- Day 1 featured amazing insights on the indie scene as SEA launches were discussed.
- gamescom asia’s Invest Circle saw a major increase in participation this year from publishers, developers, and investors.
- gamescom asia PRIMETIME 2024 goes regional with four languages.
After a successful 2023 event, gamescom asia 2024 lit up the stage with a fantastic day 1 to begin the four-day long extravaganza at Singapore’s Suntec Convention & Exhibition Centre. A lot of interesting topics were touched some light upon, alongside some fun connection-building activities, which I’ll give you an overview of in this article.
gamescom asia 2024 Day 1 Highlights
Fireside Chat with Shawn Layden
Shawn Layden, Former Chairman of PlayStation Worldwide Studios and now a Strategic Advisor for Tencent Games, shared his journey from PlayStation to Tencent in a fireside chat with Gordon Van Dyke, the Co-Founder and Chief Publishing Officer of Raw Fury.
Their discussion focused on the unique advantages of AA games, including the ability to develop quickly with smaller, passionate teams. Layden encouraged a closer look at the rapidly growing gaming markets in Asia, stating it to be “critical for the global gaming ecosystem as a whole because, quite simply, we need more people engaging with games.”
Xbox on Empowering Asian Creators, sneak peeks into SEA launches
Agnes Kim, Xbox’s Director of Global Expansion, highlighted Xbox’s support for Southeast Asian developers. Additionally, there was a showcase of a few exclusive upcoming releases in the SEA.
The titles were SEDAP!, a co-op cooking-combat adventure by KopiForge, Let’s Build a Dungeon, a true-to-life management simulator title by Springloaded, and PvP horror title DreadHaunt by Taiwan’s Digital Happiness, to name a few.
The Rise of VR in Indie Games
Matthieu Youna, Head of Publishing at MyDearest, discussed the transformation of The Exit 8, a 2023 indie hit, into a VR bestseller on Meta Quest. He shared the team’s journey of adapting the game’s unique qualities for VR and offered advice for indie developers looking to make the leap from traditional games to immersive experiences in virtual reality.
Invest Circle connects Publishers and Developers
gamescom asia’s Invest Circle, a platform to connect, saw a major increase in participation this year, drawing together publishers, developers, and investors. The networking event helped in building connections and discussions that could shape the future of Southeast Asia’s gaming industry.
gamescom asia PRIMETIME 2024 goes regional
The day wrapped up with gamescom asia’s PRIMETIME, a regional livestream in multiple languages, featuring new game announcements and exciting previews. Broadcasted in English, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, and Vietnamese, the show emphasized the growing reach and diversity of Southeast Asia’s game development scene.
I know you are curious to know about Day 2, so here’s a short overview. On 18th October, the event will include an address from Singaporean Minister Alvin Tan. The Pitch Competition will be featured, where 13 finalists from Southeast Asia will showcase their games. CAPCOM, PlayStation, and other industry giants will also preview some of their latest titles, giving fans a first look at what’s next.
That’s all from Day 1 of gamescom asia 2024! Stay tuned for more updates as I’ll give the overviews of the next two days too. Until then, look at what unfolded at gamescom asia last time around:
- gamescom asia 2023 Day 1 Highlights
- gamescom asia 2023 Day 2 Highlights
- gamescom asia 2023 Day 3 Highlights
- gamescom asia 2023 Day 4 (Final Day) Highlights
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