KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 16 — Having worked on internationally recognised video game titles such as Final Fantasy XV and Street Fighter, Malaysian developers Wan Hazmer Wan Abdul Halim and Daim Dziauddin set out to build a studio that could bring South-east Asian culture to players around the world.

Wan Hazmer, chief executive officer and co-founder of Metronomik Sdn Bhd, spent eight years at Japanese game developer Square Enix as lead game designer for Final Fantasy XV, while his cousin Daim, the studio’s co-founder and creative director, worked as a concept artist for Street Fighter V and an illustrator for Street Fighter IV.

Drawing on their experience, the two established Metronomik in December 2017 with a shared vision of creating music-based games that would appeal to a broad audience while introducing Malaysian and South-east Asian cultural influences to international players.

“The whole point of doing all this is to ensure that our games sell worldwide,” Wan Hazmer told Bernama during LEVEL UP KL 2026 recently.

He said the studio also wanted to incorporate South-east Asian identities into its future games, allowing international audiences to become more familiar with the region’s culture.

No Straight Roads takes local creativity global

Metronomik’s ambition first took shape through its debut title, No Straight Roads, a music-themed action-adventure game released in August 2020.

The game, which combines action-adventure gameplay with rhythm-infused combat and a soundtrack-driven experience, helped introduce the studio’s creative approach to an international audience.

Metronomik subsequently released No Straight Roads: Encore Edition in 2021, while its sequel, No Straight Roads 2, is being developed by the studio and published by Japanese company Shueisha Games, with a release scheduled for this year.

No Straight Roads had attracted more than 500,000 players worldwide by November 2024, according to gaming portal Gamer Matters, which reported the milestone following Wan Hazmer’s appearance at Indie Jam 2024 in Kuala Lumpur.

The figure included downloads through subscription services such as PlayStation Plus rather than only paid purchases, which was why the milestone was reported in terms of players rather than copies sold.

According to the regional breakdown cited by the portal, the United States and Canada accounted for 42 per cent of its players, followed by Europe and Africa at 35 per cent, while South-east Asia represented just five per cent.

Separately, Gamalytic, a third-party platform that estimates Steam game sales, puts sales of No Straight Roads: Encore Edition at about 101,500 units on Steam platform.

For Metronomik, the response demonstrated that a game featuring Malaysian and South-east Asian cultural influences could find an audience well beyond its home market.

Wan Hazmer recalled seeing overseas players reacting to local cultural references while livestreaming the game.

“People were shouting ‘Ewah!’ on the stream, although they were non-Malaysians, so yeah, I think we can do it,” he said.

Music, gameplay and cultural identity

According to Wan Hazmer, Metronomik’s approach is to make music an integral part of the gaming experience rather than merely using it as background entertainment.

The founders want to create music-based games without limiting them to players familiar with conventional rhythm games, allowing a wider audience to enjoy the experience.

The studio also gave a similar touch with its next title, Ondeh Ondeh Kaya’s Tasty Tale (Ondeh Ondeh), which combines South-east Asian cultural influences with a fantastical setting.

Wan Hazmer said one of the game’s distinctive mechanics allows players to absorb rhythms from their surroundings and use them to interact with the environment.

“I think that’s what makes the game very unique, because it makes the users seamlessly interact with music without them realising it; they just use instinct rather,” he said.

He said the approach would allow players to engage with music instinctively without requiring technical musical knowledge or specialised rhythm-game skills.

Wan Hazmer said the studio also drew on lessons from his previous work on Final Fantasy XV, where Malaysian food such as roti canai and satay was incorporated into the game.

“One of the most important lessons I learned from there, and which we are applying to Ondeh-Ondeh, is that when you want to spread culture, you cannot syok (get excited) sendiri,” he said.

He said cultural elements must first be incorporated into an enjoyable game and connected to universal themes, such as love and family, to appeal to audiences beyond their immediate communities.

Ondeh Ondeh, which was showcased at LEVEL UP KL 2026, is scheduled for release in 2027 on Steam, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X/S.

The game has also won three awards at the SEA Game Awards 2026: the Grand Jury Award, Best Score & Music, and Best Technology.

Building the business beyond Malaysian borders

Wan Hazmer said Metronomik wanted to strengthen its international reach through partnerships and regional talent rather than necessarily establishing offices overseas.

The studio works with Singapore-based IMBA Interactive and Malaysia’s Tentu Synergy, among other partners, to bring different regional perspectives and expertise into its projects.

He said the response to No Straight Roads had reinforced his belief that South-east Asian cultural elements could resonate with international audiences, particularly in a global gaming market where players were familiar with settings inspired by medieval and science-fiction themes.

Behind the creative vision, Metronomik is also navigating the financial and commercial demands of game development. Funding support from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has helped sustain production and enabled the company to hire more people.

“The grant really, really helped a lot. Ondeh Ondeh is not a very cheap project. It takes a lot of people — our partners, our team. We have around 28 people now in the team, so to put food on everyone’s table, the grant really, really helped to do that,” he said.

He said the support had also enabled the company to hire people, contributing to job creation and the wider development of the local gaming ecosystem.

However, Wan Hazmer said financing alone could not guarantee commercial success and identified two major challenges for Malaysian game developers: positioning their products effectively in international markets and gaining access to overseas publishers.

He said established publishers could provide access to international distribution networks, retail channels and market knowledge that local developers might struggle to obtain independently, particularly given Malaysia’s relatively limited pool of established game publishers.

Despite these challenges, he said the industry was moving in a positive direction, with MDEC initiatives and LEVEL UP KL helping Malaysian studios connect with international companies and industry professionals.

A future built on cultural pride

Looking ahead, Wan Hazmer hopes Metronomik’s games will encourage international players to learn more about South-east Asia, while inspiring Malaysians and other regional developers to take pride in their cultural identities.

“For Malaysians, I hope that the game — and our future games as well — will make them be proud of their culture,” he said.

He also expressed hope that players from outside the region who enjoy Metronomik’s games will become curious about the cultures and artistic influences behind them, potentially encouraging them to explore South-east Asia beyond the virtual world.

Wan Hazmer said developers must balance cultural authenticity with universal themes and engaging gameplay to connect with audiences beyond their home markets. 

While cultural identity could distinguish a game from its competitors, he said, the experience must first be enjoyable enough to keep players interested.

Ultimately, Metronomik aims to build a sustainable game development business while creating opportunities for regional talent and demonstrating that South-east Asian stories and creative perspectives can find their place in the global gaming industry. — Bernama