Jun Shen Chia

Over the past year or so, GDP's intro article on Compliance in Games has gotten a dozen or so pingbacks treating it as definitional (most recently in an article from SpeeQual Games entitled "Gaming Regulation in Asia"). It is a nice overview and if you're looking for a quick understanding of compliance, well worth the read. https://lnkd.in/gqpi9X5a

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Korean PC Bang Trends — Week 3 of January 2026 Korea’s PC bang ecosystem continues to show how live updates, esports momentum, and content cadence directly translate into user behavior. Key Highlights - League of Legends dominates with 41.1% share LoL has widened the gap even further this January, driven by: The 2026 Season 1 update (system refinements, pacing changes, event-driven engagement) The kickoff of the LCK Cup, once again proving how esports and live service design reinforce each other in Korea - Top PC Bang titles remain highly concentrated The top 5 titles account for more than 70% of total usage, led by: PUBG: Battlegrounds (9.35%) VALORANT (8.33%) EA SPORTS FC Online, Sudden Attack, and Overwatch This concentration highlights how PC bang traffic is still anchored by competitive, session-based games with strong community loops. - Genshin Impact shows a notable rebound Jumping from the mid-40s to the low-30s in rank, Genshin’s rise following its January update is a reminder that: Even primarily mobile-first / cross-platform titles can regain PC bang relevance Major content drops still matter, regardless of platform origin 💡 Beyond traffic: PC bangs as a revenue channel PC bangs in Korea are not just a distribution or visibility channel. Through PC bang-exclusive benefits, time-based monetization, prepaid hour bundles, and publisher revenue-share models, titles can generate direct, incremental revenue on top of user engagement. For publishers, PC bangs continue to function as: A weekly engagement barometer A live ops amplification channel And a distinct monetization layer unique to the Korean market Even in a mature ecosystem, PC bangs remain one of the clearest mirrors of both player behavior and monetization potential in Korea. #PCBang #KoreaGaming #GameIndustry #LiveOps #Esports #Publishing #Monetization #MarketInsights

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So it begins. Silksong is the first game in history to get a perfect 100 score on Opencritic. It is currently sitting at #1 in the aggregators list of “Best Games of All Time”. A few thoughts: 1. I wonder how long it will keep that rating and ranking. 2. With the rumblings of how well it could be selling, I think it’s always great to see a game that is critically acclaimed also being a commercial success.

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The rapid rise of Asian AI model providers has changed the entire video generation industry. Here’s why—and what it’s like to work with these providers. Just 6–9 months ago, Sora and Runway were the leading video models. Today, the spotlight has shifted to ByteDance’s models like SeeDance Pro (which we’ve just added at Runware), along with providers topping AI leaderboards such as Kling, MiniMax, or specialized models for anime or viral content like PixVerse, and Vidu. It’s not hard to see why. On Runware, you can generate a 5-second video with SeeDance 1.0 Lite for just ~$0.06. For all the providers mentioned, the cost per video is typically under $0.25. That makes it accessible for end-users and ideal for building consumer products or testing ideas without the fear of driving up costs massively. You can generate 10–40x more videos compared to other premium Western models. From working closely with these partners, one thing is also clear: they’re in it to win it. They feel the pressure to compete, just like every AI startup, and they’re releasing new models and features at an incredible pace. There’s something new to launch every week—a challenge we’re excited to take on so we can deliver these updates to our users. But honestly, if this wasn’t our core focus... it’d be an incredible challenge to keep up. If you're integrating video generation - there's never been a better time. The industry is absolutely on 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. Can't wait to see this heat up even further with more Q3 and Q4 releases. This year's gonna be a high watermark for media generation. The video below is made with SeeDance Pro on Runware. Link to try it out in comments. #generativeAI #videogeneration #AImodels

