Field Notes From Gamescom Asia 2025

Source: My photo from Gamecom Asia.

During October I was very fortunate to attend for the first time Gamescom Asia 2025 in Bangkok from 16 to 19 October. I have wanted to go to Gamescom Asia for a while so when Bangkok was announced as host, I jumped at the chance to also visit a city I love!

This year was the first time Gamescom Asia has been held in the Thai capital having been hosted in Singapore last year. From chatting with other attendees, it seemed overall numbers were a little lower - 41,000 attendees were reported last year while official figures from this year’s event have not yet been released.

However, most attendees agreed that there was a lot of new energy in Bangkok and that combining Gamescom Asia with the Thai Games Show has streamlined the regional games calendar with some international attendees attending straight after Melbourne International Games Week in Australia (4-12 October).

It’s also worth noting that Bangkok is much more affordable to visit and exhibit compared with other cities in the region, particularly Singapore. Especially when many attendees come from other countries within the Asia Pacific region.

My personal goals for the event

From attending conferences in the past, I make sure that part of my pre-event planning is being clear about my goals and planing activities accordingly. As a social introvert, I try to make the most of my time while avoiding burnout from scheduling too many meetings or attending too many events.

On this occasion, my main goals as a Narrative Designer and Writer were to

• Gain exposure to a range of indie studios in the Asia Pacific region.

• Connect with other Narrative Designers and Writers in the region.

• Connect with women who work in games.

Indie studios in the Asia Pacific region

I met people in a wide variety of roles from indie studios based in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, India, New Zealand and Australia. I honestly did not know much about the games industry in the region so it was a quick learning curve to be exposed to studios, publishers and companies offering supporting services.

Networking with narrative designers and writers

It was wonderful to meet (and in person!) other Narrative Designers who are either working on freelance contracts or part of studio teams.

I enjoyed learning about their skills, background and experience, swapping notes on different tools, waxing lyrical on common challenges and sharing info on current projects.

This includes the lovely Suan Goh (pictured below with me at Gamescom Asia). She is a co-founder of CtrlD Studio based in Sarawak, Malaysia who also works on narrative design. The team are currently working on Overhours, a single player isometric shooter and tower defense hybrid set in a fictional agency facing a monster invasion - you can wishlist it on steam now!

(L-R) Suan Goh and Natalie. Image courtesy of Suan Goh.

There was also a familiar friendly face in the crowd: Alexander Swords, a Narrative Designer based in Melbourne Australia. It was a great chance to catch up (we live on opposite sides of the country) and have delightfully meandering conversations about storytelling, books, the global games industry and tips for optimal sleep while traveling.

(L-R) Natalie and Alexander Swords. Source: Natalie’s photo from Gamecom Asia.

Women in games in Asia

Gamescom was also a great opportunity to meet with women working in a variety of roles across games - on and off the stage. There were a number of great talks including

• “A conversation between the women behind the blockbusters” featuring Meghan Morgan Juan (Santa Monica Studio) and Fleur Marty (Gearbox)

• “Career resilience: How to weather the stormy game industry” with Aisyah Ambok (Metronomik), Luna Javier (consultant), Nissie Arcega (Monstronauts), Samantha Low (Yotsuba Interactive).

I was also fortunate to connect directly with the Asian chapter of Women in Games including some of the organisers like the incredibly welcoming Luna Javier (game design consultant, educator and Philippines’ first female game developer!) and Nissie Arcega (Monstronauts and IGDA Regional Coordinator). Both of whom also have experience in narrative design for games.

(L-R) Natalie, Nissie Arcega and Luna Javier. Source: Natalie’s photo from Gamecom Asia.

Although my long term goal is to gain opportunities to work on exciting narrative driven projects, assist teams, gain experience and learn new skills that will aid my practice - I appreciate that this type of work often comes by way of networks and connections that have been built and fostered over many years. So I was chuffed that there were already some early discussions on how I may be able to assist on early concepts, ideas or prototypes on both games and XR projects.

Summary

From my perspective, Gamescom Asia was well worth the visit. I was really pleased to have met each of my personal goals and have a great time while doing so. The games industry within the Asia Pacific region is full of energy and excitement especially for the indie scene. I hope to attend again in 2026 and look forward to staying in touch with my new connections over the coming years and the exciting creative projects that may blossom from these relationships.