gamescom asia, the region’s first satellite event of the world’s largest computer and videogames festival, gamescom, successfully wrapped its inaugural event on a high note in Singapore last week. Held from 14 – 17 October 2021 both virtually and physically, across platforms, the first consumer and trade hybrid convention has set the stage for upcoming events in Singapore. The event also featured the GTR (Global Top Round) Accelerator conference and Branded’s Gaming Matters as part of its overall offering.
gamescom asia 2021 was graced by Mr. Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Ministry for Trade and Industry and Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth. The full speech can be found here.
▍Strong Programme for Trade Audience
With over 80 speakers this year, gamescom asia’s strength in conference featured exciting panels, keynotes, and technical dialogues by regional and global experts from That’s No Moon, Riot Games, Take-Two, Cygames, Microsoft Xbox, Secret 6, Bandai Namco, Square Enix, Neon Doctrine, KOEI TECMO, Google Play, Scopely and many more. The 44 sessions covering the breadth of Games and Mobile Gaming have so far been watched over 3,900 times (and counting) live and on-demand, showing the global industry’s quest for knowledge exchange on the massively underestimated Asian market.
Another highlight of gamescom asia’s Trade Zone was the digital and physical expo. The online Trade Zone recorded a high of 41,000 interaction points between attendees, 37 sponsors and exhibitors like TikTok, Snapchat, Google Play, Ubitus, GSC Game World, Nintendo, CareGame, and more, over 4,800 booth visits and hundreds of meeting requests by attendees over the week of gamescom asia. The onsite exhibition welcomed some global names exhibiting through their Singapore-based branches like Virtuos, Epik, The Australian Global Business and Talent Attraction Taskforce, and a buzzing Singapore Pavilion of 11 homegrown companies to give delegates an opportunity to experience games and products first-hand and finally network face to face.
“We’re thrilled that gamescom asia 2021 was well-received both regionally and internationally. Launching a hybrid event for both industry players and fans in Asia during a pandemic is challenging, but we’ve managed to pull it off together with the Singapore government and a synergized effort between gamescom asia, Global Top Round and Gaming Matters. The convention has successfully provided all gaming fans a glimpse of what the region has in store for the future, and we’re aiming to be the driver of this big shift to further the development and reach of the Southeast Asian video games industry”, said Mathias Kuepper, Managing Director of Koelnmesse Singapore, the organizers of gamescom asia.
“The launch of gamescom asia in Singapore shows that the MICE, gaming, and esports industries regard Singapore as a trusted partner and an important gateway to the region during these uncertain times. Such events provide a critical platform to further finetune our safety measures and testbed new innovations, putting us on a strong footing for a sustainable recovery as we journey towards a COVID-resilient nation”, said Poh Chi Chuan, Executive Director, Exhibitions & Conferences, Singapore Tourism Board.
“As one of Asia’s longest-running gaming conferences, we were honored that Gaming Matters was able to partner with gamescom asia to create a win-win for delegates and Singapore”, said Jasper Donat, CEO of Branded, the organizers of Gaming Matters.
“Hosting the GTR 2021 Conference, our flagship annual event, with gamescom asia was an amazing experience. We saw many collaboration opportunities between the two organizations and hope to continue and build a long-term relationship with gamescom asia”, added Rick Nahm, COO of the GTR Accelerator.
▍Digital Format for Fans and Active Community Building
For the avid gaming fan, gamescom asia’s Entertainment Zone (powered by AMD) drew live viewers virtually across 6 platforms. Hosted by Victoria Cheng (akaChubbyNinja) and J.Jai Kishan, fans across the globe got to watch the PRIMETIME and STUDIO sessions showcasing game trailers, sneak peeks, award-winning indies, online challenges, and interviews. All in all, some 26 games were shown by ASEAN and international studios and publishers like The Iterative Collective, Hooded Horse, LAI Games, Anantarupa Studios, Skyfeather Games, OKJOY, Art Games Studio, GameTomo, plus show segments by AMD, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, TikTok, and the Singapore Games Association (SGGA). gamescom asia expects more than 2 million views across all channels in the coming weeks as more international fans catch up and rewatch the Entertainment Zone on the VAULT.
SGGA introduced the Singapore Games Week Virtual Village, propelled 10 of the nation’s emerging homegrown gaming companies to the international stage, and presented the first Asia Games Awards, recognizing the best in Asia’s gaming sector. Categories included Excellence in Narrative Design, Audio, Design, Visual Art, Best Gaming Event, Gaming Content Creator, and Esports Athlete.
Being its first year, community building was a big part of gamescom asia 2021. The event launched and live-streamed on the official Discord and TikTok channels, partnering with media like eGG Network and UnGeek and creators to co-stream, holding a fan art contest and NFT giveaways in-stream to encourage gaming fans in the region to actively participate.
With this being the prelude to a fuller scale event in 2022, there’s more of gamescom asia to come in the near future.