Jakarta - Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno opened the grand final of the 2022 Esports Presidential Cup at Istora Senayan here on Friday.
The competition was held from November 11–13, 2022.
He said he expects the competition to not only improve athletes’ achievement, but also encourage the development of the local gaming ecosystem.
Uno lauded the 2022 Esports Presidential Cup for featuring more local games, as this aligned with the growth of the gaming industry in the country.
"Last year, there were two local games. This year, there were three local games. Indonesia's gaming industry has lucrative potential," he noted at a press conference after the opening here on Friday.
"In 2021, the application and gaming sub-sector’s revenue increased 9.17 percent with the projection of Rp31.25 trillion. In 2022, it increased to above 10–15 percent," he said.
This year's tournament featured three local games, two of which were featured last year, namely Lokapala and the Battle of Satria Dewa. The third local game was the Battle of Guardians.
Head of business partnerships for Battle of Satria Dewa's developer, Haryadinata, said that the game's development has improved ever since it was featured at last year's Presidential Cup.
"We expect to be proud if our game is compared to overseas games," he remarked.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Battle of Guardians' developer, Alexander Andrew Halim, is seeking to develop the game, hold small- to large-scale gaming tournaments, and have the game featured in the 2023 Presidential Cup.
Meanwhile, Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture's sport achievement improvement assistant deputy, Gatot Hendrarto, urged athletes to improve their quality and work together to encourage the public to play local games.
"We expect that local games can be featured starting with the SEA Games, then Asian Games, and so on," he said.
The grand final of the 2022 Esports Presidential Cup was held in a hybrid offline-online format with stringent as well as comprehensive application of the health protocols.
In addition to local games, the 2022 Esports Presidential Cup also featured Free Fire, Mobile Legends Bang-Bang (MLBB), and PUBG Mobile.
Athletes vied for a total prize pool of Rp2 billion and the chance to compete in the IESF World Championship in Bali at the start of December.
Oleh : Arindra Meodia, Fadhli Ruhman/Antara
Editor : Yakop
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