Image: MOONTON Games, Thailand Esports Federation
This will mark the fourth-straight time that MLBB has been featured as a medaled competition in the SEA Games.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) developer MOONTON Games has announced on Wednesday (October 30) that the game will be headlining the esports event at the 33rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which will be hosted from December 9 to 20, 2025 in Thailand.
This will mark the fourth straight time that MLBB has been featured as a medal event in the SEA Games, dating back to the SEA Games' inaugural esports event hosted in the Philippines back in 2019. The 33rd SEA Games' MLBB event will also feature separate competitions for men and women, following the example set by the previous iteration for the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia last year.
MOONTON has teamed up with the Thailand Esports Federation (TESF) to “unlock economic and tourism opportunities” for the country during the 33rd SEA Games. The developer said in a press release that “both organisations will explore collaboration opportunities through marketing and promotional support, player development initiatives, community engagement activities, and the sharing of insights and analytics.”
Ray Ng, Head of Esports Ecosystem at MOONTON Games, added that “the inclusion of MLBB as a medalled sport in the 33rd SEA Games marks a major milestone for us in Thailand.”
"One of the core success factors for MLBB has been our deliberate strategy to make the competitive esports ecosystem accessible and inclusive to aspiring esports athletes. International sporting events like the SEA Games empowers esports players, organisations, and federations by giving them a globally-recognised competitive platform to bring glory to their respective nations. MLBB's return as a medalled event is another positive step forward for esports, which has become increasingly accepted by the Thai and wider global sporting community as a competitive sport," said Ng.
"Thailand is one of Southeast Asia's most mature markets for games and competitive esports, but there is still massive opportunity to grow the community further. The coorperation of game companies are a crucial part of this ambition. We are thankful for the support of MOONTON Games in helping us achieve this shared goal of creating platforms for aspiring talents to pursue their dreams of representing their countries on the international stage," added TESF president Santi Lothong.
The MLBB event at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia saw the Philippines – where the last four MLBB world champions notably hail from – bag the gold medal for the men's competition while Indonesia claimed the top step in the women's tournament.
The 33rd SEA Games in Thailand will take place from 9 to 20 December, 2025 with the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Chonburi, and Songkhla serving as the main host cities. The participating countries will include the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor, and Vietnam.
Aside from MLBB, the full slate of esports titles to be featured in the 33rd SEA Games has yet to be revealed. As with previous iterations of the SEA Games, the host country has full control over which esports titles will be featured as medal events.
The 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia last year notably featured MLBB, VALORANT, FIFA Online 4, Crossfire, League of Legends: Wild Rift, PUBG Mobile, and Mission Against Terror.