Asia & MENA video game markets to offer a nearly $100 billion opportunity by 2029
Note to Reader: This post offers a partial set of key takeaways from Niko’s 2025 Market Model Reports. Please fill out the form (link below) to automatically receive a free PDF of the complete set of takeaways at the regional and sub-regional level.
The Asia & MENA game markets generated $86.6 billion from player spending on game software and services in 2024, up 1.4% YoY. Revenue is projected to reach $96.0 billion in 2029 at a 5-year CAGR of 2.1%, quickly approaching $100 billion. The 13 that Niko Partners tracks in Asia & MENA accounted for 46.4% of games revenue (PC, Mobile & Console) in 2024, with over 1.65 billion gamers across the regions. While 2024 market growth was slower than 2023, our analysis reveals.
Asia & MENA countries will outpace worldwide video game software and services growth. Importantly, sub-regions and countries exhibit unique gamer behavior and preferences, driven by available platforms, regulations, disposable income, cultural norms, and ease of acquiring games. While mature markets of China, Japan and South Korea will account for 88.7% of total Asia & MENA revenue in 2029, offering an established base of high spenders, the most exciting growth stories lie elsewhere:
India is the fastest growing market we track. An additional 250 million gamers will be added over the next 5 years, taking the total to 724 million. However, there is much to Understand about India to find success there.
Thailand is the largest and fastest growing market in Southeast Asia, on track to reach $2.4 billion in player spending by 2029. Still, local infrastructure and gamer behavior are factors to navigate before market entry.
MENA-3 (Saudi Arabia, UAE & Egypt) is also emerging as a key player thanks to strong government investment and esports development, with ARPU in the UAE set to exceed $100 in 2029. Further, other Gulf countries such as Qatar are building their own games markets, which will drive more use of games in the region.
Game companies can now pursue a two-pronged strategy when it comes to Asia & MENA, targeting high ARPU segments in mature markets like China and East Asia while scaling up in emerging markets of India, Southeast Asia and MENA to reach a new demographic. Here are 5 key trends driving growth across Asia & MENA today:
1. An Expanding Gamer Base
Efforts to increase female participation in gaming are starting to pay off. Women now account for over 37% of gamers in the MENA-3 region and 40% in India, markets that traditionally skewed over 80% male. There will also be 2 billion gamers across Asia & MENA by 2029, more than the rest of the world combined.
2. The console opportunity
Nintendo’s upcoming Switch 2 launch in June 2025 brings increased support for historically underserved regions such as MENA and Southeast Asia. Building on existing success in China and East Asia, alongside growing interest in premium titles, the console opportunity in the region is far from saturated.
3. Cross-platform play
Seamless gameplay across mobile, PC, and console platforms is more and more important globally. In East Asia, dual-platform play is becoming the norm. In emerging markets such as India and SEA, playing AAA games is an aspiration of players and a cross-platform strategy allows them to access large-scale games on their existing devices.
4. Direct-to-Consumer efforts
Gamers in Asia & MENA are increasingly responding to community building efforts from publishers. This is through a combination of direct-to-consumer monetization of digital items as well as real-world events centered around games, including esports tournaments and concerts.
5. An emerging cohort of spenders
The biggest structural shift is the rise of a secondary cohort of gamers in India, MENA, and Southeast Asia that were previously unmonetized. Rising disposable incomes, increased digital connectivity, and support for localized pricing, payment methods, and games are leading to more gamers paying for the first time, building on increased spend from existing payers.
While Asia & MENA’s topline growth slowed in 2024, this should not obscure the growth opportunities identified in our analysis. With an increase in paying users, rising female engagement, stabilization within esports, and next gen consoles expected in our 5-year forecast period, Asia & MENA are key growth regions that put geographic expansion back on the table for video game companies.
Download the key takeaways by region via the form. Click here to learn more about our Market Report Series covering 13 markets: China, India, East Asia (Japan, Korea), SEA (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), and MENA-3 (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE).