According to Niko Partners, there are approximately 100 million esports viewers throughout Southeast Asia. This astounding number of viewers can facilitate the rapid growth of the competitive gaming ecosystem. The reason being, in most cases, the bigger the audience (market), the more brands will be interested in sponsoring. And, currently, sponsorship remains the main source of income in esports. So, what does the esports sponsorship trend look like in Southeast Asia?

Endemic Brands Still Dominate Esports Sponsorships

“The brands that often become sponsors in esports are endemic brands within the gaming industry, such as manufacturers of computers, peripherals, or smartphones,” said Darang S. Candra, Director for Southeast Asia Research at Niko Partners, when asked regarding the esports sponsorship trend in Southeast Asia.

However, non-endemic brands -- meaning brands that aren’t related to gaming nor esports -- are starting to show their interests in supporting the stakeholders in the esports world.

“In recent years, non-endemic brands have started to enter esports sponsorships in ASEAN,” said Darang.

Furthermore, he also explained that these non-endemic brands usually engage in F&B, banking, and transportation.

In Indonesia, the endemic brands that are often involved in esports sponsorships are Acer Predator, ASUS ROG, Logitech, and Razer. Given that mobile esports is hugely popular in Indonesia, a lot of smartphone brands actively seek opportunities for sponsorships, such as Xiaomi and Samsung.

While the non-endemic brands that are active in the national esports scene are Red Bull with Bigetron Esports & ONIC Esports and Sukro with RRQ and EVOS esports.

BCA is one of the banking brands that actively support the Indonesian esports scene. One of the esports tournaments that BCA supports is the Piala Presiden. They said that the reason for them to join the esports scene is that they want to penetrate the younger market, who have interests in competitive gaming.

Another banking brand that supports esports is BNI, which recently became the sponsor of the Ladies Series MLBB 2021.

In terms of the value of the sponsorship, endemic brands are still dominating. However, Darang also mentioned that more and more non-endemic brands becoming sponsors for esports. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the reasons behind this trend.

The reason being, esports competitions can still be held online even when the government issues a lockdown and the public is advised to practice social distancing.

What Makes Southeast Asia’s Esports Ecosystem Unique?

Almost every country in Southeast Asia is mobile-first. Therefore, it’s not that surprising to see the mobile game industry growing so rapidly in ASEAN. As a result, the fastest growing esports ecosystem in this region is also the mobile game ecosystem.

Darang also mentioned that this is also apparent in the esports sponsorship contracts within the region. In ASEAN, mobile esports is the main target for sponsors. However, Darang said that in Southeast Asia, there’s no single game that dominates sponsorship contracts.

“Mobile game remains the most sought after for sponsors. Some of the games that receive the most sponsors in tournaments throughout Southeast Asia are Free Fire, Arena of Valor, PUBG Mobile, and Mobile Legends,” Darang said.

When asked why mobile games are hugely popular within the region, he responded,

“Mobile esports players and viewers are the biggest segments in Southeast Asian esports scene. Mobile games are also easily accessible, don’t require top specs and expensive equipment unlike PC and consoles, and the sustainability of the tournaments during the pandemic. Those things make mobile esports the most popular segment in Southeast Asia.”

Apart from the popularity of mobile games, another thing that makes the esports ecosystem in Southeast Asia so unique is the participation of the governments in nurturing the competitive gaming industry. As evident with esports’ participation in numerous sporting events.

For example, at the 2018 Asian Games, esports became one of the exhibitions. While at the 2019 SEA Games, esports became a sport where the countries’ reps can win medals. Esports will also be part of the 2021 SEA Games and the 2022 Asian Games.

In Indonesia, esports will also become a demonstration sport at the 2021 Pekan Olahraga Nasional (PON). The government will also feature Lokapala, a mobile MOBA game from a local developer.

“One thing that’s unique and distinguishes Southeast Asia from the other regions is the involvement of the governments as sponsors or the organizer of esports events,” said Darang.

“For example, the Indonesian government with PB Esport and Kemenparekraf (Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy), the Malaysian government with MDEC, the Singaporean government with SGGA, all of them are quite hands-on in organizing esports tournaments in their respective countries.”

So, that’s all you need to know about the esports sponsorship trend in Southeast Asia. Stick around for more gaming info, and make sure to follow Dunia Games on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.

You can also buy vouchers for various games, such as Mobile Legends, Free Fire, Call of Duty Mobile, at lower prices by making your top-ups at Dunia Games!

This article was first published on Hybrid.co.id, with the title "Tren Esports Sponsorship di Asia Tenggara", written by Ellavie Ichlasa Amalia.

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