Asia and MENA See Stronger Than Expected Performance in 2025

Niko Partners has published the Half-Year update to its Asia & MENA Video Game Market Model, based on data gathered in the second half of the financial year and findings from our 2025 Asia & MENA Gamer Behavior Reports. Based on this updated Market Model (November 2025), we report that the Asia & MENA video games market is now on track to reach $88.97 billion in 2025, up 2.7% YoY. At the same time, the number of gamers across these regions will grow by the same 2.7% YoY to 1.70 billion.

The latest market numbers reflect a more positive outlook than we modeled earlier in the year, thanks to factors including improved consumer dynamics, a favorable regulatory atmosphere in several of the markets we track, and strong performance across mobile, PC, and console segments. This improves our projections, and we expect the Asia & MENA video games market will represent a $100 billion opportunity by 2029.

Our November 2025 market model and 5-year forecast deliver an optimistic outlook for the industry driven by:

Stronger than expected momentum across mobile and PC games, driven by the continued rise of evergreen IP and new cross platform titles that offer AAA experiences.
An increase in the number of paying gamers across both regions, supplementing existing payer cohorts and accelerating overall revenue uplift.
Improved regulatory and policy conditions that benefit domestic game markets, as well as the opening up of previously closed platforms to out-of-app monetization.
Broader audience reach through targeted engagement of under-served demographics, including the growing population of female gamers and emerging interest groups around niche and previously untapped genres.
A positive outlook for console driven by the Nintendo Switch 2, Grand Theft Auto VI and next generation hardware from Sony, Microsoft, and other platform holders that will drive software and services growth.

Learn more about our Games Market Report Series. Fill out a form below to read the key takeaways of our Half-Year Update.

India a Market to Watch as Regulations and Demographics Prove Favorable

India, MENA, and Southeast Asia will be the fastest growing regions by revenue and gamers through 2029, making them key regions to watch. India, MENA, and China will see the strongest ARPU growth through 2029, with India leading the charge, set to exceed $1.5 billion in player spending by 2028.

India is also on track to reach 500 million gamers this year and will reach 700 million gamers in 2029.
The introduction of the PROG act in August 2025, effectively banning Real Money Gaming and increasing government support for video games and esports, is a positive sign for the market and we see it as a deliberate move to allow the domestic video games and esports industries to grow.

Southeast Asian Markets Present Opportunity and Challenges to Navigate, Valued at $5.5 Billion in 2025

Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam are set to be the fastest growing markets in Southeast Asia by revenue, as growth in Indonesia slows amid economic distress.

While we expect stronger growth across Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, we have reduced our forecast for Thailand and Indonesia.
Consumer confidence and regulatory outlook are key factors at play.
Macroeconomic indicators are showing strong signs of growth in Vietnam, combined with the government’s support for the games industry, leading to an improving revenue forecast.

Mature Markets Demonstrate Evergreen Roots

China, Japan, and Korea are the most mature markets in Asia & MENA and will account for an impressive $88.8 billion in player spending in 2029, representing 89.1% of total revenue across the 13 markets Niko Partners tracks.

Our November 2025 forecast is more optimistic given stronger market growth in South Korea, as well as the success of the Switch 2’s launch in Japan.
Mobile revenue projections in Korea improved alongside increased revenue this year from major Korean companies.
In China, strong performance of both new and legacy games has led us to raise our forecast through 2029 across all platforms.

Console Contributing a Growing Share

Despite only accounting for 6.3% of Asia & MENA revenue in 2025, console is set to be the fastest growing segment through 2029 as Nintendo expands its presence in the region with the Switch 2 launch and spending on F2P titles and multi-game subscription services increase.

Looking forward, we expect the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI to increase the popularity of consoles across the region.
A growing demand for AAA experiences and premium games is increasing payers’ appetite for console titles and may bode well for Sony and Microsoft’s next generation.

An online knowledge base for everything, including our latest Models– NikoIQ

NikoIQ is Niko Partners’ online knowledge base of the most trusted video game market data and insights across Asia & MENA. The platform consolidates all our research in one place, providing you with our market models, forecasts, gamer insights, Knowledge Briefs, earnings analysis and ongoing insights for each market.

This year Niko Partners surveyed nearly 7,900 gamers in the Asia & MENA region in February and March 2025 to support the creation of its market model. Our Gamer Behavior and Market Insights reports, which are published throughout the year, also provide deeper insights from our survey and ongoing market analysis.

At Niko Partners, our research is designed to help clients navigate this landscape with syndicated reports, ongoing subscription services, and custom projects. Contact us to know more about market outlooks.

Asia and MENA See Stronger-Than-Expected Performance in 2025, On Track to $88.97 Billion This Year