Mason Games, a Malaysian game developer and publisher, has officially launched in the market with two hyper-casual titles. The latest is Scoopy – The Ice Cream Adventure, which is now available for download for free on the Google Play store. This is part of the publisher’s plan to develop a slew of popular hyper-casual games with an Asian influence targeted at the growing hyper-casual gaming market in the region.
According to a Research and Markets report, by the end of 2021, there will be 250 million mobile online gamers in Southeast Asia. Markets like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and the Philippines are leading the world in growth for hyper-casual games, which should come as no surprise. With a better internet infrastructure, a rising number of mobile gamers, and a competitive market landscape, Southeast Asia’s gaming market has a lot of potentials to grow even further.
CEO and co-founder, Daryl Lau shared, “Our goal is to create a sense of belonging and local representation by incorporating Asian elements into our games that are unique to the region. Many online games that have an Asian element, tend to have a version or perception of Asia that people who live here may not fully identify with. At the core of everything we do, is to create a fun experience that everyone can feel a part of and enjoy.”
Local gaming veterans join forces
Hyper Casual games are usually very easy to play, have a simple user interface, and are available for free. This presents a significantly lower barrier to entry for those who are not traditionally ‘gamers’. The pandemic also led to a sharp increase in gaming, especially on the hyper-casual front with new users joining en masse during the lockdowns across the region.
This was evident to the 11-year gaming veteran Daryl, leading him to bring together game industry specialists to form Mason Games to focus on building Asian-inspired hyper-casual titles for the gaming community. However, the gaming market can be challenging, but with decades of experience in the gaming retail and distribution industry as well as a good grasp of the gamers’ mindset, they are confident in finding their place in the industry.
To help them on their journey, the team has created a working environment that is conducive to ideation and creativity built with a gamer’s mindset. This is critical for a game developer looking to compete in the competitive landscape of casual gaming, as it promotes and cultivates an innovative environment to build games with an Asian twist.
Becoming the Asian leader in hyper-casual games
Mason Games has aggressive plans for the future, with plans to launch 50 hyper-casual games by the end of 2022. They will continue to incorporate Asian themes within the games for new and existing gamers.
The team is also aiming to expand and build the brand across Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on building a larger development team to ramp up the production and design of games.
“The initial reception to our first couple of titles has been very positive, which is a good sign that our Asian-inspired games are resonating well with people. However, we are aware that we are at the start of our journey and there are billions of potential gamers out there that would appreciate our homage to Asian culture.”, said Daryl. Check out Scoopy The Ice Cream Adventure and Math Cat Boxing to start playing now.
