Esports Around The World is a series of profiles outlining the esports ecosystem in various countries globally. The series ties into ESI’s international esports business events, which take place around the world. Our ESI Singapore 2023 event took place in June at the Asian Civilisations Museum.
Introduction
Singapore, an Island city-state, plays an important role in the esports industry due to numerous major publishers having headquarters or offices in the country. These include Blizzard Entertainment (marketing), Electronic Arts (marketing), Garena, Razer, Riot Games, and Ubisoft, amongst numerous other esports organisations and companies.
According to a report by Tencent and Newzoo, Singapore’s esports audience in 2021 was 0.7 million, a small audience but comparatively high considering its small population of roughly five million.
Singapore-based One Esports’ CEO Carlos Alimurung told Bloomberg that Southeast Asia is the ‘next frontier’ and the ‘vanguard of mobile esports’, and that Singapore was leading that charge due its infrastructure and B2B enterprise landscape. Chris Tran, Riot Games’ Head of Esports for Southeast Asia, has also said that Singapore is an ideal market for global gaming trends.
The country has an extremely advanced internet infrastructure. It has the highest broadband speeds globally, according to the Speedtest Global Index, as well as fast mobile data speeds and high smartphone penetration. High-quality technology infrastructure, government backing and its developed economy make Singapore an important esports country and something of a hub for Southeast Asian esports.
Singapore made headlines in late 2023 as the host of the Olympic Esports Week, the first-ever esports event organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The event marked an important milestone in the development of an esports strategy for the country, but was criticised for its choice of games and poor viewership.
The country has held some of the most important and most-viewed esports events in history, such as the M3 World Championship in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and The International 11. Similar to other countries in the region, mobile esports titles such as MLBB are very popular in Singapore.
Government Recognition
The Singapore Esports Association (SGEA) is the national governing body for esports in Singapore and is the National Sports Association (NSA) for esports. Although esports has not been officially declared or recognised a sport by the government, NSA’s act as the sanctioning representatives and custodians of their respective sports in Singapore. NSA’s are designated by Sporting Singapore, a statutory board of the government’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.
SGEA is also part of the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), which sent representatives to the 2021 Southeast Asian Games for esports events. The Government of Singapore’s anti-doping rules published by Anti-Doping Singapore (ADS) are also applicable as rules of the Singapore Esports Association.
Notable Tournaments & Leagues
Singapore is part of multiple tournament circuits and leagues that cater to or have Asian legs. In recent years, some major Tier 1 tournaments have also been held inside Singapore, including the Free Fire World Series 2021, One Esports Singapore Major and the Global Esports Games.
Notable Esports Organisations
Note that this is a non-exhaustive list and exclusion does not signify an org is not notable.
National Associations / Federations
Note that inclusion in this list does not suggest any acknowledgement from ESI of its authority, works or official capacity.
| Global Esports Federation (GEF) (Singapore-headquartered) | Singapore Esports Association (SGEA) |
| Singapore Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) | Singapore Games Association (SGGA) |
Education Initiatives
Singapore has multiple academy programmes that are available to students of all ages. International school XCL World Academy implements esports as part of its school curriculum across all of its branches.
Singapore Cybersports & Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) has formed an esports academy in partnership with the National Youth Council of Singapore to offer social service agency programmes by partnering with schools. It also offers career workshops for young individuals considering esports as a career option. SCOGA also offers adult workshops for parents who want to understand esports careers.
Additionally, there are specialist diploma programmes by Republic Polytechnic and other academic institutions throughout Singapore. The presence of esports in Singapore’s education system has grown significantly over the years thanks to youth programs and exposure to esports.
This is a preliminary country profile and will be augmented with additional information over time. If you have any suggestions or feedback for this profile, please get in touch at [email protected]. This article was last updated on August 25, 2023.