Indonesia’s gaming boom fights for fairness
Can Indonesia’s gaming obsession power its own creative revolution?
🎯 The Main Takeaway
Indonesia’s gaming industry is booming — but most of the profits still flow overseas. Despite being the third-largest market for game downloads worldwide (3.37 billion in 2022), local developers capture less than 0.5% of total revenue.
A newly released State of Indonesia’s Game Industry White Paper 2025 by Agate, the country’s largest game studio, reveals both the immense promise and structural challenges facing one of Asia’s fastest-rising digital economies.
🔍 Why It’s on Our Radar
With a USD 2.5 billion domestic market and over 192 million gamers forecasted by 2025, Indonesia stands as a gaming superpower in player numbers — yet not in creator equity.
Mobile gaming leads the charge, generating USD 370 million in in-app purchases in 2023, up 15.6% from the year before.
Hyper-casual and simulation genres dominate downloads, reflecting Indonesia’s appetite for quick, accessible entertainment.
Esports continues to soar through initiatives like Piala Presiden Esports (PPE) and Indonesia Game Awards, which now include local titles and women’s divisions, marking progress in inclusivity and recognition.
Yet, foreign dominance remains overwhelming — global publishers like Tencent, Garena, and Moonton capture 99.5% of market revenues. Tencent’s Level Infinite calls Indonesia a “growth goldmine,” citing its 70% mobile-first audience and young demographic, while local studios operate on shoestring budgets and personal savings.
⚖️ What’s at Stake
This imbalance highlights the tension between creative sovereignty and economic dependency. Indonesia risks being a massive consumer market that exports value, rather than retaining it.
Key obstacles include:
Capital access — developers depend on personal savings or foreign funding.
Talent gaps — technical expertise in programming and project management remains scarce.
Regulatory flux — frequent policy changes and weak enforcement limit stability.
However, Presidential Regulation No. 19/2024 aims to shift the tide. It introduces seven acceleration programs focusing on funding, talent development, infrastructure, and global market activation — the most comprehensive state support the industry has ever seen.
🌏 The Big Picture
The white paper, based on mixed-methods research (August 2024–February 2025), combines analytics, market data, and interviews with key figures from multiple ministries — including Kominfo, Kemenparekraf, and the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment.
It situates gaming as a strategic pillar in Indonesia’s creative economy — one with the sixth-highest growth potential among all subsectors, contributing 16.67% to the sector’s expansion.
Beyond the numbers, the report argues Indonesia is “on track to become a leading force in the global gaming scene,” provided collaboration strengthens between developers, investors, and government bodies.
❤️ Why This Hits Home
Behind the research stands Agate International, Indonesia’s largest studio and a regional leader in game development. Over 16 years, Agate has nurtured the ecosystem through:
Agate Academy and GameDev Professional Program for developer training.
Collaborations with Kominfo’s IGDX and Game Prime to showcase local talent.
International co-development projects like Riftstorm, which reached the Top 50 most-played games on Steam Next Fest (2025) — a milestone for an Indonesian-made title.
🌍 The Regional Stakes
Southeast Asia’s digital race is heating up. Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam have already rolled out tax incentives, esports infrastructure, and digital incubators to attract studios.
If Indonesia succeeds in translating its massive gamer base into a developer powerhouse, it could redefine the region's creative economy. If not, it risks remaining a lucrative yet foreign-dominated playground.
🧩 The Bottom Line
Indonesia’s gaming sector stands at a turning point — brimming with creative energy but constrained by uneven opportunity.
The State of Indonesia’s Game Industry 2025 white paper sends a clear message:
Without a robust ecosystem that funds, trains, and protects local talent, Indonesia may continue to play other people’s games — instead of building its own.
(NZL/QOB)