It is no wonder that the game developer subsector is one of the contemporary sub-sectors that continues to grow and develop rapidly, as it holds a large market share in the creative economy. The game developer and eSport sub-sectors have contributed to the growth of the creative economy sub-sector. At the same time, they have made Indonesia proud in the international arena.

Recently, the Indonesian eSport team emerged as the general champion in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia. The Indonesian eSport teams won 5 medals consisting of 3 gold medals and 2 silver medals.

Earlier, the Indonesian eSport team also won the title of general champion in the International eSport Federation (IESF) 14th World eSport Championship (WEC) 2022 held in Nusa Dua, Bali. At that time, the Indonesian eSport team successfully won 4 medals: 3 gold medals and 1 bronze medal.

Not only did the Indonesian eSport team win the general championship in the Cambodia SEA Games, but the development of the game developer sub-sector is also evident in the increasing number of local game developers.

Game Industry in Indonesia Continues to Grow

According to Tourism & Creative Economy Outlook 2021/2022, the apps and games sub-sector contributed IDR31,25 trillion to GDP in 2021. Surprisingly, this sub-sector has the second highest growth rate (9.17%) after the television and radio sub-sector (9.48%).

This achievement has had a very good impact on increasing the number of jobs. It is estimated that the number of employees in the apps and games sub-sector increased by 10,917 people. This means that by the year 2021, there will be approximately 140,321 people working in this promising sub-sector.

Not only in terms of quantity, but the quality of local Indonesian games produced by game developers also deserves a thumbs up. This is evidenced by the number of game developers that have become globally recognized and have successfully won prestigious international awards.

The latest achievement is the local game "A Space for The Unbound", which was released on January 19, 2023. Developed by Toge Productions (Tangerang) and Mojiken Studios (Surabaya), A Space for The Unbound won many international awards long before it got released. 

A Space for the Unbound won the "Future Division" category at the 2022 Japan Game Awards held at the Tokyo Game Show. Previously, this local adventure game won the Grand Prix Award at the Sense of Wonder Night, Tokyo Game Show 2020, and the Best Storytelling Award at the SEA Games Awards 2020 in Malaysia. 

For your information, A Space for The Unbound is an adventure game set in the 90s. It tells the story of two high school sweethearts who face the end of the school year by dealing with supernatural things that happen in their town.

Photo: A teenager focuses on playing a game on a PC (Shutterstock/DC Studio)

The game, which has received thousands of positive reviews from international gamers, is not only fun but also an introduction to the unique values of Indonesia. Whether it's playing Keroncong music, showing cimol (Indonesian street food that is made from fried tapioca starch) sellers, toko kelontong (neighborhood grocery) to introducing the life of high school students in the 90s who often collected bottle caps.

This local game is very well packaged. Not only is it a means of entertainment, but A Space for The Unbound also raises issues that are still very rarely discussed. Such as mental health, childhood trauma, and feelings of failure in life.

If Sobat Parekraf is interested, A Space for The Unbound is already available on Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG.COM, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

Apart from A Space for The Unbound, many local games are recognized worldwide and win international awards. One of them is Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2, which will be released in mid-2023. 

Developed by Agate, this local game successfully won a prestigious award at the PAX East 2022 event. Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story 2 won two awards at the Writer's Choice Awards by Marooners Rock.

In addition, the Indonesian Game Association (AGI) and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy/Tourism and Creative Economy Agency (Kemenparekraf/Baparekraf) and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Kominfo) have sent 8 selected local game developers to the 2023 Game Connection America (GCA) event. 

Seeing the success of the Indonesian eSport team in international arenas and local games being recognized worldwide, it's no wonder that the game development sub-sector has great potential to be recognized by the global market and become a major foreign exchange earner for Indonesia's creative economy sector.

Cover: Illustration of the game "A Space for the Unbound" on Nintendo Switch (Shutterstock/leungchopan)