JAKARTA – The Indonesian gaming sector is evolving and growing into a positive light that brings huge potential benefits for the country’s economy. In fact, the government has included the national gaming ecosystem into one of the main topics discussed in the Cabinet Meeting.

The government’s attention is not without reason. Indonesia is expected to be the market as well as the major player in the global game industry. The industry also showcased resilience and positive upward trend amidst the devastating COVID-19 pandemic that brought major blows to other industries.

“So there is a need for a national game industry roadmap through a Presidential Decree or at least in the form of an Instruction,” said Chief of Staff to the President Moeldoko, while attending the National Game Industry Meeting, Tuesday (4/1).

Moeldoko added that the government has an important role to ensure the better game experience with high quality graphic contents. But he stressed that any gaming content should adhere to the nation’s values. So far, there has been no special censorship agency for games, raising a concern against the circulating content in the community.

“For this reason, it is necessary to strengthen the legal umbrella and supervising institutions to manage the Indonesia Game Rating System (IGRS),” added Moeldoko.

With its labor-intensive and capital-intensive nature, the sector is expected to open up job opportunities for programmers, graphic designers, game designers, sound and special effects experts, and others.

Therefore Moeldoko said, it is important to develop the game industry talent. For that, the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry must develop a curriculum that supports graduates to meet the qualifications for the gaming industry. The curriculum, he continued, should be applied to all polytechnic and vocational schools, be used for student internship programs and teaching programs. 

“Human capital development should be integrated with the grand design of the government’s National Talent Management to properly prepare local game talents for global competition and attract diaspora gamers to come back home, developing the game industry in Indonesia,” said Moeldoko.

The Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and the Multimedia Nusantara University are among a few colleges and universities that have expertise in game development. For this reason, the government encourages more mentoring and incubation programs for game start-ups, easy access to initial capital, and applied research in universities through a matching-fund scheme with the gaming industry.

“The government also needs to provide financial support and affirmation,” explained Moeldoko.

The game can also have a strategic role to be a means of educating national values ​​and Pancasila. Moeldoko pushes the government intervention in providing an initial market for the national game industry, easing the entrance access for educational games.