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Five Malaysian gaming personalities share their passion for the gaming industry and how they've built careers around it
Video games are typically viewed as entertainment but it is a serious business that is larger than Hollywood and the music industry combined. Even though the global pandemic negatively impacted many businesses, reports indicate that the global gaming industry still managed to generate revenue of over US$201 billion in 2021. According to the Southeast Asia Game Industry Report 2021, Malaysia's gaming market, valued at US$786 million, is the third largest in Southeast Asia.
The country has built a reputation for having a thriving game development ecosystem. Many Malaysian game studios have a reputation for developing original games and outsourcing development for international publishers. Since 2016, international game studios including Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios and Bandai Namco Studios have set up shop in Malaysia.
Beyond making games, Malaysia also has a flourishing e-sports ecosystem with talented athletes, casters and tournament organisers. Its government has consistently supported the local e-sports industry since 2019. More recently, it allocated US$4.5 million from the national budget to nurture Malaysian e-sports talents.
Taiwanese laptop maker Acer has long been a major player in the gaming space. Its gaming brand, Predator, has grown alongside Malaysia's gaming ecosystem over the years as it has supported local livestreamers, professional e-sports teams and organised tournaments such as the Predator League since 2018. As part of its initiative to cultivate a strong gaming culture in the country, Acer established the Predator Tribe community, comprised of five distinguished personalities at the top of their game.
We speak to the Predator Tribe to learn about the evolution of Malaysia's gaming landscape and what is in store for the future.
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Firdaus “MasterRamen” Hashim
E-sports in Malaysia would not be where it is today if not for Firdaus "MasterRamen" Hashim. He is one of the first organisers in the local e-sports scene, and the gaming community affectionately gave him the nickname, "father of Malaysian e-sports".
Firdaus, a former engineer, was often active on internet forums and started hosting small tournaments for one of his favourite games, Defense of the Ancients (Dota). “Though this started out as a passion project, it slowly grew into a business which I started with my partner. The modern era of e-sports started in the early 2000s with the emergence of games like Starcraft, but the sport only truly caught on in Malaysia after 2016," he says.
Firdaus founded IO Esports, an e-sports event management company, in which he serves as director. IO Esports has organised numerous state and national competitions in Malaysia such as the Selangor Cyber Games and Malaysia Cyber Games. It has also helped to organise major international competitions like ESL One in 2017 and 2018. In August, Malaysia will again host the ESL One 2022 tournament in Genting Highlands and will feature a US$400,000 prize pool.
"E-sports in Malaysia has grown by leaps and bounds over the years and is expected to get bigger. Regionally, there is even wider recognition of e-sports as it was introduced as a medal sport at the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games," says Firdaus, who helped train Malaysia's delegation of e-sports players in 2019.
On the subject of whether e-sports is considered an actual sport, he argues that not all sports require physical exertion. He points to chess as an example where players exert their mental capacity instead of their bodies to compete. Firdaus hopes that e-sports will one day be as popular as badminton in Malaysia.