Navigating through unprecedented challenges and harnessing innovative technologies, the gaming industry remarkably thrived in 2023. The global gaming market, anticipated to grow from $281 billion in 2023 to a staggering $665 billion by 2030, continues to dominate the entertainment world.
With the surge in gaming revenues in the UAE, driven by its youth-centric population, the industry has morphed into a communal and interactive experience. Evolutions like virtual reality, increased mobile gaming, growth of esports and more project an optimistic outlook for 2024’s gaming landscape.
Studios engaging multiple demographics
As gamers from the 80s and 90s grow up, the average age of gamers is rising, landing at 35 years old today. The United Arab Emirates has the highest percentage of adult video game players in the world, with nine out of ten participating, according to a study by Statista’s Global Consumer Survey. The gaming industry has found new ways to keep engaging young audiences (Alphas and Gen Zs) while expanding to older ones (Millennials). New formats such as hybrid sports-gaming products are breaking records every year, showing that there is still a lot of room to innovate. On the other side, gaming and esports have a worldwide audience of Gen-Zs and millennials, who are difficult to reach through traditional advertising methods. Gaming and esports provide a platform for brands to showcase their message, organically while they are enjoying one of their passion points. GGTech’s Amazon UNIVERSITY Esports saw participation from over 3,500 university students in the region. This global competition exposes students to workshops hosted by professionals and gain their first professional experience in the industry.
Emerging gaming markets
Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East regions are key for global industry growth. MENA governments are funding the esports ecosystem, with UAE and Saudi Arabia spearheading investments, especially given their young, tech-savvy populations. As of 2023, the MENA region emerges as the quickest expanding domestic market, hosting over 377 million gamers and contending with Europe and America’s figures. Globally, there are 3.24 billion gamers. Notably, Saudi Arabia and UAE rank among the top 15 nations in engagement, with respective rates of 21 percent and 19 percent.
Saudi Arabia’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy aims to create 39,000 job opportunities by 2030. Meanwhile, the ‘Abu Dhabi Gaming’ initiative, launched last year, strives to develop regional talent and host year-round gaming events. There is still room to keep growing, and we expect to see 2024 with double-digit growth in these markets.
Industry consolidation
This was a key aspect of 2023. The double-digit growth seen in key gaming territories such as Europe, Asia, and North America in the last years (23 percent in 2020), fostered by the pandemic, is no longer there (5 percent in 2022). But consolidation is a good sign in an industry, as we can purge those segments, products and companies that were operating at non-sustainable paces. Those that consolidate or grow their market share during these times will emerge as leaders for the next years.
Gaming is the biggest entertainment industry
With riveting stories, characters and puzzles, games offer immersive experiences unparalleled in digital entertainment. Mobile gaming has risen to prominence, appealing to all age groups by enabling play on the go. In 2022, the gaming industry eclipsed music and film combined, generating a staggering $185 billion in revenue. By the end of 2023, we are expecting streaming services like Netflix to launch games on their apps. We saw hybrid sports-gaming products, like King’s League, achieve great success. Gaming has products, merchandise, and an entire content ecosystem driven by top gaming creators on platforms like YouTube and Twitch.
We expect that in 2024, more and more people will select gaming as their main entertainment activity, increasing competition with music, movies, sports, and other entertainment industries.
