Inside Sri Lanka’s Gaming Culture

An inside look at how a gaming community is transforming into an industry in a developing nation

In the previous entry of this series, you got an introduction to what gaming is like on Sri Lanka. Much like the rest of Asia, the most popular platform is mobile, which can be attributed to economic factors. Despite challenges in access to traditional platforms and their games, this island nation is home to a rich culture of gaming.

Video games have largely been absent from the mainstream consciousness of Sri Lankans. They are often disregarded and lumped together with cartoons as a means of keeping children entertained. It’s a traditional perception shared across South Asia. eSports has played a pivotal role in changing these perceptions.

The first Sri Lanka Cyber Games held in 2008, which was the first eSports event in Sri Lanka (Source: Gamer.lk)

Introduction to eSports in Sri Lanka

The first eSports event to be held in Sri Lanka was the original Sri Lanka Cyber Games (SLCG) back in 2008. Held annually since then, SLCG remains the biggest tournament locally.

Remembering those early days, CEO of Gamer.lk, Raveen Wijayatilake shared, “We sought…