By Eric X.D. Tan, founder of SWAY. Published 6 October 2026.
Persona 5’s big-band tour and Wuthering Waves’ Singapore concert show why Southeast Asia deserves a larger place in game-music strategy. Western visibility is not a reliable proxy for audience demand.
Picture the moment a game’s opening notes hit a concert hall. Nobody needs to explain the characters. Nobody needs to introduce the world. The audience already knows why it matters. Now put that room in Singapore.
THE CONCERTS BEHIND THE ARGUMENT.
On September 26, Kuro Games brought its Wuthering Waves concert tour, “To the New World,” to the Esplanade Theatre. According to the post-event press release published by Capsule Computers, the 2,000-capacity venue sold out in 40 minutes. Those are reported figures, not independently audited attendance or revenue.
Earlier this year, SEGA and ATLUS brought the Persona 5 Special Big Band Concert to Bangkok on June 16, Kuala Lumpur on June 18, and Singapore on June 23 and 24. The official SEGA itinerary confirms the dates; the tour organiser’s page names original vocalist Lyn and music director Charlie Rosen.
These were separate productions, not a collaboration. Persona 5’s jazz, funk and soul repertoire and a Chinese open-world RPG soundtrack found different routes to live audiences in Southeast Asia.
WESTERN VISIBILITY IS NOT AUDIENCE DEMAND.
These stories deserve more space in Western conversations about where gaming and music are heading. That is an editorial assessment, not a measured finding about the volume of press coverage. English-language coverage exists.
We obsess over the next celebrity collaboration. Meanwhile, here is something worth studying: fans buying tickets to hear music they already associate with hours of their lives. The relationship exists before the concert is announced.
WHAT PUBLISHERS AND MUSIC PARTNERS SHOULD ASK.
For publishers: which parts of your game would people pay to experience together, away from their screens? For labels and artists: which game communities already care about the musical world you could help build?
Singapore is not shorthand for all of Southeast Asia. The evidence here supports investigating named cities, audiences, venues and partners, not assuming that one successful show proves regional demand or tour profitability. Rights, production costs, ticket pricing and local distribution still need an executable plan.
Our guide to game music partnerships in Asia starts with the market and objective before choosing the artist. Explore the XG and VCT Pacific case study for a different example from Eric’s prior Riot Games work.
If your strategy follows Western headlines, which audiences are you leaving off the guest list? Discuss your music and gaming brief with SWAY.