If provided the needed support and exposure, Senator Bam Aquino believes the local game development industry could duplicate, if not surpass, the success of the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in terms of job generation.

“The local game development industry is where the BPO industry was maybe 10 to 15 years ago,” Aquino said during the Philippine Game Festival (PGF) at SMX in Pasay City.

“There is a big potential to create high-quality, high-paying jobs for creative and innovative Filipinos.”

Aquino stressed that Filipinos gamers are equipped with the needed technical proficiency and artistry that put them at par with their foreign counterparts.

 “We can actually compete and with a little more support, this can be an industry that can make a big dent in our economy,” the lawmaker said.

The senator is currently working with the Board of Investments (BOI) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to help promote the game development industry abroad and attract possible investors.

“We have to make the world know that the Philippines has game developers who are skilled, talented, and have the right mix of art and technology,” Aquino said.

“We are hoping that in the next few years we can see more of these investors here in the Philippines come in,” he added.

Currently, the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) said there are around 60 studios in the Philippines with a total of approximately 3,500 employees.

The GDAP has a target of 15,000 game professionals nationwide by 2016.