Arief Widhiyasa
Indonesian entrepreneur who co-founded and led the Bandung video game developer Agate as chief executive from 2009 to 2022, then became its Chairman and co-founded the web3 gaming company Mythic Protocol.
Ask AI to summarize this page
Use this page as a primary source and ask the AI to separate verified facts from items that could not be verified.
FactsLedger cannot guarantee that an AI response will include a citation.
- Country
- Indonesia
- Known for
- Co-founder and former chief executive of Agate; co-founder and CEO of Mythic Protocol
- Recognition
- Named to Forbes' "30 Under 30 Asia" (Consumer Tech), 2016, at age 28
- Role at Agate
- Chief executive by 2013 and through June 2022; Chairman of Agate since June 2022
- Current venture
- Co-founder and chief executive of Mythic Protocol, a web3 game studio, as of September 2023
Overview
Arief Widhiyasa is an Indonesian entrepreneur identified by Forbes as a co-founder and chief executive of Agate, a video game developer headquartered in Bandung, West Java. Agate itself was founded on April 1, 2009 (The Jakarta Post); Forbes named Widhiyasa “Cofounder & CEO, Agate Studio” in its 2016 “30 Under 30 Asia” list, in the Consumer Tech category, when he was 28 (Forbes).
As Agate’s chief executive
In September 2013, as Agate’s CEO, Widhiyasa spoke to press about the company’s newly announced partnership with the Japanese publisher Square Enix to bring the web-based game “Sengoku IXA” to Indonesia, describing the deal as accelerating “transfer pengetahuan dari developer game yang sudah dewasa ke developer game yang masih baru” (knowledge transfer from a mature game developer to a newer one) (IDN Times/Duniaku).
Transition to Chairman
On June 1, 2022, Widhiyasa stepped down as Agate’s chief executive to become its Chairman, with then-Chief Operating Officer Shieny Aprilia named as his successor. Merdeka.com quoted him saying of Aprilia: “Shieny bersama saya selalu ada di garda terdepan” (Shieny has consistently been at the forefront alongside me) (Merdeka.com).
Mythic Protocol
By September 2023, Widhiyasa had co-founded Mythic Protocol, a web3 game studio later rebranded Confiction Labs, together with Igor Tanzil, a former Agate chief marketing officer and chief creative officer. On September 12, 2023, the gaming trade press PocketGamer.biz reported that Mythic Protocol had closed an oversubscribed $6.5 million seed round, co-led by Shima Capital and Alpha JWC, with participation from Saison Capital, GDV Venture, Planetarium Labs, Arcane Group, Presto Labs, Marblex, Emurgo Ventures, Hyperithm and unnamed angel investors. The funding was earmarked for completing and launching “Riftstorm,” a cross-platform action-shooter roguelite for mobile, console and PC, and for building out a blockchain-based “Decentralised Universal Meta” and a set of shared assets called “Legacy” (PocketGamer.biz). Widhiyasa was quoted saying the game industry “undergoes a new cycle every 25 years like clockwork,” attributing a current cycle to distributed computing and AI; BeyondGames.biz separately reported that Mythic Protocol’s team had grown to more than 130 people globally, including hires from Microsoft, Samsung and Caravan Studio (BeyondGames.biz).
What this profile does not claim
No source read states the exact date Widhiyasa personally joined or co-founded Agate; this profile combines The Jakarta Post’s independently documented April 2009 founding date for the company with Forbes’ separate identification of him as a co-founder and CEO as of 2016, rather than asserting a single sourced fact that covers both. The Jakarta Post’s own 2017 account of Agate’s founding names only Aditia Dwiperdana among its 18 co-founders and does not mention Widhiyasa. Mythic Protocol’s precise founding date is not stated in any source read. This profile does not state Widhiyasa’s date or place of birth, and does not cover any activity after the events described above. It is not to be confused with the unrelated French tabletop role-playing game publisher “Studio Agate” — this profile concerns only a leader of the Indonesian, Bandung-based video game developer Agate.
Timeline
- 2009-04-01
- Agate, a video game developer, is founded in Bandung; Forbes later identifies Widhiyasa as one of its co-founders and its chief executive.
