Government reaffirms support for gaming and esports industry

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Creative Economy has reaffirmed its support for the gaming and esports industry at the 8th anniversary celebration of PUBG MOBILE, held on 28–29 March 2026 in Surabaya, East Java.

Deputy Minister of Creative Economy/Deputy Head of the Creative Economy Agency, Irene Umar, stated during the event on Saturday (28/3) that gaming is one of the strategic subsectors within the creative economy.

As quoted in the ministry’s press release confirmed on Monday, she said that Indonesia is not only a gaming market but also a source of creative talent.

Therefore, the Ministry of Creative Economy is striving to encourage global gaming platform providers to collaborate with Indonesian creative actors.

“Indonesian gamers are one of the largest in the world, number two after China. So if we are not only able to play games but also develop digital assets to create content—our friends are really good at making content, right? Then Indonesia will be on the map,” Irene explained.

She pointed out that behind every major game is a long creative value chain involving programmers, game artists, music composers, story writers, animators, and community managers.

“The Ministry of Creative Economy is committed to building an ecosystem that not only produces pro players but also talents behind the scenes—coaches, analysts, broadcasters, event organisers, the entire chain of creative professions in this industry,” she said.

“Our goal is clear: Indonesia must level up from being mere game consumers to game creators,” she added.

“Earlier I greeted some from Jakarta, some from Kalimantan. This is real economy. They come here, they eat, they shop, and events are organised,” she said.

“We want in the digital space not just to be spectators, but to be here. Well, PUBG, thank you for realising that and holding such a big event here, so this (economy) is not just circulating in the digital world, the real economy is here,” she added.