A new report from market research and consulting firm Niko Partners claims that there will be nearly 80M gamers in MENA-3 by the year 2027. The data is part of the firm’s third annual MENA-3 Games Market Report & Five-Year Forecast covering the region—which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt.
The report also notes that the gaming industry in the region has experienced significant growth over the past few years, with video game revenue projected to add approximately $1 B USD from 2022-2027, reaching more than $2.65B.
Much of this growth is being fueled by public (money from government-run sovereign wealth funds such as the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia) and private investment in the games industry, high disposable income of consumers, and rising demand for interactive entertainment content from a young population, according to the report.
Other interesting data from Niko Partners’ report:
- MENA-3 video game market generated total revenue of $1.92B in 2023, up 7.8% YoY, rising to $2.65B in 2027 at a five-year CAGR of 8.2%.
- Total number of gamers reached 68.4M in 2023, up 2.9% YoY, rising to 79.6M in 2027 (five-year CAGR 3.7%).
- 71.5% of gamers in MENA-3 engage with esports in some capacity: watching esports content, participating in esports games, or competing in amateur or professional tournaments. Government support for esports is a major growth driver in the region.
- Saudi Arabia is “the largest market by games revenue in MENA-3 and is considered the gaming powerhouse of the region, generating more than half the regional revenue in 2023.”
- Smartphones are the most used device for playing games in MENA-3 (87.2% of gamers) and have the highest average hours played each week (8.7 hours).
- The top 3 most played PC-based IPs in the MENA-3 region are PUBG, EA Sports FC, and Call of Duty, and are played by two-thirds of all gamers, based on Niko survey results.
Niko Partners methodology includes a survey of 1,160 gamers in MENA-3, as well as interviews with industry professionals in the region. More details on the new report can be found at nikopartners.com.