Debated in Parliament on 2 Nov 2020.
Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye asked the Minister for Communications and Information (a) what is the current number of game development companies operating in Singapore; and (b) what is the projected number of PMET positions that is needed to support the growing e-sports industry in Singapore.
The games development and e-sports industry in Singapore is growing, in tandem with its rise globally, especially in the Asian region. In Singapore, there are about 190 games development and publishing companies,1 many of whom are local players e.g. SEA Group, with a few multinationals e.g. Ubisoft.
There are diverse opportunities for PMET jobs in this industry, spanning job roles such as Software Programmer, Games Producer, Games Developer and Project Manager. Over the next two years, the industry will require about 2,700 info-communications and media professionals to support the games sector.2 To locally support the capability needs of this industry, the Government established DigiPen (Singapore) in 2017 as a specialised game school to teach students about digital animation and video game design. At the same time, IMDA is partnering companies to train for job roles to support the games industry and create new career opportunities for Singaporeans. One example is IMDA's partnership with SEA Group to train 500 Data/Business Analysts, Engineers, Product Managers and UI/UX Designers over the next two to three years.
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