Asia’s Gamers Will Be Over One Billion By 2026 | Nico Partners

By 2026, ten markets in Asia will have more than billion gamers, according to one new report by market researcher Niko Partners.

According to the 2022 Asia-10 Games Market report, the Indian video game market has the highest expected five-year growth rate at 21%.

Niko predicts that despite a challenging global economy, PC and mobile gaming will continue to grow strongly over the next five years in the markets Niko Partners defines as Asia-10: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Japan , Korea and India.

Niko Partners expects the Asia-10 PC and mobile gaming market to generate $35.9 billion in 2022 and reach $41.4 billion in 2026.

Gamers are growing much faster than revenue. Niko Partners predicts that the Asia-10 PC and mobile gamers will total 788.7 million by 2022, reaching 1.06 billion by 2026.

Niko Partners has revised its forecast for 2022 slightly downwards compared to its forecast for the year 2021. This is due to the challenging global macroeconomic environment, regulatory impact and underperformance in growth areas such as blockchain gaming, cloud gaming and metaverse . The lower forecast for 2022 will affect growth rates through 2026.

India, Thailand and the Philippines are the fastest growing markets for gaming revenue and a number of gamers. Japan and Korea are the most mature markets in the Asia-10 region, accounting for more than 77% of the
revenue. For 2022, games revenue in Japan is down 2.6% year-over-year and in Korea flat.

India is the second largest gamer base in the world, with 396.4 million gamers, accounting for 50.2% of all gamers in Asia-10.

Returning as a medal sport in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games, esports solidified esports’ inclusion as an official sport in the region. 5G, which rolled out impressively in many markets, with Singapore, Korea, Japan and Chinese Taipei having much better 5G coverage compared to last year.

Lower GPU prices and greater console availability

“In light of a global macroeconomic environment that has led to sluggish economic growth, high inflation, lower consumer spending and a potential recession, we see gamer spending falling this year,” said Lisa Hanson, president of Niko Partners, in a statement. a statement . “That said, we are bullish on the games market in Asia, where gamers are demanding high-quality games, fair pricing, and returning to in-person esports tournaments, both as competitors and viewers.”

Cosmas Hanson will be a speaker at our upcoming GamesBeat Summit: Into the Metaverse 3 event on February 1 through February 2.

She added: “We see favorable conditions due to the 5G rollout and lower chip prices in the second half of 2022. We see promise in esports in Japan, where it has just started, and strength in the future of the industry in South East Asia. Partly due to the broadening of gaming education programs at the university level. Where regulators have allowed the gaming industry to develop and provide support, the markets have flourished.”

Each market report includes a comprehensive market model and five-year forecast through 2026 by game segment, key data on game publishers, game rankings, growth drivers and trends. This includes details about esports, product distribution, payments, financial transaction events, regulations, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of gamer demand, spending, and behavior. The methodology includes a survey of over 5,500 gamers.