The Presence of a New Advisor, How Agate Sees the Next Potential of the Local Gaming Industry

Not long ago, game developer startup Agate appointed Raymond Chin as strategic adviser. Raymond is Co-founder & CEO of a financial and investment education platform Ternak Uang. With the appointment of a new advisor, Agate has a myriad of ambitions to be achieved, through various initiatives that have been carried out and will be announced soon.

Through a joint interview DailySocial.id, an Agate representative explained there were two main reasons behind the decision to appoint Raymond. First, he has rich experience in the local startup world, from various positions, such as founder, VP, investor, to educator. In this way, he can provide a more comprehensive perspective on startup development, considering that the ecosystem in this industry is constantly volatile and changing all the time.

“Secondly, as gamer, Raymond has a great interest in the gaming world, especially the local industry. We and Raymond have the same vision, not just to advance one company, but together to encourage the Indonesian industry," said the company representative.

Sebagai strategic adviser, Raymond will later have intense discussions with leaders at Agate and provide input on the strategic options available to Agate in order to achieve a common vision.

Separately in an official statement, Co-founder and CEO of Agate Arief Widhiyasa said, "Since the pandemic, the gaming industry throughout the world has continued to show a positive trend. In Indonesia alone, the value of the gaming industry in 2021 will reach $1,9 billion. "This momentum needs to be utilized well and Raymond is the right person to complete the company's wheels in the direction we want to achieve together."

According to Arief, with great gaming potential, Indonesia is the fastest growing market in Southeast Asia, unfortunately developer local only controls a market share of 0,5%. Agate needs filling gap resource competency and support developer local people who are paving the way. Apart from that, Raymond is expected to be involved in the development of Agate products which are currently divided into consumer games (B2C) and game-based solutions (B2B).

“Raymond will bring a global talent perspective to training and resourcing developer locally, to being directly involved in initial funding for game production with international standards."

As an illustration, in Vietnam alone there are more than 150 game companies with a number of workers reaching 20 thousand people. Meanwhile in Indonesia, there are only around 25 companies with a total of around 2 thousand workers serving a total population of 270 million. Therefore, the issue of a shortage of quality talent, as well as the existence of a gaming ecosystem that is supportive and open to new talents is the main key for the local gaming industry to have a competitive edge.

Agate Initiative

Regarding Agate's support for the local gaming industry, previously in September 2021, the company made an announcement Agate Skylab Fund with investment tickets ranging from $100 thousand to $1 million. Apart from funding, Agate also offers mentorship, networkingand Unity.

For its preferences, Agate looks for game developers multiplatform PVE (Player vs. Environment) with business models free-to-play. This decision has been taken based on extensive company research. For example, building a multiplatform game is indeed difficult, but the more difficult the effort, the less competition there is. This means that the opportunities are much greater.

Regarding the latest news so far, Agate admitted that they are still reviewing several proposals received to ensure that the proposed projects are in accordance with company standards. “At this time we still cannot share the data.”

According to Arief, there are two ways to build a local gaming industry. First, pull from the top by disbursing funds. Second, encourage it from below through the academy program, teaching students who want to make games. Agate Skylab Fund is a concrete form of the first method.

The company sets the benchmark for the success of games supported by Syklab based on annual revenue, reaching at least $1 billion per year. Therefore, the target consumers are not only from Indonesia but also the global market.

For the record, Agate groups game companies into six levels based on the amount of income they receive each year. Most of the developer Indonesia is at level 4 to 6 with an income of around $10 thousand to $1 million per year.

As a comparison, Valve is at level 3, with revenues of more than $10 million, while Sega is at level 2 with revenues of more than $100 million. Meanwhile, Nintendo and Sony are at the highest level with revenues of more than $1 billion per year.

Based on research conducted by the Indonesian Game Association, the statistic for local companies can level up if they rely on organic methods is 25% per year. If for the next 10 years we only rely on this method, then the maximum local players can only reach level 3.

Gaming trends play-to-earn

As a company, Agate has two business models, B2C and B2B. Although not specifically detailed, each of these channels has its own contribution. Through B2C, companies can get to know directly and build a gamer community. As well as learning the latest gaming trends and technologies that are popular today.

“Meanwhile, through B2B, we continue to be challenged to understand various business goals and business processes from various industrial fields. As awareness of the potential of the non-gaming industry increases game-based solution in meeting their business needs, the B2B portion becomes significant for us."

One of the global trends that Agate is currently paying attention to is concept games play to earn (P2E). According to them, this type of game model needs to be addressed carefully because it can be a double-edged sword. The reason is, the motivation to get money can actually reduce the meaning or excitement of a game.

Apart from that, the challenge in the P2E model is that it is always dependent on the number of new players, because there always needs to be new players looking for and buying in-game items. Therefore, such schemes are unhealthy and unsustainable. "At this time we cannot share the details, but the Agate team is currently exploring the form of this business model."

Therefore, companies are actually more comfortable using the term play and earn, no play to earn. "Because we hope that people can play while getting something concrete, besides of course getting a sense of excitement/entertainment, not playing just looking for something."

Agate always adheres to building principles creator's economy (creator economy). The reason is industry creator's economy This means that it allows users to create or search for in-game assets/items, which can then be sold and traded to other users. So transactions can be made not only between developers and players, but also between players.

"So players who focus on playing for fun can buy other users' works, for a more exciting playing experience so that a healthy ecosystem can be built and can accommodate all types of players," concluded the Agate representative.