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Indie Jam 2025 Shines The Spotlight On Southeast Asian Game Development Talents
09 Apr
Southeast Asia has long been known as a game development outsourcing hub, but a passionate community of gaming talents are hoping to shine the spotlight on original stories from the region.
Indie Jam, a free-entry ASEAN independent games showcase and mini conference, is dedicated to raising awareness for the growing indie game development scene in Malaysia and beyond.
Returning to Xsolla Curine Academy on 26 – 27 April 2025 for its third edition, the annual event has elevated more than 50 games over two years, and reached more than 3,000 participants each year.
This year’s edition will showcase over 35 games developed in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand including student projects from University of Wollongong Malaysia, DigiPen Malaysia, Asia Pacific University, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, and Management and Science University.
The event will also extend to an online livestream showcase from 28 April to 4 May featuring influencers across the world, organised in partnership with Neon Doctrine, Soft Source Publishing, The Cham Drinkers, and SEAGamethetic.
Event lead Nathalie Tay with the students and staff of Management and Science University, including their oldest game development course student (in orange).
A Conference Without A Price Tag
Indie Jam has remained free entry for three years in a row, and event organisers THE MAGIC RAIN have no intentions of adding a price tag.
“We created Indie Jam to address issues that have plagued the Southeast Asian gaming industry for a long time,” explains event lead Nathalie Tay. “The first is the financial barrier of entry that prevents newbie game developers from gaining crucial industry exposure.”
“The next is a marketing hurdle. Southeast Asia steadily produces games that receive international recognition, from titles like No Straight Roads to A Space For The Unbound, but there is a persistent stigma that our regional talents cannot make good games,” she adds.
Through initiatives like Indie Jam, THE MAGIC RAIN hopes to challenge that perception. Not only is entry to the event completely free, game developers can also apply for free booths to showcase their games.
The Southeast Asian indie games showcase at Indie Jam 2024, located at Xsolla Curine Academy.
Organising The First IGDA Mentor Café In Asia
This year’s edition marks an important milestone for the Malaysian gaming scene. In partnership with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Global, the world’s largest non-profit membership organization serving all individuals who create games, Indie Jam 2025 will host the first IGDA Mentor Café in Asia.
The IGDA Mentor Café is designed to help industry professionals around the world support one another and learn skills to progress their careers. The networking event presents a great opportunity for mentees to receive advice from experts in their field, and for mentors to build relationships with the next generation of game developers.
This is not the only activity geared towards students and fresh graduates. Indie Jam 2025 will also be hosting its annual Student Game Jam with a grand prize pool of RM60,000 worth in scholarships sponsored by Xsolla Curine Academy.
The final participants of the previous Student Game Jam during Indie Jam 2024.
Sharing Knowledge With The Next Generation
Besides the indie games showcase and mentorship opportunities, the public is invited to attend knowledge sharing sessions hosted by industry veterans across the region.
This year features their most impressive line-up so far, including international representatives from Xbox, Larian Studios, Critical Reflex, Neon Doctrine, Toge Productions, and Springloaded.
The speaker roster will also feature local powerhouses PlayStation Malaysia, Passion Republic, University of Wollongong Malaysia, and more.
