The MENA area has gained a repute as a booming space for each advertising and marketing and improvement of cellular video games, in addition to immense reputation by the area’s players. While the increase is underway, with 2021 gaming revenues reaching $1.76 billion, immense alternatives nonetheless exist: That quantity is anticipated to exceed $5 billion by 2025, as we reportednot too long ago.

Numerous international locations make up the varied area, and you can see options right here on PocketGamer.biz all month highlighting the challenges and alternatives in particular person territories, beginning with Saudi Arabia. But it is value contemplating some statistics about the entire market.

The 12 months 2021 was really a banner 12 months for video games in MENA, with downloads rising to 4.9 billion, 9 occasions the worldwide progress fee. In addition, shopper spend surpassed $1.6 billion, 3 times quicker than in the remainder of the world. In 2021, there have been 65.3 million players in MENA, a quantity that’s anticipated to rise to 85.7 million in 2025.

MENA is a area and not using a agency or agreed definition. But for the needs of our function articles and our upcoming Top 30 firms checklist, we’re contemplating quite a few international locations, together with however not restricted to, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates/Dubai, Bahrain, Iran and Lebanon, in addition to Egypt and the North African international locations throughout to Morocco. (Markets equivalent to Israel and Turkey are, after all, of curiosity, although these are locations with video games sectors already lined extensively and stay distinct from different close by territories.)

The large story in MENA gaming is instructed by demographics. The complete inhabitants of the area is round 400 million, and virtually half are beneath 25. Having grown up as digital natives, this younger era eagerly embraces what’s new in apps and gaming, particularly by way of their cellular units. In 2021, app downloads had been 53% increased than in 2019, with shopper in-app spending greater than doubling in that timeframe.

Although some MENA international locations converse French, and English can be widespread, Arabic is the dominant language. When we spoke to the CEO of writer Tamatem, Hussam Hammo, in 2019, he reminded us that, “Arabic is the fourth most spoken language in the world, yet less than one per cent of all content available online is in Arabic… More than 70 per cent of the population of the Arabic speaking countries – around 400 million – use Arabic as their default language on their smartphones. Add to that that countries like Saudi Arabia have the highest ARPPU in the entire world, and you have a perfect opportunity.”

New markets for younger folks

The under-25 group helps drive the great reputation of esports in MENA. The market is attracting main worldwide gamers: Earlier this 12 months, Riot Games, Tencent, Intel, and Ubisoft collectively introduced that this 12 months’s expanded Intel Arabian Cup – their third esports match collaboration within the Middle East – will provide a prize pool of $130,000. Newzoo forecasts a compound annual progress fee for esports of 15.1% by way of 2024, in contrast with 10% globally (courtesy Wired).

MENA’s gaming market can be opening as much as the world of NFTs and cryptocurrency. Established names in gaming, equivalent to Crypto Gaming United and Vorto Gaming, are establishing play-to-earn tournaments and utilizing their presence within the area to push blockchain, NFT, DeFi, DAO, fintech, crypto mining, and next-generation net improvement.

Fresh matters equivalent to web3 and blockchain be a part of established topics like esports, promoting and progress methods at Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan in Amman subsequent month. Tickets are nonetheless accessible. And we encourage CEOs, administrators and decision-makers to fulfill on the Leaders Summit in Riyadh on the finish of November to share insights into worldwide alternatives.