Bangkok Brings the Heat of Esports at the 2025 SEA Games
Happy New Year! Kicking off 2026 with our new blog post about esports at SEA Games that concluded last December. Check out other news about ASUS-Kojima collaboration, the start of MLBB M7, and more...
Niko Partners has been following and analyzing IOC-sanctioned sports events in Asia for several years, with Niko analysts attending events including the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, where esports was a demonstration event, as well as the 2019 SEA Games, where esports first became a medal sport. Niko’s Thailand Analyst Nina Kitkrua attended the IOC-sanctioned 33rd Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games) in Bangkok, Thailand and wrote a blog post about it.
ASUS and Kojima Productions launched collaboration products
ASUS has announced a collaboration with Kojima Productions, a game studio led by Hideo Kojima. The collaboration will result in ASUS ROG’s gaming laptop, headset, mouse, and mousepad with Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding designs. The gaming laptop is interestingly going to be the first ROG gaming laptop to feature carbon fiber.
Why this matters: This collaboration showcases how Japanese IPs can be utilized to promote PC products, with Hideo Kojima notably having a cult following among PC gamers around the world.
Link to original article (Japanese) →
M7 World Championship for MLBB kicks off in Indonesia
The M7 World Championship 2026 kicked off on January 3, with the month-long event running through January 25. The esports tournament is the 7th annual edition of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang world championship organized by Moonton where 22 teams across the global compete for a $1 million prize pool. The Grand Final will be held at the Tennis Indoor Senayan Stadium in Jakarta (and 3 of our Niko team will be there).
Why this matters: MLBB is a major mobile esport that continues to entertain fans. Defending champions ONIC Philippines failed to qualify for the tournament, marking the third consecutive instance of a reigning champion failing to defend their title. MLBB is the #1 mobile game by revenue in Indonesia, with the local MPL Indonesia esports league continuously ranked as one of the most popular esports events in the world. Niko Partners recently partnered with Moonton to release a bulletin on Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in Malaysia and the societal impact of the game there.
RELATED: MPL Indonesia Season 15 and 16 are among the most watched esports events in 2025
Esports Charts (Escharts) released their most watched esports event list of 2025. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Indonesia Season 15 and 16 have become the third and fourth place with 101.2 and 76.1 million hours watched. Both of these tournaments outperformed that global tournament MLBB Mid Season Cup 2025 that was held as a part of Esports World Cup 2025. Moreover, MPL Indonesia Season 15 come in second place based on peak viewers with over 4.1 million. This number comes after League of Legends’ 2025 World Championship.
Why this matters: As the most popular regional league in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, it consistently posts strong audience numbers and, in some viewership metrics, has long outperformed world championships in other esports titles.
Devsisters’ Cookie Run TCG exceeds 50 million cards in global distribution
Devsisters announced that its trading card game (TCG) Cookie Run: Braverse Card Game surpassed 50 million cards under global distribution contracts in 2024, up about 180% YoY. The company stated the increase was driven by expanding reach among entry-level and casual players using the Cookie Run IP with more than 300 million cumulative users worldwide with sales now spanning roughly 1,000 card shops globally.
Why this matters: Cookie Run is among the longstanding video game IPs from Korea that manage to be popular globally, with North America accounted for the largest share of growth. Devsisters’ focus on the game’s community-building and fan events in are believed to improve engagement among fans.
Link to original article (Korean) →
Phantom Blade Zero surpasses 1 million wishlists on Steam in 15 days
Chinese developer S-Game announced that its upcoming action title Phantom Blade Zero surpassed 1 million wishlists within 15 days of its store pages going live on Steam. Phantom Blade Zero is positioned as a high-fidelity action game rooted in Chinese wuxia culture that incorporates other international elements to form a “KungfuPunk” aesthetic. The title is scheduled to launch on PC and PlayStation 5 on September 9, 2026 and it has already seen industry recognition, having won Most Anticipated Game and receiving a nomination for Phenomenon of the Year at the UCG Game Awards 2024.
