As per the latest data released by Newzoo, it has altered the previous predictions in gaming sector, adjusting from a 2.1% increase to a 4.3% decline in the global gaming market in 2022.

Despite the seemingly downturn in the gaming industry, it is surprising to see that investment in the sector is increasing worldwide. More and more game publishers, leading players in the internet, and even governments are giving hands to help develop the local gaming sector. 

Early this month, the European Parliament voted to support the development of a Europe-wide videogame ecosystem. And then Germany announced that it would raise its national support budget for the local gaming industry to €70 million. In addition, France and Ireland introduced tax exemption extensions and tax credits this month. What's more, Saudi Arabia has noted that it would invest $37.8 billion to develop its gaming sector. 

With the policy support and development trend, more gaming publishers are willing to invest in the Singapore market. In addition to publishers like IGG and Yoozoo choosing development in Singapore for years, a variety of Chinese gaming publishers, including Level Infinite, Farlight Games, and HoYoverse, have released their willingness to headquarters in Singapore this year. 

Long-term Environment Friendly to the Internet Industry

Singapore is now characterized by the new hub for gaming developers. With a new round of globalization in its industry, Singapore for sure becomes a channel for Chinese game developers to reach out to the world outside. Singapore boasts 730 square kilometers with a population of 5.7 million. It does lack natural resources but meets great momentum in trading related to export as its core. 

Therefore, Singapore has a relatively free and open regulatory and business environment, which is more suitable for the development of new industries. Not only Chinese gaming developers but also some well-known European and American technology companies and gaming developers have set up their headquarters and R&D centers in Singapore.

As is known to all, Temasek and GIC, Singapore's government investment companies, are leading players in the investment industry, reaching over $100 billion in funds and investing thousands of listed and unlisted companies around the world, in all forms of investment.

Gaming Publishers' Preferences Amidst Globalization

It is easy to see that Singapore put an emphasis on the technology industry for a long time and has spared no effort in the development of China's internet industry. More recently, Singapore's fund has targeted emerging sectors such as cloud gaming, metaverse, and Web3.

In March this year, Temasek, together with Tencent and other companies, invested $200 million in Immutable X, a gaming NFT platform. September saw that Temasek led a $4,000 investment in Well Link, a cloud rendering solution provider, which is the service provider for Genshin Impact on GeForce. And in November, Temasek invested in YAHAHA, a metaverse UGC platform, together with Alibaba and other firms. 

Singapore's long-standing warm attitude towards internet companies and the government's neutrality towards technology have also exerted a deep impact on Chinese gaming companies to choose Singapore to become overseas headquarters.

Due to the high penetration of English in Singapore, local users have a more international preference for games. According to the data from SensorTower, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Lords Mobile reach the top position on the free and best-selling list respectively in 2021. In addition, PUBG Mobile, Genshin Impact, and State of Survival also performed well. Coincidentally, players can enjoy the games mentioned above with redfinger cloud phone. For users who want to save storage to play mobile games, gaming virtual emulator may be an ideal choice. 

Business Environment and Development Philosophy Matter

Keen to invest in the internet, Singapore does attract a large number of Chinese gaming publishers but less development in the local internet industry.

The fluctuating economy, and the impact of the epidemic, is enabling Singapore to be an emerging hub for the global gaming industry, technology, and even the internet industry. At the beginning of November, Singapore and China signed 19 agreements to deepen cooperation on green, digital, and connectivity themes, creating sound conditions for more Chinese companies to develop their businesses in Singapore.

With a large number of Chinese gaming companies located in Singapore, the development of the local gaming sector is threatened. Although there is no lack of talent from the financial and service sectors in Singapore, the population is too limited to meet the demand for R&D talent from gaming publishers.

As a result, gaming publishers currently based in Singapore are not just recruiting talent locally but globally. Looking back, Germany is known as an industrial country while Saudi Arabia is rich in oil. And Singapore's economic industry also favours finance. However, all these countries are looking at the gaming industry. The importance of gaming sector development is gradually recognized by more and more countries around the world.