Niko Partners has revealed the results of its video game market sizing model in Asia and MENA.
In 2023, both regions jointly generated $85.5 billion in revenue, representing a 4.6% increase from the previous year.
From then on, the market is expected to continue growing, although at a slower pace. By 2024, Niko Partners estimates growth of 2.5%, reaching revenues of $87.6 billion. The upward trend would continue until 2028, at which point the combined Asia and MENA market is projected to touch $100 billion ($97.1 billion), with a CAGR of 2.5%.
“Asia and MENA remain essential in the global video game market. Factors driving growth in these regions include localization, increasing player engagement, government support for esports, growth in out-of-app mobile game monetization, and increasing purchasing power,” said Lisa Hanson, CEO of Niko Partners. “To gain meaningful access, companies must understand local market realities and clearly understand the context behind the data they employ in their strategic planning.”
Niko Partners’ model is based on a survey of 7,700 players in Asia and MENA between November 2023 and April 2024.
Niko Partners: Differences between Asia and MENA markets
The market model for Asia and MENA covers 13 countries: China, India, East Asia (Japan and Korea), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and MENA (Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates Joined).
The video game company registered a total of 1.61 billion players in 2023, representing more than half of the players worldwide. By 2028, Niko Partners expects this figure to reach 1.99 billion, with a CAGR of 4.4% over five years. Furthermore, it is estimated that India will be responsible for 72% of this growth, adding 277 million more players and totaling 731 million, thus surpassing China in the number of players.
Based on statistics, MENA markets are expected to experience the second fastest growth, while Japan and Korea will show slower growth compared to other markets.
Senior executives from China visit Shacman Mexico to promote industrial development
Platforms and play time
Gamers in Asia and MENA tend to prefer mobile devices (93.7%). 35.1% play on PC and 4.9% on consoles. By 2028, it is projected that there will be 1.87 billion gamers on mobile devices, 606 million on PC, and 100 million on consoles.
According to Niko Partners, gamers in Asia and MENA account for more than half of global mobile and PC gaming spending.
In these markets, mobile gamers spent around $58 billion in 2023, representing 57.8% of global mobile spending. Likewise, nearly $20 billion was spent on PC games, 50.4% of global spending on this platform.
Finally, Niko Partners saw a 36.2% year-over-year increase in average gaming hours per week in Asia. This contrasts with a 10% drop in average hours of play per week recorded in 2023. The increase in play time was recorded across all platforms: up 28.1% on PC, 19.3% on mobile and 12.0% on consoles .
Add Comment