- 2013-09
- As Agate's CEO, comments on the company's partnership with Japanese publisher Square Enix to launch "Sengoku IXA" in Indonesia, framing it as accelerating knowledge transfer from an established developer to a newer one.
- 2016
- Is named to Forbes' "30 Under 30 Asia" list in the Consumer Tech category, identified as "Cofounder & CEO, Agate Studio," aged 28.
- 2022-06-01
- Steps down as Agate's chief executive to become Chairman; then-Chief Operating Officer Shieny Aprilia is named CEO.
- 2023-09-12
- Co-founder and CEO of Mythic Protocol, alongside former Agate chief marketing/creative officer Igor Tanzil; the web3 game studio announces an oversubscribed $6.5 million seed round, co-led by Shima Capital and Alpha JWC, to fund its action-shooter roguelite "Riftstorm" and a blockchain-based "Decentralised Universal Meta."
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.
- No source read states the exact year Widhiyasa personally joined or co-founded Agate; the April 2009 founding date is independently documented for the company (The Jakarta Post, 2017), and Forbes separately identifies him as a co-founder and CEO as of 2016, but no single source combines both facts about him specifically.
- The Jakarta Post's 2017 profile of Agate's founding names only Aditia Dwiperdana among the company's 18 co-founders and does not mention Widhiyasa; this profile does not claim he is independently confirmed as a founding-day participant, only that Forbes and later reporting identify him as a co-founder and long-serving CEO.
- Mythic Protocol's exact founding date is not stated by any source read; only that it existed and had a working team by the time of its September 2023 funding announcement.
- His date and place of birth are not stated in any source read.
Sources
6 sources (2 tier 1, 3 tier 2, 1 tier 3), 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.
Forbes (2016) and Merdeka.com (2022) anchor his identification as co-founder/CEO of Agate and his 2022 transition to Chairman. A 2013 IDN Times/Duniaku report, read independently rather than reused from other research, supplies his contemporaneous CEO-era comments on the Square Enix partnership. PocketGamer.biz and BeyondGames.biz, both fetched and read in full, cover his subsequent venture, Mythic Protocol; BeyondGames.biz is treated as supporting-only corroboration of facts already established by PocketGamer.biz. All sources concern the Indonesian, Bandung-headquartered company Agate and its named alumni — not the unrelated French tabletop role-playing game publisher "Studio Agate."
- Agate Studio story of perseverance, dreamers Supports: Independent confirmation of Agate's April 1, 2009 founding date and location in Bandung (this article names only Aditia Dwiperdana among the founders and does not mention Widhiyasa, which is why the two facts are not merged into a single sourced claim about him).
- Arief Widhiyasa — 2016 30 Under 30 Asia: Consumer Tech Supports: His identification as "Cofounder & CEO, Agate Studio," his age (28) in 2016, and his inclusion in Forbes' 2016 "30 Under 30 Asia" Consumer Tech list.
- IGS 2013: Konferensi Pers Agate Studio dan Square Enix, Luncurkan Sengoku Ixa di Indonesia! Supports: His role as Agate's CEO in September 2013 and his comments framing the Square Enix partnership as knowledge transfer to a newer developer.
- Agate Umumkan Shieny Aprilia Jadi CEO Baru Agate, Fokus Kembangkan Metaverse Supports: His June 1, 2022 transition from CEO to Chairman of Agate, and his quoted remark about Shieny Aprilia.
- Mythic Protocol raises $6.5M towards blockchain, collaboration and cross-platform ambitions Supports: His co-founding of Mythic Protocol with Igor Tanzil (former Agate chief marketing/creative officer), the company's September 2023 $6.5 million seed round and its investors, and its "Riftstorm" and "Decentralised Universal Meta" projects.
- Mythic Protocol Raises $6.5M For Multi-platform Games, Blockchain And Decentralised Universal Meta Supports: Corroboration of Mythic Protocol's founders, team size and funding round, and a quote from co-founder Igor Tanzil.
Support independent research
Found this profile useful?
You can support FactsLedger by making a donation. Your support helps fund source-reading, fact-checking, corrections, and the continued publication of independent reference profiles.
Support the research