2024 has only just begun, but MOONTON Games is already planning for the future of MLBB – which looks brighter than ever before.
2023 was a stellar year for MLBB, with the game breaking records everywhere. 2024 is already lining up to top that. Mr Ray NG, Head of Esports Ecosystems and New Markets at MOONTON Games took the time to sit down with us and discuss the plans for the coming year in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, its future in the esports scene, and where the company is looking on a global level.
We started off with questions related to MLBB’s latest endeavour, their plans to go global:
"I definitely think that 2023 was a really great year for MLBB Esports evolving to a product that covers more regions and taking it step by step to become an international event for MSC. Even though we were still branded as the Southeast Asia Cup last year, we saw the expansion of the game already coming in strong with non-SEA regions competing.
Building MLBB as a global product, we moved to changing the event in question to the Mid Season Cup, and with the Esports World Cup partnership, we are able to also bring along the Women’s Invitational event to bolster that during the same time period."
Following this, Mr. Ng discussed some of the regions which MOONTON is looking towards:
"Moving forward for this year, our key focus is not only expanding MLBB and its esports as a product but establishing new partnerships and new announcements for old and new fans to enjoy. Of course, we have regions which we are focusing on in our minds, such as Middle East & North Africa (MENA) – especially with a lot of eyes turning to that region in the esports scene more recently. There’s a sense that the region is starting to break out and invest in building the entertainment sector.
Other regions which we plan to focus on are the likes of Central Asia, Mongolia, Eastern Europe, Southern Africa, as well as both North and South America. This is all a part of our strategy for the coming years – but we are taking it step-by-step, as we build up MLBB and take it to the global product sphere. We are diversifying and being inclusive and want to continue on this trajectory."
Having already learned of the EWC partnership being one that would be in place for a few years, we wanted to know a bit more about the direct correlation between the EWC and MOONTON Games:
"As you can see from our announcement, our partnership with EWC is a multi-year one, so fans need to know that this is not a once-off event or tournament coming this year. MLBB is going to be on the roster at the EWC for the foreseeable future. This only stands to strengthen our community’s belief in the ecosystem which we are looking to create, nurture, and grow, as we establish new partnerships with key stakeholders of the industry.
Right now, we already have a belief from the EWC in MOONTON, and both entities have the ambition to build and become a global product – and having this partnership already proves that both can work together towards this goal. With the EWC being held in the Middle East, the region serves as a connection between the East and West, and that means that there is even more room to use this as a stepping stone towards those who might now know about our game, while also offering the EWC a greater platform towards the Eastern audiences."
After touching on the Mobile Legends Women’s Invitational (MWI) earlier, we learned more about their willingness to push Women’s Esports forward:
"When it began in 2022, the MWI was an online tournament, only available to the SEA regions and last year we decided to begin the evolution of the event, bringing the event offline and getting the teams to head over to Indonesia to battle. This year, through the EWC partnership, we are able to continue our vision, levelling up in a way, covering more regions and pushing women’s esports forward too. This is not only good for MLBB itself but creates a fantastic ecosystem for all regions as they strive to select their best to compete.
In ID we already have seen the Women Star League working extremely well as a foundation, with MWI bringing in more local regions and used as an enabler to build up the women’s scene. Our long-term goal with the MWI and any women’s tournament is to be a stepping stone on our path to our visions and ambitions for the future – which includes seeing these skilled women one day joining in at the likes of M5 with a team’s main lineup.
That is the true inclusivity which we have in our minds, and can even be seen throughout our rulebooks, as we have no official limitation to who can participate on any team at any time. It all comes down to the competitiveness levels and if we can gain more traction with women entering, playing, and becoming professionals, this is a vision for the near future. MWI is a stage where this can occur, and we will be more than happy to welcome this."
Finally, we looked towards new ventures coming for MLBB and MOONTON Games, such as Mobile Legends Professional League’s (MPL) in new regions:
"Year by year, or even season by season, we evaluate each region and the market around MLBB to determine whether or not they are prepared to play host to an MPL event. Some regions, which are still growing to the right level, have smaller tournaments, but we use these as a basis to lead them onto the international stage – like qualifiers to MSC or M-Series Wildcard.
When we talk about China, even though they may be new to MLBB, the region is already seeing a lot of talk on the recruitment of players to clubs and pro teams as the qualifying events draw closer in the first half of this year. There will be events in May and June which will help Chinese teams reach the EWC, MSC, and even MWI – and we will be watching these closely since the region is massive in esports."
From what we can see, MLBB has an amazing future in its sights, and 2024 seems to be the year where this proverbial rocket ship takes flight and reaches for the stars. We are all looking forward to some epic battles across the Land of Dawn this year and soon, everything will get started.
