The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) and GameFounders, the first gaming startup accelerator in Europe, recently announced a collaboration to bring a regional games accelerator to Malaysia, which will ultimately support Malaysia’s vision of becoming Asia’s games hub by 2020.
From left – Paul Bragiel (Co-founder, GameFounders), Hasnul Hadi Samsudin (Director, Creative Multimedia, MDeC), Kadri Ugand (Co-Founder, GameFounders), Andrew Walker (Co-founder, GameFounders), and right: Muhundhan Kamarapullai (Head, Startup & Entrepreneurship, MDeC) & Jezamin Abdul Razak (Partnership, Startup & Entrepreneurship, MDeC).A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MDeC and GameFounders was signed at the Games Developer Conference in San Francisco on March 3rd. It said the collaboration will help Malaysia gain the right momentum in becoming a games hub by providing access to a network of global games mentors, subject matter experts and acceleration programs. The partnership will also help to advance Malaysia’s games ecosystem by providing linkages to global games ecosystems.
MDeC said it is now strengthening its focus on driving the games development industry in Malaysia (which encompasses Consoles, PC Games, Game Portals, Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMO) and Mobile Devices Games) and further increase its visibility on a global scale. This stems from the decision made at the 26th MSC Malaysia Implementation Council Meeting (ICM), chaired by the Prime Minister of Malaysia to ensure the country becomes a regional games and interactive media hub. This will be achieved by building on Malaysia’s existing digital content sector, including attracting anchor companies to serve as industry drivers, building local games capacity & capability and raising global market access through publishing platforms.
Ng Wan Peng, Chief Operating Officer of MDeC said “MDeC’s collaboration with GameFounders is a strategic intent for us to promote Malaysia as a regional games hub and spur our local games industry. By tapping into GameFounders’ network of mentors, investors and strategic partners, together we will raise the bar of the whole Malaysian game ecosystem, creating long term jobs and boosting valuable skillsets for the country.”
Kadri Ugand, co-founder and CEO of GameFounders said, “Asia’s games industry is currently booming and a lot of companies are trying to find the East-West link. We look forward to our collaboration with MDeC, as opening a GameFounders’ hub in Malaysia will bring our value proposition to a completely new level. Combining our network of global mentors with the talent in Asia, the game studios will definitely benefit from the knowledge sharing and technology exchange.”
Based on the PriceWaterHouseCoopers Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2013-2017, Malaysia’s games market was worth RM727 million in 2013 and expected to grow 20% to RM868.70 million by 2017. Currently there are over 50 MSC Malaysia-status games companies, involved in online, mobile and interactive games.
GameFounders is the first startup accelerator in Europe focused only on the games industry. Since its inception in 2012, the company has successfully nurtured 29 games studios (startups) from 16 countries in their portfolio that are all active to-date and 80% of them are earning revenue following the launch of their original Intellectual Properties (IPs). GameFounders run a 3-months accelerator program with over 120 gaming gurus focusing on accelerating startups on monetization, marketing, business and growth in gaming.