Why this matters: Phantom Blade Zero emerged shortly before the release of Black Myth: Wukong, and while it is not a soulslike, many international gamers have expressed interest in the title due to its Chinese wuxia elements and flashy combat. Obtaining 1 million wishlists in 15 days puts it among some of the strongest performing titles pre-launch, especially for a China developed game. The launch will be a huge test for S-Game who had previously developed 2D action games such as Rainblood.
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PC and console game usage in Korea according to MCST and KOCCA
Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) published the 2025 Game User Survey Report, based on 10,000 player respondents nationwide. The survey results show that game usage rates fell by 9.7 percentage points year-on-year to 50.2% over the past year, and the five-year CAGR has been on a downward trend, reaching -6.8%. Among gamers, PC game usage increased by 4.3 percentage points year-on-year to 58.1%, while console game usage increased by 1.9 percentage points to 28.6%. Conversely, mobile game usage decreased by 2.6 percentage points year-on-year to 89.1%.
Why this matters: This is in line with Niko’s estimations and predictions that Korean mobile game revenue and usage are slightly declining, while PC and console game usage are showing a promising growth.
Link to original article (Korean) →
Shanghai government announces new policy to boost video games & esports
The Shanghai government has unveiled a new plan to strengthen its gaming and esports industry, with an annual RMB 50 million ($7.1 million) support fund and a package of 10 policy measures aimed at building a strong domestic and international ecosystem. A core focus of the policy package is encouraging original game development. The plan also promotes cross-industry collaboration, encouraging partnerships between game companies and other sectors. On the esports side, the city pledged to intensify efforts to attract major international tournaments and to provide incentives for high-performing Shanghai-based esports clubs.
Why this matters: Shanghai is continuing to build on years of existing policies supporting the video game and esports sector, with increased support coming after central government support increased last year. The policy will also see Shanghai establishing a dedicated overseas services platform to support local studios going overseas. The increased also focus also comes at a time when Shanghai is home to 34 esports organization, the highest concentration of any Chinese city, giving it a strong base to further consolidate talent, events, and commercial activity.
Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc. to launch in China this year
UK based Ndemic Creations have confirmed that they plan to launch Plague Inc. and Rebel Inc. in China this year. The two titles have collectively surpassed 60 million downloads worldwide but had not had an official release in China. Hong Kong-based publisher Teebik will release the games in the market. Plague Inc, the more popular of the two, released in 2012 and went viral (pun intended) after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In the game, players create and evolves a pathogen to annihilate the human population with a deadly pandemic.
Why this matters: While the game was not officially available, we note that it was available on the China app store from 2012. After the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, the game became the best selling title on the app store in the country, but was quickly banned by the Chinese government in February 2020 due to containing illegal content. We covered the ban at the time and you can find our comments in this Reuters article.
Link to original article (Chinese) →
Ding Yingfeng steps down from NetEase after two decades
NetEase has confirmed that Ding Yingfeng has retired from his role as executive vice president and head of the Interactive Entertainment Business Group, marking the end of a more than 20 year leadership tenure at NetEase. Ding entered the games industry in 1998 and joined NetEase in 2002, where he became one of the company’s most important and influential figures. Ding was a core designer and driving force behind Fantasy Westward Journey Online, NetEase’s longest running and most successful MMO.
Why this matters: In addition to creating one of NetEase’s most iconic games, which is still breaking concurrent user records today. He led the Interactive Entertainment Business Group which developed and released titles such as Identity V and the recently launched Where Winds Meet. Ding played a leading role in transitioning the firm beyond domestic PC games to both mobile games and international releases. Ding will remain with NetEase in an advisory capacity through 2026.
Events
MLBB M7 Grand Finals
January 25, 2026
Jakarta, Indonesia
Attendee: Darang Candra, Edward Tien, Jaq Lukman