Dubai Chamber: It increased at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% over 6 years
669 million dirhams market for digital video game software in the UAE
"Dubai Chamber" confirmed that the video games market has registered great growth in the UAE over the past years.
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A recent report by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry expects that the global video games market will reach $ 159 billion (538.5 billion dirhams) by the end of 2020, confirming that it has registered significant growth in the UAE over the past few years, due to the availability of high-speed and average internet. The high usage of smartphones.
According to the report, of which Emirates Today obtained a copy, in 2019, the digital video game software market in the UAE recorded the highest sales, reaching 668.9 million dirhams, an increase of 6.3% over the previous year.
In addition, the digital sales value of these products increased at a compound annual growth rate of 8.7% between 2014 and 2019.
Electronic games
Online electronic games had the lion's share (66%) in digital video game software sales in the UAE in 2019, followed by mobile phone games (14%), digital console games (14%) and digital computer games (6%).
These include online games, subscription payments for online multiplayer games, and other gaming services that require regular payment.
The report said that sales of online games in the UAE increased from 302 million dirhams in 2014 to 439 million dirhams in 2019, at a compound annual growth rate of 7.7%, and although sales of mobile games were less than Internet games, they achieved growth at a rate Compound annual growth of about 8.5% from 2014 to 2019.
The economic sector
The report explained that the electronic games market is the economic sector concerned with developing, marketing and monetizing electronic games on the Internet, pointing out that the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the closure and travel bans around the world, caused a significant increase in the level of consumption of these Online games in the Middle East, especially in the Emirates, where the electronic games industry has more potential than ever before.
And he indicated that at the global level, the outbreak of the new Corona epidemic has accelerated the growth of consumers' interaction in online games.
The data showed that during the pandemic period, the number of new games downloads increased by 80%, compared to a growth in total game downloads by 50%.
The growing interest in online games has also been observed in the UAE, as the popularity of online games has started to rise since the beginning of March 2020.
Business model
The report showed that the business model, in the field of electronic games, has developed significantly over the past few years, and that consumer spending is the main driver of gaming companies' revenues, as users nowadays buy less games than the previous decade. Therefore, companies focus on increasing interaction for each User by shifting the business model from a single player to the recurring revenue generated by an active user base.
The report focused on the gaming companies ’revenues, which come mainly from advertising and broadcasting. Besides, mobile games will also witness a significant expansion.
Mobile game development is simple, and there is no need to purchase new equipment such as a gaming console.
He pointed out that interest in online games will continue even after the "Corona" epidemic subsides, explaining that one of the main drivers of the growth of online games will be the increase in the use of fifth generation networks, and in particular, the demand for game broadcast services will increase.
The fifth generation network
The coverage of the fifth generation network in populated areas in the country is about 80%, according to the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, as the future application of this technology will support the growth of the online gaming industry in the UAE.
In addition, game developers in the UAE can succeed in the region by focusing on Arab values and culture and attracting more users.
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