Agate (game company)
Indonesia's largest homegrown video game developer, founded in Bandung in 2009 by a group of college friends and grown from a $500 first game into a roughly 200-employee studio behind titles including Valthirian Arc and Code Atma.
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- Established
- 2009-04-01
- Location
- Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
- Country
- Indonesia
- Founded
- April 1, 2009, in Bandung, by Aditia Dwiperdana and 17 friends, mostly from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB)
- Leadership
- CEO and co-founder Shieny Aprilia, as of 2024
- Scale
- Approximately 200 employees as of 2024, up from 110 in 2017; over 200 games and gamification projects produced by 2017
- Notable games
- Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story (2018, released on PC, PS4 and Nintendo Switch), Code Atma (2020), Memories (2019)
- CEO succession
- Arief Widhiyasa served as CEO through June 1, 2022, when he became Chairman and was succeeded as CEO by then-Chief Operating Officer Shieny Aprilia
- Funding
- Raised US$1 million in funding from Indonesian venture firm Maloekoe Ventures, announced April 4, 2016
- Acquisitions
- Acquired Bandung studio Ekuator Games, developer of Celestian Tales, in January 2019 (about Rp5 billion), and Jakarta studio Freemergency, developer of Retrograde Arena, in June 2021
- Industry partnerships
- Partnered with Japanese publisher Square Enix to launch "Sengoku IXA" in Indonesia (2013) and with Telkom Indonesia, Melon and Oolean to develop "Code Atma" (2020)
Overview
Agate is a video game developer headquartered in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, founded on April 1, 2009 by Aditia Dwiperdana and 17 friends, most of whom had studied at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), after the group’s earlier attempts at game-making competitions in 2007 and 2008 had not succeeded (The Jakarta Post). Its first commercial release was a zombie-shooting title called “English Defender,” which sold for US$500.
Growth and notable games
Agate began with Flash-based Facebook games before shifting to Android app development in 2013 as mobile gaming grew. By 2017, the studio employed 110 people, had produced more than 200 games and gamification projects, and had won at least 19 awards, including the People’s Choice Mochi’s Award at the Flash Gaming Summit in San Francisco. It went on to release “Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story” in 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, followed by titles including “Memories” (2019) and “Code Atma” (2020) (The Jakarta Post). By 2024, under CEO and co-founder Shieny Aprilia, the company employed about 200 people and described itself as Indonesia’s largest homegrown game developer, operating within a domestic gaming market valued at $1.79 billion, of which Indonesia represents the largest share among Southeast Asian countries (The Jakarta Post).
Partnerships and acquisitions
In September 2013, Agate partnered with the Japanese publisher Square Enix to launch the web-based game “Sengoku IXA” in Indonesia; then-CEO Arief Widhiyasa described the deal as a way to accelerate knowledge transfer from an established developer to a newer one (IDN Times/Duniaku). In April 2016, the company raised US$1 million in funding from the Indonesian venture firm Maloekoe Ventures to grow its serious-games and entertainment-games business (DealStreetAsia). In January 2019, Agate acquired the Bandung studio Ekuator Games, developer of “Celestian Tales,” for about Rp5 billion, with Ekuator’s CEO Cipto Adiguno moving into the role of Agate’s Vice President of Consumer Games (Bisnis Indonesia). In June 2020, it released “Code Atma,” an idle role-playing game built around Indonesian folklore creatures such as the kuntilanak and genderuwo, developed in partnership with Telkom Indonesia, Melon and Oolean (ANTARA News). In June 2021, Agate acquired Freemergency, a six-person Jakarta studio behind “Retrograde Arena” — winner of the Best Innovation and Rising Star Award at the SEA Game Awards, Level Up KL 2019 — marking its second studio acquisition after Ekuator Games (Gamebrott).
Leadership transition
Arief Widhiyasa served as Agate’s CEO through at least 2013 and into 2022. On June 1, 2022, he stepped down to become Chairman, and then-Chief Operating Officer Shieny Aprilia was named CEO, with the company stating a focus on expanding into metaverse development services under her leadership (Merdeka.com). By 2024, as reported above, Shieny Aprilia remained CEO as the company employed about 200 people.
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not cover Agate’s full catalogue of over 200 games and gamification projects, only those specifically named in the sources cited here. Several additional claims surfaced while checking Wikipedia’s “Agate (game company)” article as a lead index — including specific corporate clients (Microsoft, Samsung, Coca-Cola), an Electronic Arts partnership, a 2011 “Indonesia Bermain” event, representing Indonesia at the 2012 Tokyo Game Show, and co-founding the Indonesia Game Developer Association (AGI) in 2013 — could not be confirmed through an independently fetched, non-Wikipedia source and are therefore omitted rather than asserted here. It is not to be confused with the unrelated French tabletop role-playing game publisher “Studio Agate,” known for “Shadows of Esteren” and its current stewardship of the 7th Sea game line — a distinct company that happens to share a similar name, and is not covered by this profile.
