Despite the esports and gaming communities continuous expansion, both in Malaysia and around the world, many parents still have a hard time dismissing negative associations of gaming. When the Malaysian government announced an RM10 million allocation to develop this rising sector, it caught the parents’ attention about this prospective industry..

Esports Family Bootcamp was held for parents to gain a better insight into the esports industry while bonding with their kids through the parent-child gaming sessions, which was held and organised by Battle Arena last weekend. 

Family bonding time with Dota 2 and Fortnite

CEO of Fundeavour Michelle Tan and streamer Nik Harris “The Hound” were invited to share their experiences to the parents. This was an eye-opener for parents and they did not hesitate to ask burning questions.  From viable career opportunities for youth to the real value of esports in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, many topics were raised and answered.

Geena, a healthcare businesswoman and mother, would give esports the green light to be a part of a school’s curriculum as this activity is able to encourage creative and strategic thinking as well as problem-solving for the children. However, she raised a concern about the content of certain games that are laden with violence and hoped for a stricter game’s selections if it does become part of schools.

Another parent, senior IT consultant Zarina Mohd Zamedin said this event is a great sharing session for parents to learn more about esports. “Although I don’t play games, it is our duty to produce a safe environment. We don’t know what form of threat and cyberbullying they could be facing in the industry so I get to know straight from the horse’s mouth what it is like to be in the industry,” she said.

Michelle Tan talking about the overview of the esports industry

Michelle who founded Fundeavour, an online platform that champions gamers and content creators, gave an overview of the huge potential within esports and gaming. She was absolutely thrilled to see parents making an effort to understand esports and support their kids who want to get into the industry. She said, “I think this is an excellent opportunity for the parents to get educated and hopefully for more parents to come in the next bootcamp.” 

According to Battle Arena’s Head of PR & Marketing Tiffani Lim, the Esports Family Bootcamp aims to clear the bad perception surrounding gaming in cyber cafes. “We want to make the parents know exactly what the kids are doing inside the esports arena so that the parents can rest assured that they are learning and paving towards various career paths such as player, caster, streamer and many more in the industry.”

When asked if there will be more esports family bootcamps in the making, Tiffany told us that Battle Arena will definitely be hosting this event again to raise the awareness and uplift the esports industry for the general public.

Watch this space for more updates!