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Much has been written about the level of input the UK government has into the region’s game-development sector compared to that of other nations, the general conclusion being: not nearly enough. What’s often ignored, though, is that the regions upon which UK developers cast envious glances are lacking in Britain’s long and respected history in the medium. Malaysia is a good example of a territory with a videogame industry that is only beginning to gather momentum. Like other regions in Southeast Asia, Malaysia did not have widely available, affordable home computers in the early ’80s, and in the years since it has been playing catch-up, making only slow progress over time.

Today, though, its government is determined to provide the assistance required to put itself on the map, offering generous funding initiatives and support to companies and individuals with game development interests. In this edition of Region Specific we focus on several companies that have benefited to date, including art specialists, higherlearning facilities, a standalone PC/PS3 game developer, and an incubation unit dedicated to helping new companies to get off the ground, based inside the Malaysian government’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDEC) headquarters. Via Codemasters’ reach into the area, you’ll see that the UK is actually benefiting, too.