Timeline
- 2009-04-01
- Aditia Dwiperdana and 17 friends, mostly from the Bandung Institute of Technology, found Agate Studio in Bandung after unsuccessful attempts at game-making competitions in 2007-2008.
- 2009 (early)
- Releases its first commercial game, a zombie-shooting title called "English Defender," which sells for US$500.
- 2013
- Transitions from Flash-based Facebook games to Android app development, following mobile gaming trends.
- 2017
- Employs 110 people and has produced over 200 games and gamification projects, winning at least 19 awards including the People's Choice Mochi's Award at the Flash Gaming Summit in San Francisco.
- 2018
- Releases "Valthirian Arc: Hero School Story" for PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
- 2013-09
- Partners with Japanese publisher Square Enix to launch the web-based game "Sengoku IXA" in Indonesia, with then-CEO Arief Widhiyasa describing the deal as a knowledge-transfer collaboration between an established developer and a newer one.
- 2016-04-04
- Raises US$1 million in funding from Indonesian venture firm Maloekoe Ventures to grow its serious-games and entertainment-games business.
- 2019-01-05
- Acquires Bandung-based Ekuator Games, developer of "Celestian Tales," for about Rp5 billion; Ekuator's CEO Cipto Adiguno becomes Agate's Vice President of Consumer Games.
- 2020-06-27
- Releases "Code Atma," an idle role-playing game themed around Indonesian folklore creatures such as the kuntilanak and genderuwo, developed in partnership with Telkom Indonesia, Melon and Oolean.
- 2021-06-27
- Acquires Freemergency, a six-person Jakarta studio behind "Retrograde Arena" (winner of the Best Innovation and Rising Star Award at the SEA Game Awards, Level Up KL 2019), its second studio acquisition after Ekuator Games.
- 2022-06-01
- Arief Widhiyasa steps down as CEO to become Chairman; then-Chief Operating Officer Shieny Aprilia is named CEO, with a stated focus on expanding into metaverse development services.
- 2024
- Operates with about 200 employees under CEO and co-founder Shieny Aprilia, describing itself as Indonesia's largest homegrown game developer amid a domestic gaming market valued at $1.79 billion.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- A separate, unrelated company, the French tabletop RPG publisher "Studio Agate" (known for "Shadows of Esteren" and its work on 7th Sea), shares a similar name. This profile covers only the Indonesian video game developer Agate; readers researching the French RPG publisher should look elsewhere.
Sources
8 sources (4 tier 1, 4 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
Two Jakarta Post articles (2017, 2024) anchor the founding, growth and current-leadership facts. Six further independent Indonesian sources — DealStreetAsia, Bisnis Indonesia, ANTARA News, Gamebrott, IDN Times/Duniaku and Merdeka.com — were fetched and read in full to verify specific leads (funding, acquisitions, partnerships, CEO succession) surfaced while checking Wikipedia's "Agate (game company)" article as a lead index; Wikipedia itself is not cited anywhere in this profile. All eight sources are independent of Agate and cover the Indonesian studio headquartered in Bandung — not the unrelated French tabletop role-playing game publisher "Studio Agate," which was deliberately excluded from this profile to avoid conflating the two companies.
- Agate Studio story of perseverance, dreamers Supports: The company's April 1, 2009 founding, its founders, its first game "English Defender," its growth to 110 employees by 2017, and its early awards.
- Executive Column: Agate gears up to capture local, global gaming market Supports: Its current leadership (CEO Shieny Aprilia), 2024 employee count, market position as Indonesia's largest homegrown game developer, and context on Indonesia's gaming market size.
- Perusahaan Gim Agate Akuisisi Ekuator Games, Ini Targetnya di Kancah Dunia Supports: Its January 2019 acquisition of Ekuator Games and the transition of Ekuator's CEO Cipto Adiguno into an Agate leadership role.
- Agate dan Telkom Rilis Game Mobile Bertema Hantu Indonesia Supports: The June 2020 release of "Code Atma" in partnership with Telkom Indonesia, Melon and Oolean, and its Indonesian-folklore theme.
- Indonesian gaming dev Agate Studios raises $1m from Maloekoe Ventures Supports: Its April 2016 US$1 million funding round from Indonesian venture firm Maloekoe Ventures.
- Agate Akuisisi Freemergency Untuk Kembangkan Game Online Multiplayer Supports: The June 2021 acquisition of Freemergency and background on Freemergency's "Retrograde Arena" and its SEA Game Awards recognition.
- IGS 2013: Konferensi Pers Agate Studio dan Square Enix, Luncurkan Sengoku Ixa di Indonesia! Supports: The 2013 partnership with Square Enix to launch "Sengoku IXA" in Indonesia, and then-CEO Arief Widhiyasa's comments on it.
- Agate Umumkan Shieny Aprilia Jadi CEO Baru Agate, Fokus Kembangkan Metaverse Supports: Shieny Aprilia's June 2022 appointment as CEO succeeding Arief Widhiyasa (who became Chairman), and her prior role as COO.
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