globally and in the region – has helped to spread Chinese culture in an organic and positive way through its design and story elements. Nintendo, one of the most beloved game brands with a much longer history, is a popular cultural staple that lends to Japan’s vaunted soft power. Singapore has recently gained a reputation as one of the region’s leading esports hubs by playing host to various competitions and events. For instance, it was the first country in the region to hold The International – one of the largest Dota 2 gaming events globally in 2022. In 2021, it hosted the Free Fire World Series, along with the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang W2 World Championship. In 2018, it held the region’s first integrated esports tournament and music festival, Hyperplay.

Nevertheless, esports can also foster controversies and tensions when they are contested, as is the case with traditional sports. At the most recent Southeast Asian Games, the Indonesia and Singapore teams got into a kerfuffle over the Valorant gold medal match when the former team accused the latter of using a game bug to cheat; Indonesia walked out during the finals. The incident was resolved by the organisers’ awarding of a joint gold medal to both teams. It is certainly not the first athletic controversy between the two countries but neither did it escalate to a diplomatic row. However, the presence of several Indonesian supporters at the venue holding up signs to protest the perceived injustice and alleged online threats received by Singaporean esports players shows that esports have as much divisive potential as traditional national sports rivalries.

With Southeast Asia and Asia’s esports gaming industry set to grow in the coming years, regional policymakers will be well placed to think about how they can harness the advantages that this growth can bring. On the one hand, governments could consider providing support for home-grown game developers and esports athletes. For instance, Indonesia has initiated, in conjunction with PB ESI, the Garudaku Esports Academy, which aims to train interested high school and tertiary level students for the esports industry. On the other hand, governments should take care not to intervene excessively as there is value in letting the esports and gaming industry grow organically. State interference may in fact backfire when it comes to promoting esports as a type of national soft power or to foster people-to-people connections – protectionist measures may curb a country’s attractiveness as a viable gaming hub for foreign firms and athletes.  

Further, as gaming and attaining national glory in esports become increasingly competitive, governments should note the risk that esports rivalries among neighbours might spill over into ‘real life’ and make provisions for such potential conflict. If the intense national soccer rivalries in Southeast Asia tell us anything, it is that sport – and by extension gaming as manifested through esport – is not just fun and games, but serious business. 

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