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The MENA region has gained a reputation as a booming area for both marketing and development of mobile games, as well as immense popularity by the region’s gamers. While the boom is underway, with 2021 gaming revenues reaching $1.76 billion, immense opportunities still exist: That number is expected to exceed $5 billion by 2025, as we reportedrecently.
A number of countries make up the diverse region, and you will find features here on PocketGamer.biz all month highlighting the challenges and opportunities in individual territories, starting with Saudi Arabia. But it’s worth considering some statistics about the whole market.
The year 2021 was truly a banner year for games in MENA, with downloads growing to 4.9 billion, nine times the global growth rate. In addition, consumer spend surpassed $1.6 billion, three times faster than in the rest of the world. In 2021, there were 65.3 million gamers in MENA, a number that’s expected to rise to 85.7 million in 2025.
Pocket Gamer has been working with institutions in Jordan since 2017 to help explore and promote the games industry in the region.
MENA is a region without a firm or agreed definition. But for the purposes of our feature articles and our upcoming Top 30 companies list, we’re considering numerous countries, including but not limited to, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates/Dubai, Bahrain, Iran and Lebanon, as well as Egypt and the North African countries across to Morocco. (Markets such as Israel and Turkey are, of course, of interest, though those are places with games sectors already covered extensively and remain distinct from other nearby territories.)
The big story in MENA gaming is told by demographics. The total population of the region is around 400 million, and almost half are under 25. Having grown up as digital natives, this young generation eagerly embraces what’s new in apps and gaming, especially via their mobile devices. In 2021, app downloads were 53% higher than in 2019,…
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