MENA-3 games market generated $1.92bn in 2023

The Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt (MENA-3) games market elevated 7.8% year-on-year to $1.92 billion in 2023 and is predicted to rise to $2.65 billion in 2027, based on a brand new report by Niko Companions.

Saudi Arabia generated greater than half of the area’s income, adopted by the United Arab Emirates (31.9%) and Egypt (10.5%).

The report mentioned this progress was fueled by elevated private and non-private funding, excessive disposable revenue in the area, and a “rising demand from its younger inhabitants.”

There have been 68.4 million players in the area throughout 2023, which is up by 2.9% year-on-year and is predicted to rise to 79.6 million in 2027. Over half of gamers in MENA-3 have been from Egypt, in comparison with 30.4% in Saudi Arabia and 11.1% in the United Arab Emirates.

Elsewhere, the report discovered that 71.5% of gamers in the MENA-3 area participated in esports, which was boosted by authorities help.

87.2% of players used smartphones to play games in the area, with the best common hours performed every week at 8.7 hours.

Lisa Hanson, CEO and president of Niko Companions, mentioned: “There are over 420 million Arabic audio system globally, which makes it the fifth most spoken language in the world. Taking note of and collaborating in the games business in MENA will assist firms succeed globally as properly.

“It’s crucial to recognise the expansion in the MENA games markets, research the native gamers and ecosystems, and implement a localised technique to participate in the expansion that governments are planning for and supporting, significantly in Saudi Arabia, UAE and different GCC markets.”

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