[Courtesy off SK Telecom]
SEOUL -- SK Telecom, a top mobile carrier in South Korea, has partnered with two Asian telecom firms, Singtel of Singapore and AIS of Thailand, to establish a regional joint venture to develop new gaming-related revenue streams.
The joint venture will partner with leading international game developers and leverage gaming and entertainment content, SK Telecom (SKT) sain in a statement, adding the investment marks the next step in the partnership between Singtel and SKT.
Singtel’s deep regional knowledge, digital and telco assets will be combined with SKT’s expertise as a pioneer in South Korea's entertainment and gaming and AIS' experience in esports and digital content to launch a new initiative later this year.
"SK Telecom will help create a new level of gaming experience by providing popular Korean gaming content throughout the Asia-Pacific region," said SKT's private placement division head Huh Seok-joon.
SKT, which runs three professional e-sports teams, is active in games and plans to increase the number of teams to seven. In October 2019, SKT established a joint venture called "SK Telecom CS T1" with Comcast, a U.S. media entertainment group, and Highland Capital Management, a Dallas-based alternative investment management firm, to find new business models for e-sports.
"Gaming is growing in popularity as digital entertainment for our customers in the region," Singtel’s International Group CEO Arthur Lang said, adding the gaming industry has been growing through the region.
"By combining our strengths with SK Telecom and AIS, both pioneers in entertainment, esports and gaming, we can contribute significantly to the gaming scene -- from offering local community engagement solutions to content and payment channels, which are often regarded by game developers as challenges to enter Asian markets," Lang said.