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Is the "Lineage" era evolving? NCSOFT's $202M bet on JustPlay says yes South Korean gaming giant NCSOFT is making its biggest move into the casual market yet, acquiring a 70% stake in Berlin-based JustPlay for ~$202M. This isn't just a simple acquisition; it's a fundamental pivot. After navigating a challenging 2024 and 2025, NCSOFT is diversifying away from its "hardcore RPG" roots to build a robust casual gaming ecosystem. Why JustPlay? Scale: Access to a reward-based platform with 25M+ users. AdTech Edge: Founded by former AppLovin employees, JustPlay brings sophisticated algorithms for player behavior and UA optimization. Market Reach: With 70% of revenue coming from the US and Canada, NCSOFT has a massive foothold in Tier-1 Western markets. The Bigger Picture: NCSOFT is targeting $3.5B (KRW 5T) in revenue by 2030. By anchoring their strategy with JustPlay, they aren't just buying games—they're buying a traffic acquisition engine to cross-promote titles like PUZZUP: AMITOI and future casual releases. It's a bold turnaround story to watch. Can a titan of MMORPGs successfully reinvent itself as a casual gaming powerhouse? Read more in the first comment. #GamingIndustry #NCSOFT #MobileGaming #AdTech #JustPlay #VideoGames #InvestGame

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Malaysia's own MDEC is helping local game studios by offering a valuation program for companies looking to attract more investors https://lnkd.in/g2Z7c5Ki

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🌻 Vietnam Will Rise Into the Top 3 Gaming Nations Within 5 Years When you look at the data, it’s clear that Vietnam is no longer a quiet player in mobile gaming. We are an unstoppable creative wave in the making. 1. A generation born with games in their blood. Vietnam’s Gen Z didn’t just grow up with games. They grew through them. From school computers to mobile phones, gaming became part of how they learn, socialize, and dream. This new generation is now stepping into the industry, not as consumers but as creators. 2. Quality and creativity are catching up fast. Vietnam used to be known for making fast, viral hits. Today that same energy is maturing into deeper, higher-quality experiences. We are seeing the IAP and IAA ratio shift upward, meaning more players are willing to pay for what they love, not just watch ads. That is a sign of both player maturity and developer evolution. 3. AI is unlocking a new age of indie creation. With AI tools breaking down barriers to game design, we are witnessing an explosion of small teams and startups turning ideas into real products. Vietnam has always been the birthplace of unexpected global hits like Flappy Bird, Sky Dancer, and Axie Infinity. And most recently, Brother Hai’s Pho has once again reminded the world how far Vietnamese creativity can go. Vietnam is not just growing in numbers. It is growing in mindset, in technology, and in its belief that world-class games can come from anywhere, including here.

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According to reports, 111% of South Korean casual game developers will collaborate with Habby to establish a new game company in Singapore. The new manufacturer will be responsible for the distribution of 111% of its games in markets outside of South Korea, and the company's leadership will be jointly appointed by the two companies. 111% of current top products include tower defense games "Lucky Defense" and "Random Dice Defense". （Gamigion） 🎇Follow the BelugaGlobal , LinkedIn Official Account, this will bring you more exciting information about cross border expansion. #GlobalTrafficConference #BelugaGlobal #GTC2025Shanghai #Korean #Habby #KoreanGames #SingaporeGames #MobileGame #innovation #gamingindustry #gamedesign #GameMarketing

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Garena, Sea’s digital entertainment arm, had its best quarter booking since the Covid-19 pandemic; bookings grew 51.1% and revenue grew 31.2%. #garena #sea

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Variety covered Cher in their HK Filmart edition this morning (Day 1). I want to say something about why this project exists, not just that it does. Benetone Films has spent years building the infrastructure to do more than service other people's stories. Production, originals, distribution, genre. Each piece was deliberate. FEARFOLKS was built specifically to give horror a focused home; not as a side label, but as a serious platform for Thai genre storytelling with global ambitions. Cher is where that strategy becomes concrete. Benetone produces. Fearfolks handles international sales. The same group that identified the gap now has the pipeline to fill it end-to-end. The creative choices reflect that ambition. Pae Arak and Weir Sukollawat just held the number one spot at the Thai box office for four consecutive weeks with 4 Tigers. Taking that commercial pull and placing it inside a story rooted in Thai folklore, written by Patrick Graham (Netflix's Ghoul and Betaal), is not a safe bet. It is a deliberate one. Thai horror has always had cultural material. What it has lacked is serious creative ambition combined with a real global distribution path. That is what Benetone is building with Cher. Full Variety article : https://lnkd.in/gXpEFP2B #BenetoneFilms #FEARFOLKS #ThaiHorror #HKFilmart2026

