Ranida Games is practically a household name in the Philippine game development scene. Founded in 2015 by Ben Banta and Walter Manalo, they are responsible for classic mobile game experiences like PBA Basketball Slam and, more recently, Bayani, a fighting game that draws inspiration from Filipino historical figures and landmarks.

While the team has been silent for a while, they’ve been constantly working on improving themselves to get ready for their next big break. The last few years have been challenging, but the team is letting their passion and love for the industry guide them to their next big break.

“I’ve been in the industry since 2008 when I first created my own game, and Ranida was formed in 2015,” says Banta. “Game development is a high-risk high-reward career, especially for us making our own titles.”

Banta says they got lucky by scoring the PBA license, which really kicked off things for Ranida. Since they do not rely on purely outsourcing work, the team needs to make measured efforts in the space. Despite the success of the game, the market remained a tough challenge since in-app spending wasn’t such an accepted concept back then, forcing developers to rely on ads.

After 20 million downloads, the game still provides Ranida with enough to keep the lights on, but more importantly, it allows them to look forward to what’s ahead. The whole team is driven by passion, but the future is looking up thanks to an unlikely ally in Xbox.

“Even though we have been called veterans in the industry, it doesn’t mean that we know everything. We still need to continue learning, technology is moving fast, and joining Xbox Game Camp Asia is one of the things that helped us keep up,” says Banta.

“It’s a privilege for us to be a Philippine representative in Game Camp Asia,” says Manalo. “We really wanted to have a good showing, but more than that, it was an opportunity for us to learn. We were able to work under the mentorship of some of the famous game designers, and we’re happy to learn from their experiences in game production, design, marketing, and much more.”

Game Camp Asia is an initiative from Microsoft designed to recognize game creators across the region. In this event, select game developers from 5 countries can pursue their dreams and pitch their game ideas to experienced mentors, possibly giving their next big break.

The man behind this herculean push to put eyes on the region is Jun Shen Chia, Xbox’s Global Expansion Lead for Southeast Asia. Jun is hungry for the region to gain recognition, as evidenced by a recent showcase that highlighted games like Coffee Talk 2 and GigaBash. You can say that he’s also responsible for the Philippines’ own Fallen Tear: The Ascension getting the big break it deserves.

“We mostly do sports and fighting games, but we decided to do something different for Game Camp Asia,” shares Banta. “Our mentor helped us through the whole process, and when it came to pitching day, the result showed that.”

Ranida’s next game concept is nothing like they’ve ever done before, as Game Camp Asia encouraged them to step out of their comfort zone. And step out, they did, as their efforts resulted in a hybrid cooking-narrative game that fuses several elements of different games to create an emotional title despite its futuristic and cyberpunk-ish facade.

“Soul Food,” inspired by the Filipino concept of Dampa/Paluto, is Ranida’s contribution to Game Camp Asia, where cooking the right dish will help inhabitants of the world regain their humanity and their lost memories, just like how a bowl of comforting food can bring forth memories of the past. It is a deeply personal project for Banta, whose personal experience sparked the idea for the game. Now done with the pitch, we’ll have to wait and see if Xbox can unlock the full potential of this new idea.

Ranida being allowed this opportunity did not come easy. Manalo cited the challenges of creating console games in our region boils down to not just having the resources to do so, but simply down to dev kit access, both of which Xbox has been helpful with. Manalo shares that even the mere presence of Xbox could be enough for our government to take notice that Philippine game development is not to be neglected.

One other challenge is quite surprising, and both Banta and Manalo say that the Filipino audience can be tough to please. Filipinos long for quality titles, but overcoming the challenge of being compared to bigger studios with astronomical budgets is something that takes time. Thankfully, Filipino gamers are starting to recognize games by their merits and not by budget alone, and with this change in mindset, it is up to Ranida to follow through.

At the end of the day, Ranida is paying it forward. After joining programs left and right, the opportunities provided to them by the lessons they’ve taken from the likes of Game Camp Asia are now being used to help fellow developers grow in the space in the hopes of seeing the next superstar rise the ranks and bring the local scene the recognition it deserves.

Special thanks to Ben Banta and Walter Manalo of Ranida Games for taking the time to talk to us!