Exclusive Interview: Galaxy Racer's Plan on Expanding into Indonesia

Galaxy Racer is an esports, gaming, and lifestyle organization.

Galaxy Racer is a one of a kind esports organization. Because, usually, big international esports organizations are based in Europe, the US, China, or South Korea. However, Galaxy Racer is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

It's not just an esports organization too. It's calling itself an esports, gaming, and lifestyle organization. It has market presences in MENA (Middle East North Africa), North America, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Europe.

In January 2022, it announced an investment of around US$10 million into the Malaysian esports ecosystem. Besides esports competitions and events, Galaxy Racer plans to build a new regional headquarters for the Asia Pacific region in Malaysia.

Later on, I heard that it's building a team in Indonesia. Luckily, one of them is my friend. So, I contacted Reza Afrian Ramadhan, Indonesia Country Manager of Galaxy Racer, to talk about its plan here.

Hybrid (H): Considering Galaxy Racer is from UAE, could you share some insights about the differences between SEA and MENA regions? What makes each region unique?

Reza (R): SEA AND MENA have different landscapes of gamers. MENA is more like Europe and the US, which is still many pc players instead of mobile, while SEA was shifting to mobile for the current period

H: Seeing Nigma Galaxy is a merger between Team Nigma and Galaxy Racer, will you use a similar strategy (partnering with another esports team) moving forward in SEA? Or will you expand by yourself (not partnering with anyone)?

R: We have a plan for that, but for now, we can't share any details yet. We will do what we think is the best whether it's for us or the Indonesian community

The boys got to meet our youngest fan💙💜#StarsAlignpic.twitter.com/6rKQX48HSv

— Nigma Galaxy (@NigmaGalaxy) March 7, 2022

H: What do you think about the esports scene in Indonesia? In your opinion, what are the biggest weakness and the biggest advantage this country has in relation to its esports industry?

R: Indonesia's esports is growing fast. The advantage of that is we have a bigger audience and ecosystem, which definitely will impact the business side. The disadvantage is, because we have a massive audience of various ages, we need many different ways to reach and educate them.

H: What is your plan in Indonesia in 2022? And how big is your plan for this country?

R: We have a very big plan for Indonesia in various aspects. We are currently hiring many people to execute the plan. And we are in communication with many partners for that. For now, we preparing big things for the Indonesian community and ecosystem as well.

H: What games are you interested in for this country?

R: We support any games that bring our community closer. People say DOTA 2 is dead in Indonesia. However, there are a lot of Indonesians watching our latest event, Gamers Galaxy: Dota 2 Invitational Series Dubai 2022. From the ID channel only, our current PCU is almost 10k and a lot of Indonesians also watch the International channel. It's true that the number might not be as big as mobile gamers, but PC gamers have their own unique market and it's still totally alive

H: Indonesia has big mobile esports scenes. What's your plan regarding mobile esports in Indonesia?

R: We have a big plan for that because the SEA region has massive players and audiences for mobile gaming. We are looking closely at mobile esports players, tournaments, and other esports teams in Indonesia. And we are still calculating which mobile esports titles to delve into. But there is definitely a plan for the mobile esports scene in Indonesia. I can't wait to announce it soon!