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I've spent my career publishing games across Southeast Asia. And I still think most of the industry underestimates what this region actually is. Let me put some numbers on the table. - $6.39 billion in gaming revenue in 2025. Projected to reach $7.37 billion by 2027. - 1.93 billion mobile game downloads in Q1 2025 alone — making SEA the second-largest market in the world by downloads. - Nearly 300 million gamers across the region. More than the entire population of most major gaming markets. - SEA-based publishers ranked first globally for mobile game downloads in 2024, generating over 5.8 billion installs. Three Vietnamese publishers alone were in the global top 15. And yet, most global publishers still treat this as an afterthought market. The reason isn't the numbers. The numbers are impossible to ignore. The reason is complexity. SEA is not one market. It's six distinct countries with different payment systems, different regulatory environments, different player psychology, and different monetisation ceilings. Indonesia is the download leader but not the revenue leader. Thailand leads on IAP revenue despite being a fraction of Indonesia's size. Vietnam has a thriving local publisher ecosystem but one of the most complex licensing regimes in the region. The Philippines has 43 million gamers and the highest English proficiency in SEA but community dynamics that most studios never take the time to understand. Singapore and Malaysia are smaller in scale but contributes higher ARPU, especially Singapore where it has reached Tier 1 level. The publishers who win here are the ones who stop trying to apply a single global playbook and start treating each market as its own business. Over the coming weeks I'll be sharing what I've learned across 20+ years in SEA gaming, from publisher-side deal-making at SEGA, NetEase, and Gravity, to building Grabber Media to help studios navigate this region properly. If you're in gaming, publishing, or thinking about SEA, follow along. What's your biggest question about the SEA market right now?

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This is precisely how Japan should build secondary markets for domestic companies preparing to go public. Ibex partner, Animoca Brands , is setting the standard by being the first to tokenize itself. Yat Siu Keyvan Peymani https://lnkd.in/gix6qJJs

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(This is part 2 of a series of articles on Game Doctor's work on Google Play's Vietnam Hitmaker Lab program. Part 1: https://lnkd.in/gV5Y4MSA Part 3: https://lnkd.in/ez2QjQJT Part 4: https://lnkd.in/grd8X2Za) After a couple of months of wrangling with Google’s legal team, we had a contract in hand and it was time to go from concepts of a plan to an actual plan! As June got started, we began interviewing some of Google’s top Vietnamese developers and trying to understand where they most needed help. The answers turned out to vary quite widely. Some teams needed help understanding difficulty ramps and how to consistently create fun challenges. Some teams needed help building data-driven decision making cultures that could consistently respond to player needs. Others needed help crafting art pipelines that would yield consistency and high quality. And still others needed help understanding how to create great UX that would pull their players elegantly through their game delightfully at every step. Almost all of them needed help thinking about long-term retention and player relationship building. With this knowledge in hand, and less than 75 days before the project’s start date, Game Doctors set about the daunting task of building a 19 person dream team. We tapped into the best of our existing game design, product management, and UX/UI, leveraging industry-leading talents like David Nixon, Jackson Wang, Paul Rybicki, Raymond Holmes, Bryan Mashinter, Felipe Mata, David Elton, and Jorge G.. We reached out to our partners at UX is Fine, who were kind enough to lend us the talented Brian Powers and Duncan Barton. And we reached into our network to find talented new team members like Sean Evans, Alexander McKinney-Raphelt, Lucas González, Emma Bravo, Dave Cross, Doug Kaufman, and Doğaç Yavuz. With Matt Snow, our final team member getting on board just before the start of offsite consultation, we leaned into a frenzy of setting up team calls and finalizing team members’ travel logistics, preparing to send nearly 20 people halfway around the world from a variety of origin points.

