The MENA region is booming for gaming and esports according to Niko Partners’ ongoing tracking of the Asia & MENA games industry. As a result, event organizers and government agencies have initiated many conferences, exhibitions, and esports events in MENA countries. Niko Partners analysts have attended key events this year to present our research, engage with [...]
This insights article is written by Niko Partners in conjunction with gamescom asia. Did you know that it is Southeast Asia that is taking the lead in terms of growth in the video games market and esports industry? The region generates $6 billion in market revenue and hosts nearly 300 million gamers in 2023. That [...]
When foreign game companies decide on localizing languages in games to be published in Asia, the list of languages considered is typically limited to Chinese, Japanese, and Korean due to the massive game revenue of the markets using those languages. This could cause issues as not all gamers in the region are proficient in either English [...]
This news can be found in our Value-Added News Analysis, that keeps you up to date on the curated, most important development of Asia & MENA’s gaming scene, delivered right to your inbox. The Steam version of Overwatch 2 launched on August 10, marking the start of Blizzard’s move to bring its PC titles to platforms [...]
ChinaJoy, one of the largest video game conventions and exhibitions in the world, celebrated its 20th anniversary between July 28 – 31 2023 in Shanghai. Niko Partners has participated in ChinaJoy for all 20 years, beginning with the inaugural event in January 2004 in Beijing (which was postponed from summer 2003 due to an airborne virus), [...]
On July 12, 2023, Tencent and Riot Games finally launched the highly anticipated first-person shooter title, Valorant, in mainland China. The launch comes three years after the games international debut in June 2020, with the delay attributed to a long process for getting a Chinese license (ISBN) required for local operations. This game licensing process had [...]
Esports at the IOC-sanctioned 32nd Southeast Asia Games (SEA Games) in Cambodia have drawn to a close. Running from May 6 to 16, the regional sporting event saw competition in six titles that are popular in Southeast Asia: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Attack Online 2, Crossfire, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Valorant, and PUBG Mobile. This [...]
The first quarter of 2023 has been positive for China video game approvals and Niko Partners expects total game licenses for the full year to surpass 1,100, returning to a level last seen in 2020. The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA), the government regulator responsible for issuing game licenses (ISBNs) approved 288 games in Q1 [...]
Three years ago, in early 2020, Wuhan announced the closure of the city due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Three months into my family’s confinement as residents of Wuhan I wrote “A personal account of gaming and life in Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak” to share my story about gaming during the initial Wuhan lockdown with Niko’s [...]
Did you know that esports has entered its golden jubilee this year? It has been 50+ years since the first-ever esports event took place at Stanford University in 1972 when 24 players competed in an Intergalactic Spacewar tournament, and the winner received a year’s subscription to the Rolling Stone magazine. Fast forward to 2023, technological advancement [...]
