The global gaming industry's revenue is expected to jump by nearly a third through 2028, driven by a younger demographic that increasingly uses gaming environments for more activities other than playing, a new study from Bain and Company has shown.
Revenue in the sector is projected to hit about $257 billion in 2028 – up more than 31 per cent from an estimated $196 billion in 2023 – the Boston-based consultancy said in its annual gaming report on Friday.
This will be underpinned by increased interaction within gaming applications, particularly by using other tools such as socialising, shopping and consuming other media, most notably videos, it said.
Interoperability between devices – smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers – is also high on gamers' preferences, as it allows them to play and continue where they left off anywhere through the cloud.
“Gamers’ preference for immersive games – that is, those with expansive virtual environments, where players can socialise and play an active role in generating content – was accelerated by pandemic lockdowns, and it has continued to grow in the years since,” analysts at Bain wrote in the report.
Around a third of gamers surveyed by Bain said immersive games were their top choice, keeping them more engaged as they spend about one and a half hours more per week on them compared with non-immersive gamers, the study said.
For players younger than 18, the percentage is closer to 50 per cent, as they consider the likes of Roblox and Fortnite a social community, similar to the way adults view Facebook or WhatsApp.
Immersive gamers also said they spend about one-third of that time on things other than gameplay, including socialising, creating and shopping, it added.
This translates into potentially more spending: players who engage in at least three activities other than gameplay spend about five times more per hour – about $0.80 – than gamers who solely play, Bain said.
Bain expects this trend to sustain its momentum through the next few years, as immersive gaming environments transform into the centre of social and entertainment activity for a group of consumers who will enter adulthood over the next few years.
“The combination of these trends suggests that this heightened engagement among young gamers represents more than just kids having more time for games,” the analysts said.
Gaming has become a big business globally, with new technology providing both an opportunity to reach a wider audience and develop new titles to cater to consumer demand.
Bain's survey covered more than 5,000 individuals across specific countries – the UAE, Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, the UK and the US.
The consultancy picked the six countries to identify key themes that game developers and publishers, device makers and marketplace operators “should understand in order to see where the industry and its consumer audience are moving”.
Region-specific data, specifically for the Middle East, key European markets and, in particular, China, were unavailable.
China, the world's second-largest economy, is one of the top three gaming markets alongside Japan and the US, and is home to the biggest gaming company by revenue, Tencent.
In terms of the number of gamers, the country also leads the Asia-Pacific that has about 1.8 billion gamers, which is more than half of the global total of 3.4 billion, latest data from industry tracker Newzoo shows. The Middle East and Africa region is second with around 559 million.
Still, video game companies have been aggressive to meet evolving consumer requirements and demands, implementing bigger and more complex operations to widen their geographical footprint.
Eight of the top gaming companies employ people in around 28 per cent more countries than they did a decade ago, which is an average increase of 13 countries each, Bain said, based on 12 game studios operating in about 100 countries.
These companies “have no choice but to revamp their operating models – and quickly”, Bain analysts said.
“Gaming companies will need to redefine their relationships with customers, competitors and the various other players that make up the video game industry landscape.”
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Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
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There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
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Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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