YGG Play Summit 2025 “City of Play” Expands Skill District to Power the Philippines’ Digital Workforce

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - In the lead-up to its 2025 edition, the YGG Play Summit has revealed a major expansion of the Skill District, the learning hub within its City of Play experience. Designed by Metaversity, the educational arm of YGG Pilipinas, the district offers an immersive upskilling experience to uncover earning opportunities across Web3 and AI. Visitors can join workshops that teach practical, job-oriented skills for the digital economy in content creation, marketing, community management, game development, and more.

The Skill District is one of four themed zones in the City of Play alongside the Player District, Degen District, and The Arena. Three new experiences have been added: The Prompt to Prototype vibe coding workshop will teach aspiring builders how to create games using AI. The Metaversity Interactive forum will gather stakeholders across industry, government, and academe to work with students to address critical skills gaps in the emerging tech workforce. Finally, Metaverse Filipino Worker (MFW) City — the pioneering builder residency led by YGG Pilipinas and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) — will unveil the results of its pilot program to educate developers from the MIMAROPA region in the Sui blockchain’s Move programming language.

“This collaboration truly reflects the core of our DICT thrust in Digital Bayanihan, showcasing how industries, communities, and the government can work together to empower talent across all regions of the country,” said DICT MIMAROPA Regional Director Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin. “Aligned with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directives to create more jobs for Filipinos and Secretary Henry Aguda’s commitment to generate more digital and digitally enabled employment opportunities through our Trabahong Digital Program, initiatives such as MFW City in Puerto Princesa and the Skill District at YGG Play Summit are creating pathways for Filipinos to actively participate in the global digital economy. These efforts bring us closer to a future where Filipinos can build transformative, sustainable, and rewarding careers without having to leave the comfort of their own homes.”

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 identifies technology as the dominant force reshaping the global labor market, driving both job creation and displacement. Expanding digital access alone is expected to generate 19 million new roles while rendering 9 million obsolete. AI and information processing technology are forecasted to create 11 million jobs while displacing 9 million. For the Philippines, this underscores the urgent need to develop digital fluency and technical capabilities, so workers can seize opportunities instead of being left behind by automation.

Official school partner STI College - Bonifacio Global City will participate in the Skill District alongside IT, computer science, and esports organizations from more than 10 schools across different regions of the country, including:

• University of Santo Tomas
• National University
• Polytechnic University of the Philippines
• University of Southeastern Philippines - Davao City
• Philippine Christian University - Cavite

Upskilling the Next Generation of Filipino Builders

With Sui providing primary sponsorship as its anchor partner, the Skill District will feature three key sessions offering unique opportunities for skills development:

MFW City, a regional builder residency co-created by YGG Pilipinas and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), brought together more than 120 developers in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, to learn the Sui blockchain’s programming language, Move. As part of the Sui Builder Program initiative under the MFW City program, participants received mentorship from industry experts and built minimum viable products on the Sui blockchain. On November 21, two graduates will join James Wing, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Investments at Mysten Labs, developers of Sui, on the Summit main stage to share a first look at the results of the pioneering program and explain how the initiative is opening new pathways for Filipino talent in the provinces.

Metaversity Interactive will bring together industry leaders, government representatives, members of the academe, and Metaversity students to map the Philippines’ emerging tech skills landscape. The session will identify the most in-demand skills sought by global and local employers and assess the readiness of current job candidates across these skills. The resulting data and dialogue will inform the strategic development of future Metaversity programs, ensuring they are aligned with market needs to maximize students’ employability. The forum is scheduled for Friday, November 21.

Prompt to Prototype is a 4-hour vibe coding workshop where up to 50 attendees will learn how to turn their game concepts into playable prototypes using AI-powered, no-code tools. Participants will gain hands-on experience using infrastructure by B3, a Layer-3 open gaming ecosystem built on Base, and AI tools from OpenxAI, a P2P permissionless AI protocol. Sponsored by Base, the session will be led by Base Philippines’ Developer Relations Lead Ambassador, who will teach attendees how to use these tools and serve as a mentor throughout the process. The workshop will take place at 11 AM on Saturday, November 22.

“The YGG Play Summit’s Skill District is where learning meets play for those seeking actionable pathways into the digital economy. Anyone looking to level up their career or personal growth will find opportunities to gain in-demand skills that lead to real jobs. Through our programs, we aim to help Filipinos prepare for the future job market and ensure our communities are not just keeping up but leading the way,” said Mench Dizon, Country Head of YGG Pilipinas.

More Highlights Ahead at YGG Play Summit

Aside from the Skill District events, esports tournaments in the trading card games Parallel, Vibes, and Might & Magic: Fates will be held at The Arena on November 20-21, with a combined prize pool of US$125,000.

Industry leaders will also take the stage for panels, fireside chats, and keynotes. Speakers include Mench Dizon of YGG Pilipinas, Sylvain Loe Mie of Ubisoft, Luke Barwikowski and Heidi Christine of Pixels, Theo Agranat of Gunzilla Games, TK of Spekter Games, Jihoz of Sky Mavis, Kohji Nagata of Parallel, Roby John of SuperGaming, Hantao of Moku, Alessia Baumgartner of DWF Labs, Shi Khai Wei of LongHash Ventures, Daryl Lim of TRIVE Digital, Oliver Maroney of OpenSea, Wei Zhou of Coins.ph, and Joony Koo of AO Labs.

Summit sponsors this year include game studios Sky Mavis, Aurory, Pixels, Parallel TCG, and Vibes TCG; the Layer-1 blockchain Sui; creative powerhouse Spekter Agency; Web3 investment firm DWF Labs; and Philippine crypto exchange Coins.ph.

Set to run from November 19 to 22, 2025, YGG Play Summit returns to SMX Aura, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), Metro Manila, Philippines. Tickets and the full event agenda are available on the YGG Play Summit website at yggplaysummit.com.