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Rolling Burger & Chef Universe: Expanding Hybrid Casual Game Economies Onchain https://lnkd.in/gMjAW7HC Rolling Burger, co-built by GRAMPUS° and Zenga games, is a hybrid casual, gambling-style game where players roll dice on a board, collect ingredients, and turn the results into burgers. In hybrid casual games, success isn’t about fine-tuning difficulty. What really matters is how long a session feels, how players come back over time, and how live operations are designed. Unlike AAA titles, hybrid casual games win through fast launches and quick iteration. That speed is a strength—but without enough operating experience, it can easily turn into friction. And because LTV is a built-in constraint of the genre, it’s important to think early about how one game can naturally grow into the second and third titles. Rolling Burger started from a simple idea: Web3 can help break through the limitations of hybrid casual games. Instead of forcing complexity into gameplay, Rolling Burger focuses on short, satisfying sessions and clear outcome-based rewards—and moves everything else outside the game. Inside the game, players just roll dice and make burgers. But the results can be converted into onchain ingredient tokens based on real-world food ingredients, such as BEEF, WHEAT, BUTTER, and beyond. Those ingredients live inside Chef Universe, where they act as soft currency across cooking games, communities, events, and experimental content. Some players trade ingredients like merchants in Uncharted Waters, while others hold onto key materials, betting on future demand and price shifts. Rolling Burger can move the out-of-game elements of a hybrid casual game beyond the game itself thanks to its strong alignment with the Base App. 1. Base Account, players can check and manage their onchain game assets without dealing with complex wallet flows. 2. Social feed makes it easy to see how ingredient tokens move and change in value—even without opening the game. 3. And with builders across the ecosystem, including tools like Minting Club, already making it easy to mint and trade all 129 ingredient tokens onchain. Rolling Burger was selected as a Top 50 Finalist in the Base Batches 002 Builder Track. Looking ahead, we plan to keep expanding the project—possibly through programs like IncuBase—with the goal of becoming one of Base’s core games. The strategy behind Rolling Burger and Chef Universe is still Day One. As hybrid casual game economies break out of single-game bundles and move onchain, new player behaviors and new markets will naturally follow. Follow Rolling Burger and Daehan Base Games Guild to see where this onchain game economy goes next.

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On Hungama WOMEN GAME CHANGERS, I spoke with Karina Pardus (she/her) and what began as a conversation about music in gaming became something far more structural. It became a conversation about safety, informal power, and what it actually means to build an industry rather than simply work inside one. Karina composes and orchestrates for games, podcasts, and brands. She serves as Associate Director of GameSoundCon and Production Manager for the Game Audio Network Guild Awards. She is also President of the Female Composer Safety League. That last role is not ornamental. It exists because freelance creative ecosystems often operate without guardrails. In game audio, most composers are freelancers. There is no HR. There is no internal reporting structure. There is no union safety net. If harassment happens, the person enacting harm may also be the person controlling your next contract. We romanticize freelance freedom as autonomy, flexibility, and creative control. What we do not discuss nearly enough is that retaliation is real, bias is real, credit theft is real and economic exclusion is real. When your work is contract-based and your income is irregular, speaking up is not simply emotional risk. It is financial risk. Our conversation also exposed something subtler but equally important: networking advice is not gender neutral. Karina shared that early in her career she was repeatedly told, “Just ask someone out for coffee.” For many men, that is standard networking. For a woman, especially in male-dominated audio spaces, that invitation can carry insinuations, ambiguity, or safety concerns. The advice itself assumes a level of comfort and perceived neutrality that does not always exist. Gatekeeping in creative industries is not always explicit exclusion. Often it is the accumulation of informal social rituals that were designed around male comfort. Late night drinks. Closed room sessions. Casual coffees. After-parties. When women hesitate in these spaces, it is not lack of ambition. It is risk assessment. Karina’s response was not withdrawal. It was strategy. She practiced saying her rates out loud so they did not come out as a question. She learned to redirect conversations back to skill and expertise. She kept showing up to conferences like GDC and GameSoundCon even when she did not land work in the first two years. “There are gatekeepers,” she said, “but there are also door openers.” That distinction matters. It reframes the industry not as a monolith but as a terrain where persistence and discernment coexist. Better industries are not declared. They are designed. Watch the full episide here: https://lnkd.in/d5Xqwd83

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