True Axion Interactive (TAI), a joint venture of True Corporation and Canada-based Axion Venture Inc, has introduced its first premium mobile game, positioning Thailand as a game exporter to the global market.
TAI's 'Invictus' bills itself as the first triple-A real-time, card-controlled PvP fighting game.
The move aims to capitalise on rapid growth of the gaming market globally.
Birathon Kasemsri Na Ayudhaya, chief content and media officer of True, said gaming is the world's largest entertainment content business, worth US$121.7 billion (3.98 trillion baht), ahead of music and movies. Global revenue of the gaming market in 2018 is expected to reach $137.9 billion, of which 51% is from mobile games.
Thailand is one of the largest game markets in Asean, accounting for 20% of the $2.2-billion Asean game market in 2017.
But 97% of gaming business in Thailand consist of imports, with only 3% exports, posing a huge opportunity to grow locally and export to the global market.
True has combined the creativity of Thais, True's network capability and technical expertise from its partners to make its first triple-A mobile game, titled Invictus, for Southeast Asia with a 35-million-baht investment.
Triple-A is a term used for games with the highest development budgets.
Nithinan Boonyawattanapisut, TAI's chief executive, said Invictus is a new entry in the subgenre of real-time card-controlled PvP (player-vs-player) action fighting games, with realistic graphics.
The game will get a sneak preview and beta test at Thailand Game Show 2018, which runs Oct 26-28 at Siam Paragon. The official launch is in the first quarter of 2019.
TAI brought in international talent from the US, Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia and China, together with a local development team, to form a highly capable workforce for a regional game studio.
TAI has 85 game developers and plans to increase to 300 people. The company so far has developed three mobile games and one PC online game.
In related news, Major Cineplex Group has launched an e-sports theatre, said to be the first of its kind in Thailand.
"This e-sports theatre is a mixed-use movie theatre and e-sports arena," said Narut Jeansanhong, chief marketing officer of Major Cineplex Group Plc. "We claim to be the world's first because other places host temporary e-sports events in cinemas, but this is a permanent facility."
Because 10 million baht worth of equipment was sponsored by Dell, the facility, located at Esplanade, is dubbed the Dell Gaming E-sports Cinema. It also has supporting equipment partners Intel, True Online and Neolution.
The partnership enables Major to expand and support corporate users who would like to organise e-sports events at a lower cost compared with those at temporary facilities that charge higher for equipment installation.
E-sports users tend to be 12-35 years old, a group that accounts for 70% of cinema customers.
Major aims to take in 120 million baht from e-sports business with one year.
Dell Gaming E-sports Cinema is a place where gaming enthusiasts and like-minded fans can meet, participate and enjoy gaming activities and challenges, said Anothai Wettayakorn, vice-president of Dell EMC Indochina.
According to a NewZoo report, Thailand ranks 20th among game markets globally with game revenue of $597 million and 18.3 million gamers.