STAR
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s digital economy, particularly its digital creative sector, achieved significant milestones in 2024, with e-sports and animation spearheading growth throughout the year.
The Malaysia Digital Economy Corp (MDEC) head and senior vice-president of the digital transformation division Datuk Fadzli Abdul Wahit said this year’s success underscored Malaysia’s competitiveness in the global gaming industry and its ability to attract international business opportunities.
Citing the Malaysia Digital Industry Report, he said Malaysia’s digital creative industry has shown steady growth, recording RM6.3 bil in revenue for 2022 including RM850mil in exports, supporting over 11,000 jobs, reflecting growth from RM5.56bil in revenue in 2024.
Recognising the potential of e-sports, the Malaysian government allocated RM30mil this year to support its development and announced an additional RM20mil under Budget 2025 to strengthen the e-sports ecosystem, focusing on talent development and upgrading e-sports arenas.
Looking ahead, MDEC aims to drive innovation and expand Malaysia’s digital content industry through Asean partnerships and the development of emerging technologies like virtual production, a strategy that aligns with Malaysia’s preparation to assume the Asean chairmanship in 2025.
Malaysia’s e-sports sector demonstrated global prominence at the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) 2024, achieving US$67.11mil in potential sales.
MDEC, in collaboration with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corp, launched the Malaysia Pavilion at TGS, which served as a platform for 10 leading Malaysian gaming companies to showcase their innovations to an international audience.
The four-day event featured participation from 985 companies worldwide, providing Malaysian companies with opportunities to collaborate with global game developers, content creators and technology firms.
Malaysia’s e-sports ecosystem, particularly in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), has gained international recognition. The MPL Malaysia league recorded over 630,000 peak viewers earlier this year.
Malaysia also hosted MLBB’s first world championship, M1, and is set to host its next major international event, M6. On Nov 15, the Malaysian MLBB team made history by defeating the Philippines 2-0 in the Grand Final of the IESF World Esports Championship 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
According to a report by Stellar Market Research, Malaysia’s e-sports revenue is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6%, increasing from US$6.1mil (RM26.4mil) in 2024 to US$12.6mil by 2030. With over 14 million gamers, predominantly from the millennial and Gen Z demographics, the report highlights the growing viewership and engagement in e-sports.
MLBB, developed by Moonton, was the most-watched e-sports game in Malaysia last year. Fadzli revealed that revenue from digital creative exports continues to grow steadily, driven by strong demand from South-East Asia, North America and Europe.
“Through MDEC’s market access programmes including the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market, K-Content Expo, Mipjunior & MIPCOM, Games Developer Conference, TGS, China Joy, and others, we have identified more than RM350mil in export opportunities in these markets,” he said in a recent written interview with Bernama.
