Aspirational super app Gojek launched GoGames on Sunday in Indonesia, driven by a rapidly growing video game industry in Southeast Asia’s largest market.
GoGames includes three key features—GoGames Top-up, which allows gamers to top up their gaming credits and buy virtual items for their accounts using GoPay; GoGames Recipe, which covers tips and tricks for gaming techniques and the latest information about gaming tournaments; and GoGames TV, which features curated content from well-known Indonesian gamers.
In a press statement, Gojek cites the report “The Power of Mobile Gaming in Indonesia,” published by mobile games advertising platform Pokkt with the Mobile Marketing Association and Decision Lab, to say there were 60 million active mobile gamers in Indonesia in 2018. That number is expected to reach 100 million in 2020. Indonesia’s mobile gamers are overwhelmingly millennials.
“The introduction of GoGames is the next step in our efforts to further our ecosystem as we aspire to meet the daily needs and wants of all our users. As a gamer myself, I understand that the market needs easier access to gaming information and a more hassle-free way to pay for gaming credits,” Kevin Aluwi, Gojek co-founder said in the press statement.
Gojek has appointed Timothius Martin as the head of GoGames. Martin was previously a marketing director at Dana, a digital wallet backed by Ant Financial. He was also head of marketing at JD Indonesia.
“There are still many problems faced by gamers that have not been solved, such as the difficulty of getting information on how to improve gaming skills and the limited payment options when it comes to topping up gaming credits. This is just the beginning in our efforts to fill these gaps, as GoGames aims to be a leading mobile content, features, and payments platform for gamers in Indonesia”, Martin said.
Before the launch of GoGames, Gojek’s payment platform GoPay entered the gaming sector by partnering with Codashop, Unipin, and Tencent to provide a means for these companies’ users to top up their gaming credits. GoPay said it has seen a 40% increase in monthly transactions after introducing this service a year ago.
Gojek counts Tencent Holdings Limited among its investors. Tencent is the largest video game company in the world. It has worked with Riot Games to develop a mobile version of League of Legends, and distributes Clash Royale and Clash of Clans. It has also developed the racing game QQ Speed and the popular arena game Honor of Kings, which is also known as Arena of Valor.