Niko Partners Asia MENA forecast: $103.6B by 2030, but 88.6% sits in three markets
Summary
Niko Partners Asia MENA forecast projects $88.97B in 2025 gaming revenue, rising 16.5% to $103.6B by 2030.
China, Japan, and Korea control 88.6% of that base at $91.7B.
The remaining 11 markets split just over $10B - growth there demands localized payment, language, and compliance investment.
"Paying attention to the nuances of all markets will help the industry grow both in development and sales"
01
Three markets hold 88.6% of revenue - the rest split $10B
Niko Partners surveyed 11,000+ players across 13 markets in March 2026.
China, Japan, and Korea account for $91.7B in player spending.
The remaining 11 markets collectively generate just over $10B in 2025.
Publishers without East Asian presence face a fundamentally different addressable market.
02
India and SEA grow fast but monetize slowly
India crossed 500M players in 2025, yet revenue is projected at only $1.8B by 2030.
Indian player spending CAGR is 11.2% over five years.
Per-user revenue remains far below East Asian benchmarks.
Thailand is projected to reach $2B in player spending by 2027.
Indonesia is on track to surpass $1.5B by 2030.
Each SEA market requires distinct localization and payment approaches.
03
MENA-3 shows rising ARPU, not just rising headcount
Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt forecast to reach $3B in player spending by 2030.
ARPU across MENA-3 is projected to increase by $10 per user over five years.
Growth here is spend-per-player deepening, not volume-driven.
This makes MENA-3 a higher-quality monetization target for compliant publishers.
04
Niko Partners ties revenue capture directly to localization depth
"These regions continue to benefit from expanding player bases and multi-dimensional growth in game development and player spending, particularly when global developers and publishers localise games, marketing, and payments in response to local demand"
The condition is explicit: content, marketing, and payment infrastructure must all be localized.
Publishers treating MENA and SEA as passive growth markets will capture a fraction of projected ceilings.
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