SEA of Opportunities: Exploring the Rise of Southeast Asia Video Games Market

Southeast Asia is known to intimidate companies hoping to enter the region. A multitude of languages, country-specific regulations, cultural differences, and local gamer preferences that need to be considered all present hurdles that must be overcome. However, the region also provides rich opportunities for those who can reach their target audience. For example, did you know that the last M6 Mobile Legends World Championship had 4.12 million peak viewers? In comparison the US-based Major League Baseball peaked at 2.23 million concurrent viewers for its best season since 2018. The region has a huge young, tech savvy populace who see games as part of their lifestyle, making it seriously important for companies to understand and succeed in.

Niko Partners has tracked Southeast Asia’s game market for the past 11 years. The region has seen massive growth over the last decade driven by tech adoption and mobile penetration, strong game communities and events, growing social acceptance of games—particularly esports—as popular mode of entertainment, and high social media and video platform engagement. Although we project slower growth in Southeast Asia this year, due to economic and political issues affecting some of its constituent countries, the region still represents a huge opportunity for companies who can navigate the market. Read on to understand the unique insights needed to find success among one of the world’s largest regional gaming populations.

Southeast Asia to reach $6.47 billion market size by 2029

According to our Southeast Asia Market Model and 5-Year Forecast, the region generated $5.37 billion in games revenue in 2024, up 5.2% YoY. Revenue is expected to continue growing in 2025, albeit at a slower growth rate than in years past. The slower growth is due to current economic and political issues faced by some of the countries in the region, although we project the growth to rebound in the coming years. There are also slight declines in Indonesia and the Philippines driven by economic woes, as seen in the multiple protests taking place in both countries this year. There are many more details disclosed in the Market Model reports.

Key highlights from the report include:

The region’s market is expected to grow 1.8% in 2025 to $5.47 billion. The market is forecasted to reach $6.47 billion in 2029 at a 5-year CAGR of 3.8%.
The Southeast Asia video game market had 285.82 million gamers in 2024, up 3.1% YoY. This will grow a further 1.5% to 290 million in 2025 and reach 324.4 million in 2029 at a 5-year CAGR of 2.6%.
Annual ARPU was $18.80 in 2024, up 2%. We expect ARPU to grow through 2029, reaching $19.96 in 2029, at a 5-year CAGR of 1.2%.

Southeast Asia: Highly Social Gamer Base

Our SEA Gamer Behavior & Market Insights Reports, which includes a survey of 3,131 gamers, provide key insights on player demographics, behavior, and engagement. We produce individuals reports for each market on an annual basis to help clients understand developments and opportunities in the region. For those looking to dive deeper into their specific target audience, NikoIQ provides gamer survey data across all 13 markets that we track.

Some findings:

Southeast Asian gamers are highly social, with more than 45% of gamers wanting in-game chat and ranking or scoreboard features in their games.
52% of SEA gamers watch game livestreams, higher than the Asia-MENA average of 45%. Game livestreams remain a popular activity for SEA gamers.
Gaming behaviors are shifting, with average weekly playing time seeing a decline to 15 hours compared to last year’s 21.8 hours. Similarly, we see a rise of the share of non-spenders, with a 10-20 percentage point increase in each country. Changes to play time and spending habits make it even more important for companies to understand how to reach their target audiences.

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Popular genres and platform insights

One trend that has remained consistent since we started tracking Southeast Asian markets is the dominance of esports and competitive titles, even if different countries have unique preferences for certain games. For mobile, Mobile Legends dominates in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, while Arena of Valor tops the market in Thailand and Vietnam. Understanding these trends at the regional and local level can help companies establish a foothold or improve market share in Southeast Asia.

Localization is important, from language to payments

Understanding the need for localization in each market is crucial, as there are different priorities in each country, as far as player demands and expectations. Gamer tastes, local financial structures, and language proficiency can all play a role – knowing what these are helps companies navigate the playing field. Globally successful games might not always find easy entry to the markets without thoughtful localization. For example, across Southeast Asia, except for Singapore, a low credit card penetration rate and the highest adoption of digital wallets has produced a unique financial landscape that top companies are adapting to.

Mobile Legends includes SEA-based heroes or characters, while Genshin Impact has 3 SEA languages options and features celebrations of local festivities

Some insights about localizations from the Gamer Behavior report:

Localization remains crucial, with 87% of SEA gamers wanting some kind of localization. Thailand and Vietnam have the highest demand for localization, including language, with more than 91% of gamers in both countries seeing localization as a key factor in choosing new games to play.
9% of SEA gamers who purchase game items did it through a third-party store this. This is the highest share among all regions that Niko covers, knowing which stores to prioritize may be a route to a quarter of the market.
E-wallets remain the most popular game payment option in almost all the countries in Southeast Asia.

An online knowledge base for everything Southeast Asia – NikoIQ

NikoIQ is our 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.

When looking to understand how best to approach the six most notable Southeast Asia markets, NikoIQ delivers the data and insights you need to act with confidence. Success in the region demands cultural understanding, localized execution, and data-driven planning. At Niko Partners, our research is designed to help clients navigate this landscape with syndicated reports, ongoing subscription services, and custom projects.

At Niko Partners, we provide in-depth research through syndicated reports, subscription-based insights, and tailored consulting—empowering our clients to make informed decisions in a dynamic Asia & MENA market. Get in touch to learn more about our special Southeast Asia regional package.