The Asia, Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) games market increased 4.6% year-on-year to $85.5 billion in 2023, and is expected to rise to $97.1 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Niko Partners.
The study covers China, India, East Asia (Japan and Korea), Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) markets.
The report suggests that India is expected to surpass China by reaching 277 million players in 2028, accounting for 72% of growth across the Asia and MENA region during this period.
Elsewhere, the Asia and MENA region accounted for 58% of global player spending on mobile games in 2023, while it made up 50% of global player spending on PC.
The report also estimates that there will be nearly two billion players in the Asia and MENA market by 2028, up from 1.6 billion in 2023. The average gaming hours per week in Asia has also increased 36.2% year-on-year.
"Asia and MENA remain critical in the global games market, and drivers to the growth in these regions include localisation, increase in participation by female gamers, government support for esports, growth of out-of-app monetisation of mobile games, and rising spending power," said CEO of Niko Partners Lisa Hanson.
"In order to gain meaningful access, companies must get to know the local market realities and clearly understand the context behind the data they use for their strategic planning."
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