GG after GG for SG’s gaming titans

Here's a look at how the Singapore entities of Hoyoverse, Riot Games, and Tencent generate billions, plus Visa's take on the future of shopping.

Read from your browser Daily Newsletter Welcome to Tech in Asia's daily newsletter, your essential dose of Asia's tech and startup buzz. Not yet a subscriber? Register here. Got a story tip? Send it to editors@techinasia.com. IN FOCUS Different paths, still billions in revenue for these gaming firms AI-powered shopping has its hurdles A ByteDance gaming studio might be off to Saudi Hello Betamax, I've started playing Dark Souls 3 again after putting it down multiple times before. I've already completed titles from its developer, Fromsoft, including Bloodborne and Sekiro, but the Dark Souls series has been left unfinished on my games list. On mobile, however, I'm not playing anything right now. I used to play games like Genshin Impact, but I have been burned out too many times on failed gacha attempts at characters I like. For the unfamiliar, gacha is a monetization mechanic in games. Mostly found on mobile titles, it lets users spend in-game to get a randomized chance of winning. It got its name from Japanese vending machines for capsule toys, which are called gachapons. While gacha has turned me off, I'm clearly in the minority, judging by the financials of the likes of Hoyoverse, the company behind Genshin Impact. In today's top story, I look into the numbers of some of the biggest game publishers based in Singapore. They include Hoyoverse's Cognosphere, Riot Games' Riot Games Services, and Tencent's Proxima Beta - now known as Level Infinite. Each of them is playing the monetization game differently. Hoyoverse focuses on the gacha system, while Riot Games relies on character skins. As for Level Infinite, it offers a mix of both. Together, these three giants are pulling in billions of dollars from titles that are mostly free-to-play. So, it's likely that these controversial monetization models won't go away soon. Miguel Cordon, journalist TOP STORY Three giants, one city: SG gaming entities rake in billions Hoyoverse secures high margins by strictly publishing internal titles. This strategy also ensures each game has a distinct look and feel, helping them stand out from each other. Tencent, meanwhile, leverages volume. It acts as a massive publisher for external Chinese studios that it thinks will perform well outside its home country. These are usually games with less aggressive monetization. Then there's Riot, which dabbled in publishing third-party titles with Riot Forge in the past. However, it shut down the business arm in 2023. The same year, it laid off 530 employees, mostly those outside of the "core development" team, highlighting its shift in focus to original titles. SPOTLIGHT Modern problems require modern solutions Like a lot of verticals, ecommerce is facing a major shakeup amid the AI revolution. The industry is moving toward consumers asking AI agents to search for things to buy and make the payments for them. In a recent Insights piece published on Tech in Asia, Amit Verma, founding head of engineering and AI at service resolution tech firm Neuron7.ai, called AI agent shopping the "next frontier" of the industry. While an agent doing your shopping for you may sound convenient, it does pose security issues. But payments giant Visa is already on the case, and it's building a safety net for autonomous commerce using things like biometric locks. Ecommerce sites' existing infrastructure is another hurdle to clear, however. Platforms have invested heavily in creating measures that block automated bots to prevent scraping and fraud, says Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth, in a recent episode of Big Technology Podcast. The executive dives into these issues in the said episode, which is the basis for this edition's featured TL;DL article. If you don't have time to listen to the full episode, we've got you covered. You can find more writeups here. PUT YOUR STARTUP IN THE SPOTLIGHT Want your startup featured on Tech in Asia? We're trying something new: You share your story, and we turn it into a Startup Spotlight article using generative AI. The article is then reviewed by editors, published, and promoted like any other story. Here's a look at some of the startups we've put in the spotlight recently: Byterover is a Vietnamese firm that gives AI coding agents a memory boost. Covena provides end-to-end B2C sales outsourcing, powered by an AI-human team. YukYuk lets users make TikTok-ready content from a single prompt. Want to see your startup or portfolio company here next? Just fill in this form. Your connections could inspire others We're highlighting partnerships, deals, and investments that started at Tech in Asia's events. Did a conversation or a quick catch-up at a Tech in Asia event turn into a partnership, deal, or investment? We'd love to hear your story. We're gathering real examples of how our community transforms simple interactions into meaningful outcomes across the startup ecosystem. Your submission helps us showcase the impact of genuine connections, and eligible stories may receive a complimentary press release spotlight on Tech in Asia. Join us in documenting how the tech community grows - one collaboration at a time. Share your story here! TRENDING NEWS 1️⃣ ByteDance in talks to sell gaming unit Moonton to Saudi's Savvy Games Speaking of games, the TikTok parent is looking to offload the gaming studio, which it originally acquired in 2021 for a reported valuation of about US$4 billion. 2️⃣ Alibaba joins wearables race with Quark AI glasses launch The headset starts at US$268 and comes with features such as real-time translation and price recognition. Alibaba's competitors in the AI-powered headset space include Samsung, Apple, and Meta. 3️⃣ Gobi Partners expands into Japan The move follows the VC firm's previous initiatives aimed at strengthening its ties with the East Asian country, like the Malaysia-Japan Innovation and Capital Forum. 4️⃣ ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot to leave WhatsApp by 2026 The messaging app's parent company, Meta, is updating its business API policy to ban the use of rival AI chatbots as distribution tools. 5️⃣ DeepSeek competitor's VC backer nets $289m Monolith Management has invested in companies like MoonShot AI, a rival of the Chinese AI firm DeepSeek. WHO'S HIRING You can post a job here or search for jobs here. SEO Lead at Boleh Dicoba Digital | Bandung, Java, Indonesia Data Analyst at PT Allo Bank Indonesia Tbk | Jakarta, Indonesia Software Engineer - Backend at Mekari | Jakarta, Indonesia ADVERTISE | SUBSCRIBE | HIRE | FIND JOBS P.S. 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