Gaming
Game on ASEAN as Johor hosts 2000 plus at digital content summit
MUMBAI: Johor Bahru turned into a playground for pixels, panels, and pavilions today as the ASEAN Digital Content Summit 2025 (ADCS 2025) opened its doors at Persada Johor International Convention Centre. Organised by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) under Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2025, the summit aims to power up cross-border collaboration in animation, gaming, and creative technology bringing ASEAN’s creative industries onto the global stage.
The summit was officially inaugurated by YAB Dato’ Onn Hafiz Ghazi, Menteri Besar Johor, and YB Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong, deputy minister of Digital Malaysia, signalling Malaysia’s intent to position ASEAN as a hub of innovation and storytelling. With over 2,000 attendees, more than 10 country pavilions including Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia, and Vietnam 50 visionary speakers, and over 100 exhibitors, ADCS 2025 is less a conference and more a carnival of creativity.
Highlights include the ASEAN Roundtable on Digital Content Collaboration, which explores AI-driven innovation and shared policy frameworks; Kre8tif! Business Xchange, ASEAN’s flagship B2B platform linking creators to global investors; and appearances from icons such as Koji Morimoto, co-founder of Japan’s famed Studio 4°C. Public showcases such as the Malaysia Animation Film Festival (MAFF) and Asia Creators Fest (ACF) pavilion round off the festival feel.
“The ASEAN region is home to a vibrant pool of talent in animation, game, and digital content. ADCS 2025 allows us to move beyond servicing into creating original intellectual property that can compete globally,” said YB Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong, underscoring Malaysia’s MADANI government’s push to empower the next generation of creators.
The summit also set the stage for Malaysia’s upcoming global moment hosting Siggraph Asia 2026, one of the world’s largest computer graphics conferences, expected to attract 3,000 professionals from Asia, the US, and Europe. Supported by the Johor State Government, TM, SME Corp Malaysia, Unisza, Asia Creators Fest, KL Chapter ACM Siggraph, Malaysia Esports Federation, and Rewardinme with media backing from RTM, Animationxpress, Gofluence, and more ADCS 2025 isn’t just a summit; it’s ASEAN’s creative coming-of-age story.LE
Gaming
Dream Sports sees 100 plus exits after gaming ban forces overhaul
Company splits into eight units as real money gaming law hits revenue.
MUMBAI: For a company built on fantasy leagues, reality has suddenly rewritten the rulebook. More than 100 employees have exited Dream Sports, the parent of Dream11, after the company reorganised its operations following India’s ban on real money online gaming. The shake up came after the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 came into force in August 2025, prohibiting games where users deposit money expecting winnings. The regulation struck at the heart of the fantasy gaming industry and dramatically affected Dream Sports’ core business, wiping out about 95 percent of its revenue and all of its profits.
In response, the Mumbai based company shifted into what chief executive officer Harsh Jain described as “startup mode”, splitting its operations into eight independent business units in December.
Around 700 employees were reassigned across these newly formed ventures based on their experience and interests. However, roughly 15 percent opted to leave the company.
A spokesperson for Dream Sports said many of those who exited were experienced professionals accustomed to running scaled businesses rather than early stage ventures.
“Since some of these employees were experienced with running high scale businesses and not startups, around 15 percent chose to leave and join other scaled companies or start ventures of their own,” the spokesperson said.
Despite the departures, the company noted that the attrition rate is only slightly higher than its earlier level of around 10 percent before the ban. Dream Sports now has close to 950 employees and is not currently hiring, choosing instead to focus on stabilising its existing workforce.
The restructuring has transformed Dream Sports from a fantasy gaming company into a broader sports entertainment platform. The eight units now operate independently, each focusing on different segments of the sports and technology ecosystem.
These include Dream11, sports streaming platform Fancode, sports travel service DreamSetGo, mobile game Dream Cricket and artificial intelligence initiative Dream Sports AI, which includes sports analytics platform Dream Play.
Other ventures include fintech product Dream Money, open source initiative Dream Horizon and the philanthropic arm Dream Sports Foundation.
As part of cost saving efforts, Dream Sports also relocated its headquarters from Bandra Kurla Complex to Worli earlier this year. The new office, called Dream Sports Stadium, brings teams from its various brands together under one roof to improve collaboration and operational efficiency.
Jain had earlier said the company removed bonus lock in timelines for employees hired in recent years, allowing those who wished to leave to exit with pro rata payouts.
“We want people who are fully into the startup mode and willing to work for it, and we will share that reward if it comes,” he said.
Founded in 2008 by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth, Dream Sports was last valued at 8 billion dollars after raising 840 million dollars in 2021 from investors including Falcon Edge Capital, DST Global, D1 Capital Partners, RedBird Capital Partners, Tiger Global Management, TPG and Footpath Ventures.
The new gaming law has forced several companies in the fantasy gaming sector to either shut down or pivot their business models, signalling a significant reset for one of India’s fastest growing digital entertainment industries.
