A decade back, if someone told you that games would make you a billionaire, it would be hard to believe, but Singapore’s newest entry to the billionaire club would tell you otherwise.

Sea Ltd. co-founder Gang Ye is the latest to join the billionaire club. Singapore’s newest billionaire is a former government employee who rode mobile sensation Free Fire into the ranks of the ultra-wealthy this week.

Sea Ltd. is the publisher of the world-renowned battle royale or fight-to-the-death title, FREE FIRE.

The 39-year-old joins fellow co-founder Forrest Li, whose larger stake in the fast-growing games-to-shopping company earned him a ten-digit fortune earlier this year. Ye moved to Singapore from China in the 1990s as a teenager and became a citizen shortly after his return from the U.S.He has served as Sea’s chief operating officer since 2017.

Sea’s shares surged after outlook was raised for a second time in 2019. (Source: Bloomberg)

The executive holds an 8.4% stake in the company and is worth $1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires.

Free Fire is ranked among the five most downloaded games on the Apple Store and Google Play store for three straight quarters this year and has amassed $1 billion in revenue since its launch in 2017.

Ye and Li are the latest billionaires to emerge from the gaming scene. Tim Sweeney, founder of Epic Games, has a $7.2 billion fortune while Gabe Newell of Valve Corporation which operates the Steam platform, has a net worth of $5.7 billion.