Game Startups Reach New Level

The global video game industry is highly competitive, requiring effective marketing for success. The Hong Kong Game Enhancement & Promotion Scheme supports local startups, some achieving over $10 million in revenue, leading to impressive outcomes.

Gaming dreams

From a young age, Chris Choi has had a passion for programming and dedicated himself to developing a mobile music game while studying.

His first game is a mobile rhythm experience where players tap along to the beat. However, unlike most traditional mobile rhythm games, this one is motion-based, requiring players to spin their phones in the air to play. This innovative approach adds a physical element to the gameplay, making it more engaging and dynamic.

By chance, the game's promotional video was uploaded to a Mainland video platform. Within a week, it had garnered 500,000 views and received positive feedback.

Inspired by this success, he decided to pursue a career in the electronic gaming industry.

With little work and business experience under his belt, Mr Choi ultimately leveraged his strengths in game design to secure a grant of $550,000 from the Hong Kong Game Enhancement & Promotion Scheme for marketing purposes. He used the funding to collaborate with various music labels, resulting in great success.

Global sensation

The game has attracted a significant number of players from the Mainland, Hong Kong, as well as Japan, Europe and the US, with downloads exceeding one million and revenue surpassing $10 million.

Mr Choi pointed out that the scheme helped him to grow his business. At the company's inception, he had limited startup capital and experience. Through the programme, not only did he secure funding, but also gained valuable knowledge in marketing and promotion, which increased the likelihood of his game's success.

Lucrative market

As the Chinese gaming industry continues to mature, some local game developers are also seizing the opportunity to tap into this booming market.  

One of them, video game producer Jacky Chou, whose game is also subsidised by the scheme, is creating a comedy-adventure computer game that showcases the unique elements of Hong Kong's culture.

“It is actually an adventure game that is heavily inspired by pop culture. It is a very funny, nonsense adventure game with a lot of different game plays and mechanics,” he explained.

Mr Chou added that the scheme not only helped with arranging game testers to provide feedback on how they could improve the game but also offered a diverse range of training, including guidance on marketing strategies and attracting investors.

He also utilised the funding to collaborate with key opinion leaders for extensive advertising campaigns, as well as to promote the game offline at various exhibitions.

Supporting startups

The 4th Hong Kong Game Enhancement & Promotion Scheme, sponsored by the Cultural & Creative Industries Development Agency, recently held its awards ceremony.

The organiser, Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association, announced that 12 local startup game companies had been awarded reimbursement grants ranging from $450,000 to $550,000.

The association’s Chairman Gabriel Pang noted that each year the scheme has seen good results, with about one-third of the companies being profitable and one out of 12 companies usually getting over $10 million in revenue, most of the time with 500,000 to one million downloads.  

“The game industry is actually a huge industry. That is why we are doing the Hong Kong Game Enhancement & Promotion Scheme. We need to help them to market their games.

“Usually in Hong Kong, we have a more diverse style. We can cope with different countries and cultures. That is one of our strengths.”