MCI response to PQ on development of e sports and gaming industries in Singapore

02 NOV 2020

Parliament Sitting on 2 November 2020

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

61. Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what is the current number of game development companies operating in Singapore; and (b) what is the projected number of PMET positions that is needed to support the growing e-sports industry in Singapore.

Answer:

  1. The games development and e-sports industry in Singapore is growing, in tandem with its rise globally, especially in the Asian region. In Singapore, there are about 190 games development and publishing companies1, many of whom are local players e.g. SEA Group, with a few multinationals e.g. Ubisoft.

  2. There are diverse opportunities for PMET jobs in this industry, spanning job roles such as Software Programmer, Games Producer, Games Developer and Project Manager. Over the next 2 years, the industry will require about 2,700 info-communications and media professionals to support the games sector2. To locally support the capability needs of this industry, the Government established DigiPen (Singapore) in 2017 as a specialised game school to teach students about digital animation and video game design. At the same time, IMDA is partnering companies to train for job roles to support the games industry and create new career opportunities for Singaporeans. One example is IMDA’s partnership with SEA Group to train 500 Data/Business Analysts, Engineers, Product Managers and UI/UX Designers over the next 2-3 years.

  1.   Data from DOS based on video game industry SSIC codes 58201 and 62012 as of Mar 2020. ↩

  2.   IMDA’s Annual Survey on Infocomm Media Manpower 2019. ↩