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E-sports market players in ASEAN set to capitalize on regional growth

Date: February 09, 2021 Sunil Jha Sunil Jha
E-sports market players in ASEAN set to capitalize on regional growth 
The mobile gaming market is reportedly witnessing a period of rapid growth in Southeast Asia, where industry participants are becoming keen on capitalizing on the regional growth. ASEAN is reportedly one of the fastest expanding gaming markets at the global level.



As per App Annie, a mobile consultancy firm, Singaporeans spent more than $332 million on in-app purchases in 2019. This ranks the second highest for mobile game consumer spending in the region.



According to the Managing Director of Sales and Marketing at Singtel, Gan Siok Hoon, around 76 per cent of Singtel’s clients play games on their mobile phones. Gan also added that mobile gaming escalated in popularity in 2020 as more people have turned to mobile phones for entertainment and fun over the course of the pandemic.



Given that Riot Games, a video game developer, is also keen on its expansion in the ASEAN. In fact, recently Singtel inked a partnership deal with the Southeast Asia unit of Riot Games to provide its post-paid mobile clients with zero-rated gaming bundles for Riot’s mobile game, League of Legends: Wild Rift.



Supposedly priced between $6.90 and $9.90 on a monthly basis, the gaming bundles offer players with unlimited data-free gameplay, in addition to approximately $40 worth of Wild Rift in-game content.



According to the Chief Executive Officer of One Esports, Carlos Alimurung, a trip to the Philippines had allowed him to comprehend the ubiquity of smartphones in the ASEAN. Alimurung added that it was this realization that brought him to Southeast Asia. The upcoming generation of fans represents a demographic that wants access to e-sports and is interacting with it by means of a mobile phone.



For the record, the previous month’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M2 World Championship attracted 3.08 million viewers, making it the fourth-most watched e-sports event in history.



Source credit: https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/e-sports-industry-players-vie-for-a-slice-of-south-east-asias-growing-mobile-games-pie

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Sunil Jha

Sunil Jha has been a part of the content industry for close to two years. Having previously worked as a voice over artist and sportswriter, he now focuses on writing articles for newsorigins.com, across a slew of topics, ranging from technology to trade and finance. With a business-oriented educational background, Sunil brings forth the expertise of deep-dive research and a strategic approach in his write ups.