Saudi Arabia gaming market valued at $837m in 2019: study

The GCC will account for about 1.5 per cent of the global gaming market revenue by 2025, a new report by Frost & Sullivan says.

The report, ‘key platforms and emerging business models driving the gaming industry’, reveals that Saudi Arabia is the 19th largest gaming market in the world in terms of revenue as of 2019. The Saudi Arabia gaming market was estimated at $837m in 2019 and is expected to grow at a 22.5 per cent CAGR over 2019-2025.

The UAE on the other hand ranks as the 35th largest gaming market in the world in terms of revenue as of 2019. Gamers in the UAE spend an average of 30 minutes per day on mobile games, which demonstrates the potential within the country.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are gradually emerging as regional hubs for gaming and esports, the report says.

The Saudi Arabian Federation for Electronic and Intellectual Sports (SAFEIS) along with the General Sports Authority is keen to develop the esports ecosystem.

The UAE government is also taking a lead in promoting esports. The Dubai Future Foundation is planning to build the region’s first esports-dedicated arena, the X-Stadium.

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Globally, the gaming market was estimated to be $152.1bn in 2019, having grown by 9.6 per cent from 2018.

The gaming industry surpassed the size of the music and film industries in 2003 and later doubled the combined size of the music and film industries in 2017.

It continues to evolve and grow on the back of demographic shifts, rising consumer demand, and persistent advancements in technology.

The proliferation of affordable and powerful smartphones and tablets with longer battery life is helping mobile to maintain its leadership position amongst other platforms.

Meanwhile, industry players are gradually evolving from traditional premium business models to subscription- and freemium-based business models, which enable micro-transactions like additional lives, cosmetics, power-ups, premium in-game currency, etc.