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Malaysia’s video-game sector is being positioned as more than an entertainment business. Speaking at Level Up KL 2026 on 16 October, Deputy Digital Minister Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong said game development combines technology, storytelling, design and innovation in ways that can strengthen the country’s wider digital economy.
What the minister said at Level Up KL 2026
Ugak made the remarks in his opening speech at Level Up KL, a conference held in Kuala Lumpur on 15–16 October 2026 and organised by the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). The event brought Malaysian and international game developers and publishers together.
“The significance of this industry goes well beyond entertainment,” Ugak said. “Game development brings together technology, storytelling, design and innovation, developing capabilities that are increasingly valuable across the wider digital economy.”
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11He argued that strengthening the games industry would help Malaysia develop the creative and technical workforce needed to compete internationally. The speech presents that connection as a policy rationale, not as a claim that independent measurements have already proved a specific jobs or skills impact.
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How game development can create transferable skills
Technical capabilities
Producing a game requires software engineering, real-time graphics, animation pipelines, cloud and server operations, testing, cybersecurity, data work and production management. Those capabilities can also support other digital businesses, including interactive media, simulation, virtual production and software services.
Creative and production capabilities
Studios also need writers, artists, designers, audio specialists, user-experience practitioners and producers. Teams must turn an idea into a coherent product, manage deadlines and budgets, test with users, and adapt to audiences in different markets. Ugak’s argument is that this combination of creative judgment and technical execution is valuable beyond games.
Work across disciplines
Games are built by teams in which art, code, narrative, sound, business and operations affect one another. That cross-disciplinary model can give workers experience collaborating on complex digital products, although the speech did not provide an independently measured baseline for the number of workers trained or jobs created.
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Ugak linked the games agenda to the Digital Creative Ecosystem Roadmap, which aims to make Malaysia a global digital creative hub. The roadmap sets four targets for 2030:
| Target area | 2030 government target |
|---|---|
| Digital-creative industry revenue | RM9 billion |
| Exports | RM6 billion |
| Strategic investment | RM6 billion |
| High-value jobs | 10,000 |
These figures are roadmap targets reported by The Star, not an independent forecast or an assessment of progress already achieved. The speech did not publish a current baseline against which readers can measure the targets.
Why investment and global competition are part of the plan
The government wants to accelerate sector growth, attract high-value investment and help Malaysian studios compete in international markets. For developers, that can mean access to publishing relationships, production finance, distribution networks and larger pools of specialist talent. For Malaysia, the policy case is that globally sold digital products can generate export earnings while building capabilities at home.
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Level Up KL functions as one visible meeting point for that ecosystem, connecting local developers and publishers with international participants. MDEC is the public-sector institution organising the event and is involved in developing Malaysia’s digital-economy ecosystem.
How officials expect AI to change game development
Potential productivity gains
MDEC chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah said artificial intelligence could improve productivity, accelerate development and help studios manage costs. Possible uses include assisting with repetitive production tasks, speeding up prototyping and supporting parts of a development pipeline. His qualification was central: competitiveness will depend on how AI is combined with human creativity, rather than on automation alone.
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Skills and livelihood risks
Ugak said policy must account for workers whose skills and livelihoods may be affected as new technology changes development. Studios and policymakers therefore face a transition challenge: training people to use new tools while preserving roles that depend on original judgment, cultural knowledge and creative direction.
Copyright and creator rights
Ugak called for responsible innovation in which intellectual property is protected, creators’ rights are respected and the industry remains sustainable over the long term. That places ownership, licensing, attribution and the treatment of creative work alongside productivity when Malaysia develops its AI policy for games.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Could shared computing help smaller studios?
Bangah said MDEC is examining whether the National AI Compute Exchange (NACX) could provide studios—especially smaller ones—with more affordable access to computing resources. NACX is described as a mechanism that pools computing power and demand. At the time of the speech, this was an option under examination, not a confirmed programme with published eligibility rules, prices or guaranteed access for game companies.
If implemented for studios, shared access could reduce one barrier to experimenting with demanding AI workloads. It would not by itself solve shortages of experienced developers, financing, publishing support or clear intellectual-property rules.
Quick Recap
What is established—and what remains to be measured
- The statements came from Deputy Digital Minister Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong at Level Up KL 2026 in Kuala Lumpur.
- Officials describe game development as a source of combined creative and technical capabilities with potential value across the wider digital economy.
- The Digital Creative Ecosystem Roadmap sets 2030 targets of RM9 billion in revenue, RM6 billion in exports, RM6 billion in strategic investment and 10,000 high-value jobs.
- AI is presented both as a way to raise productivity and as a development that requires protection for human talent, originality, intellectual property and creator rights.
- The reported speeches do not establish an independent baseline for current employment, revenue or skills, and they do not prove that policy measures have already produced the stated outcomes.
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