Esports can grow to become a lucrative industry in Southeast Asia, but the ecosystem and business models must first be developed, says Impunity Esports CEO.
More than just child’s play, esports has the potential to become a lucrative in Southeast Asia. For that to happen, though, the ecosystem and business models first must be developed. For now, the esports industry in markets such as Singapore remained in the infancy stage, said Zheng Le, CEO of Impunity Esports. Founded in 2019, the Singapore startup is an esports entertainment company that currently manages more than 100 esports players and talent. It also has presence in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, and hires some 20 employees across the four Southeast Asian markets. Most of Impunity’s revenue are from sponsorships, advertising, and promotional activities, Zheng said in an interview with ZDNet. The company gets a cut when brands engage its talent, who encompass influencers in the games community. For instance, a Singapore-based gamer it recently signed up has more than 1 million followers from her cosplays and live streams. The startup also gains revenue from prize money its esports athletes win from participating in tournaments and leagues, as well as from its intellectual property, when its logo is used in merchandise such as mobile phone covers. Zheng expects to clock about SG$500,000 ($372,552) in revenue this year. Facebook is the social media platform of choice in pushing out the content it produces across the four Southeast Asian markets, but Zheng said Impunity recently began collaborating with TikTok in Singapore, working with the video platform to nurture its influencers and produce content. Noting that esports shared common grounds with the sporting and entertainment industries, he said professionals who had done well in sports such as tennis, football, and basketball today also were seen as celebrities with high brand value.
