According to Boston Consulting Group's Game Changer report, over 60% of the Middle East's population are gaming enthusiasts, with mobile games being particularly popular. In the region, 50% of all app downloads are games, higher than the global average of 40%.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are emerging as key gaming markets, with Saudi Arabia having a strong gaming strategy and a $38 billion allocation to Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of the state-owned Public Investment Fund. The country aims to create 40,000 jobs and develop 30 games by 2030.

The gaming market in the MENA region has generated $4 billion in revenue, with Saudi Arabia leading the way with a market of around $1.8 billion, representing about 45% of the total. Over 65% of this revenue comes from mobile games, driven by popular titles like PUBG Mobile, Garena Free Fire, and FIFA Mobile.

The MENA region's passion for mobile gaming is evident in the fact that consumers in the area download an average of 26,200 apps every minute and spend an average of 5.5 hours a day on their phones.

The region's streaming audience is growing rapidly, with a compound annual growth rate of 24.5%, compared to 7.6% for China. The streaming audience is predicted to reach around 200 million in 2025, potentially overtaking China as the largest market in this space.

Market conditions in the Middle East, such as a young and tech-savvy population, a variety of monetization options, and the need for localized content, are supporting the significant growth of the mobile gaming market. Tencent's success in the region with PUBG Mobile and Honour of Kings is an example of how localized content can drive popularity and revenue.

Overall, the Middle East is proving to be a lucrative and rapidly expanding market for mobile gaming, with potential for further growth in the coming years.

Source: Lewis Rees, Staff Writer at PocketGamer