The gaming industry is constantly evolving to reflect changing behaviours and attitudes all over the world. These days, we’re seeing immense developments in the Southeast Asian market, specifically a rise in mobile gaming. Playing games on mobile devices is far from a new concept but the level of support it is receiving in the region speaks to how much the landscape has changed.
As this growth continues, the region will become a bigger player in the global gaming market. In this article, we break down the growth trends and the factors that have led to it.
How Mobile Gaming is Growing in Southeast Asia
When looking at the state of mobile gaming in SEA, a few trends quickly stick out. One of these is the popularity of globally recognised gaming brands and titles. Games like Call of Duty and Battleground remain popular among players, alongside local titles. Genre-wise, Social Peta reports that casual, casino, and puzzle games sit at the top of the ladder while others like action, RPG, and simulation videos follow behind.
Gambling is an interesting one given that gambling laws vary around the region. While countries like Thailand have a more restrictive attitude towards gambling, others like Singapore are more lax. But even with this, players have turned to online service providers to have their needs met. This coincides with a global boom in iGaming and is especially popular in certain countries.
Take Malaysia, for example. For years, gambling online was heavily restricted by the government and citizens had to turn to outside establishments. But these days, as Michael Graw explains, online casinos in Malaysia are much more common. It is meant to be sorted out within the national legal framework, as back in 2021, it was announced that more regulations would be rolled out to support the growing demand. As the Communications and Multimedia Deputy Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin announced then, the country was losing tax revenue by not giving the people what they wanted.
"So there is a proposal to license such activities, as what is happening now is that money belonging to Malaysians is being taken out of the country,” he said.
However, the political turmoil in the meantime curbed the adoption of more flexible laws in terms of online gambling. Still, the entire gaming and iGaming niche keeps growing, mostly due to the availability of digital platforms. The country still loses those taxes but the tide might turn in the future.
According to data from Statista, the mobile games market in SEA is on track to reach $3.1 billion in 2024, up from $2.86 billion in 2023. What’s more, the number of users will grow to over 169 million by 2029. Further data from Social Peta indicates that over 21,000 advertisers are active in the space per month, representing a 9.5% year-on-year increase.
What is Driving This Growth?
Even as we examine the mobile gaming boom in SEA, it is worth looking at the different factors that have contributed to it so far.
- A High Youth Population
One of the biggest factors that SEA, and Asia as a whole, enjoys is that it has a large young population. More specifically, 60% of the world’s youth is within Asia, comprising over 2 billion people under the age of 30. As most of us know, young people are the biggest demographic of gamers, which means that they will enthusiastically embrace all the gaming options in the market. On top of this, they are more likely to be liberal compared to the older generation and thus, will have fewer qualms about things like online gambling or playing video games. With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that mobile gaming is so big there.
- Technological Advancements
Another thing to keep in mind is that technology, especially related to gaming, has simply gotten better. On the most basic level, game graphics and functions are better than they were a decade ago and are more likely to attract a passionate fanbase. Then we have things like AR and VR which have expanded on what we can do when playing online games. Even the most basic smartphone can access hundreds of titles, even for free. Across the world, revenue from mobile gaming has increased, inevitably because of the developments in gaming-related technology.
- Growth of Local Gaming Companies
While, as we’ve said before, international titles pushed by large Western companies have found success in SEA, and so have local titles. In fact, the local gaming industry has been thriving for years now. Companies like Sky Mavis and Passion Republic Games have released titles that cater to the local audience and have even attracted foreign fans as well.
This has meant greater innovation among gaming brands and more options for consumers. A wealth of choice has allowed players to find the types of games that suit them the best and helps with consumer retention over time.
- Mobile Device Use
Naturally, the growth of mobile gaming has benefited from the rise in mobile device use as a whole. Worldwide, mobile device use has spiked but it is especially notable in Asia. Not only has smartphone adoption in SEA risen to 78% as of 2023 but penetration among internet users is on track to reach 90% by 2025. Then we have the rise of 5G internet which will give these smartphone users more access to the world of mobile gaming. Access to mobile devices was perhaps the biggest barrier the sector faced for years but this is fast being resolved.
Conclusion
Southeast Asia has seen a boom in mobile gaming, putting it on the map as one of the hotbeds of activity to watch. Through a combination of both foreign and local titles, the space only shows signs of growing bigger over the years. This growth can be credited to several factors such as the youth population, greater access to smartphones, tech innovations, and the growth of the local gaming sector.
The biggest winners are, of course, the consumers who have access to a whole world of games, both for fun and for making money. And as the space grows, so do their options.