For many gamers who grew up playing game consoles on their living room floor or RPGs on the computer, eyes glazed over and laser-focused on the screen, it must feel surreal that an activity once considered a form of pastime has become a booming industry and is now recognized as an actual sport.

In Singapore, it has been shown that mobile games reign supreme. A September 2021 report by Tencent and Newzoo on the esports industry in Southeast Asia identified six major markets in the region: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, with all of the countries "mobile-first" in game preferences.

In 2021, Singapore had an esports audience of about 700,000, a small figure when compared to Indonesia (17 million), Vietnam (8.1 million), and the Philippines (6.7 million), for example, but quite significant when the city-state's small population of around five million is taken into account. The video game industry has also made contributions to Singapore's economy.

In an oral reply to a question in Parliament on Sept. 4, 2019, then-Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said that Singapore's development and distribution of video games brought in around S$1.95 billion in 2017. This contribution stemmed from the activities of local and international companies in the city-state, such as Ubisoft, Bandai Namco, Sea, and GoGame. When it comes to community engagement, Tan said that many esports tournaments have been held in Singapore "to bring our youths together."

There is also the existence of the Singapore Esports Association (SGEA), the national governing body for esports in the city-state. It was founded in 2018 to facilitate the participation of Singaporean gamers in regional and international esports tournaments and to promote esports as a whole. The SGEA is a member of the Global Esports Federation (GEF) and the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC).

The body is also in charge of nominating the esports athletic team that will compete at the 32nd SEA Games from May 7-17 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Singapore will be participating in three titles, namely "League of Legends: Wild Rift" and men’s and women's "Mobile Legends: Bang Bang."

Apart from sending its own teams to compete abroad, Singapore has also been a destination of many esports tournaments and circuits. According to Esports Insider, some competitions that have been held in the city-state include the Free Fire World Series 2023 Singapore, the One Esports Singapore Major, the Global Esports Games 2021, the Garena Masters 2022, RLCS 2021-22: Asia-Pacific (APAC) South SEA Icon Series, and the Valorant Champions Tour: APAC Challengers, among others, as well as the first Southeast Asian nation to host The International 11, a world annual championship tournament for Dota 2.

Singapore is set to host the first-ever Olympic Esports Week (OEW), which will be held over four days from June 22-25 for esports participants and enthusiasts to come together and experience the best virtual sports have to offer. According to a press release by Sport Singapore on Nov. 16, 2022, attendees will experience both hybrid physical and sports simulations, as well as exhibits of the latest innovations in technology, panel discussions, and matches.

"Hosting the inaugural Olympic Esports Week marks another milestone for sporting Singapore, and we are excited to work with the IOC to bring this dynamic vision for virtual sports to life," Sport Singapore CEO Lim Teck Yin was quoted as saying.

"The festival will be a platform for the local sport industry to collaborate with international federations and tech companies, and this will no doubt give a boost for the development of the local and regional virtual sports scene."