Get to know the UAE gaming market forward of the Dubai GameExpo Summit, arising on June 21-22
The Dubai GameExpo Summit is arising, and we completely can’t wait to make it to this improbable vacation spot this summer season. Now’s the time to begin getting conversant in every part occurring within the area’s recreation market.
In case you didn’t hear, this June twenty first to twenty second we’re partnering up with the Dubai Economic system & Tourism division to deliver an unmissable video games convention expertise to the wonderful metropolis of Dubai, within the quickest rising area of the worldwide video games {industry}. The GameExpo Summit powered by PG Connects will happen over two days alongside the bigger GameExpo occasion on the unimaginable hub of sustainability and innovation, Expo Metropolis Dubai. The summit itself will function greater than 100 famend video games {industry} audio system from everywhere in the globe delivering insightful talks, panels and seminars throughout a variety of themed tracks. You possibly can look ahead to the identical sort of invaluable studying and networking alternatives you’ve come to count on from Pocket Gamer Connects occasions, and we will’t wait to share what we now have in retailer for you this summer season.
At the moment, we’re providing you with a more in-depth have a look at the MENA market and, extra particularly, the present outlook of the gaming {industry} within the UAE and its future in Dubai. Carry on studying for all the main points it is advisable know forward of the Summit!
The MENA market at a look
At the moment, the MENA area’s home market is the quickest rising on the earth, touting over 377 million estimated gamers – that is virtually as many players as all of Europe mixed (386 million) and far more than America (210 million). Together with this booming international success, there’s increasingly more native improvement expertise sprouting within the space and creating for the native gamers. Tamatem, one of many MENA area’s main builders solely based in 2013, now has a complete worth of over $80 million whereas specialising in localising internationally famend video games to go well with Arabic-speaking customers.
The expansion on this area is past spectacular, and it’s anticipated to succeed in new heights – a current report suggests the MENA video games market will attain greater than $5 billion by 2025, with a majority of this development fuelled by elevated spending by present players, time spent in-game by customers and surging promoting income, in keeping with the report by RedSeer. That is being linked again to a rising curiosity from customers which might be sometimes underserved within the area, spanning varied demographics corresponding to females and Gen X, in addition to the general gaming market growth supplied by the pandemic over the previous few years. One other report by Enterprise Wire believes that development will even be pushed by increased spending per consumer, and moreover attributes authorities help throughout video games and esports.
Gaming by the numbers within the UAE
Because the video games {industry} evolves, so does the plenty’ normal perspective in the direction of gaming. In response to Dubai Economic system, current developments in gaming expertise to inform extra evocative tales, adapt to gamers’ particular person choices and have movie-quality influence via audiovisual design and immersive dialogue, are embedding gaming tradition into Emiratis’ day by day lives like by no means earlier than. Entry is simpler than ever as a result of prevalence, ease of availability and rising reputation within the free-to-play mannequin with cellular video games, and you may see it within the numbers on the subject of players within the UAE. 9 out of ten adults within the UAE play video video games, and 90% of respondents in a International Client Survey by Statista thought-about themselves players, with 23% figuring out themselves as frequent gamers, which means they play not less than 11 hours per week.
In 2023, the UAE’s gaming market is projected to succeed in over 306 million USD. The UAE’s video games {industry} touts an annual development fee of over 5%, so by 2027, the projected market quantity will attain over 372 million USD. The largest contributor to that is the cellular gaming loved by informal customers, with this sector anticipated to succeed in a market quantity of 176 million USD in 2023. When requested in regards to the development of the sector within the UAE, Emirati gaming content material creator Omar Alali stated he thinks “the results of the survey show that there is a huge interest in futuristic technology and creativity in the UAE.”
Authorities-backed steps in the direction of constructing the longer term in gaming within the UAE
If we all know one factor, it’s that the UAE, and Dubai particularly, is an progressive city metropolis that focuses on creating the following greatest, smartest thing and the creativity discovered there’s limitless. They’re paving the best way for the longer term in so many industries, and gaming is one in all them. The rising reputation of gaming within the UAE may also be seen within the rising variety of esports occasions happening there, and the first-ever Video games For Change Summit within the Center East was hosted in late 2022, driving constructive and environmental change within the gaming and esports sectors within the space. The curiosity and presence of esports and different gaming occasions is anticipated to extend within the coming years with a government-led initiative to remodel the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, into a worldwide hub for gaming and esports by offering a platform for recreation builders, gamers and enterprise to thrive.
AD Gaming is constructing the muse for a self-sustaining gaming ecosystem within the emirate by supporting a extremely expert native expertise base via coaching programmes in universities throughout the UAE alongside Unity Applied sciences. These industry-leading programs will educate over 500 college students, completely nourishing the expertise pool within the space and elevating each their depth of data and real-world skillset to make getting into the video games {industry} extra accessible to all.
Constructing the way forward for video games within the UAE
An enormous purpose why the UAE is such a promising market to the video games {industry} is as a result of immense potential to localise, which means to adapt a product or content material to go well with a selected market and thereby extra straight interact and type shut connections with these particular markets. Arabic is the fifth most spoken language worldwide, and there are numerous methods to combine iconic landmarks and places from the area in video games content material. Dubai is on the forefront of main the efforts to deliver higher connectivity to the video games {industry} and constructing immersive gaming experiences significantly tailor-made to the market right here, having ranked as “the capital of Arab media” in each 2020 and 2021.
Dubai’s establishing itself as its very personal rising tech metropolis and it’s uniquely positioned to current an entry level to the UAE from the world at massive as a consequence of being a worldwide hub for tourism that embraces each Arabic and English languages. Though Dubai’s official language is Arabic, English is essentially the most generally spoken language as a result of large variety of expats dwelling within the space. If you wish to get enterprise carried out within the area with the least quantity of struggling via language obstacles, Dubai is the place to be for video games {industry} professionals.
The Dubai Chamber is dedicated to embracing gaming as an vital a part of the longer term success of the tech {industry} within the space. Vice Chairman of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economic system Ahmad Bin Byat emphasised the quite a few alternatives the Chamber is intent on creating for builders and gaming corporations alike. “With an affluent, youthful, and gaming savvy population, the opportunities for local, global, and regional game developers is incredible. We need to work fast, decisively, and intelligently to create the right environment for all gaming sector companies to thrive. There’s no reason why Dubai cannot become a regional – if not global – gaming industry hub.”
In an effort to turn out to be a key international gaming {industry} location, Dubai has kicked off its efforts via the launch of the DMCC Gaming Centre in help of its development as a key {industry} participant within the international sphere in 2022. DMCC, the flagship free zone within the emirate, is at present residence to greater than 50 gaming corporations, with everybody from recreation builders to esports groups current there. This can be a vibrant centre for creatives within the video games {industry} to work collectively in an progressive, collaborative neighborhood targeted on getting enterprise carried out. In 2022, DMCC partnered with international VC agency Brinc to supply its members with entry to $150 million in funding via accelerator programmes that will even be obtainable to DMCC Gaming Centre members specializing in growing video games on blockchain and web3 applied sciences. The CEO of DMCC reaffirmed the Centre’s dedication to gaming by saying “As our roster of gaming companies expands rapidly and as we see more of our DMCC Crypto Centre members enter the blockchain gaming space, there is no better time to formalise our efforts by opening the DMCC Gaming Centre. Through this facility, we will solidify Dubai’s position as a global hub for all forms of gaming and esports.”
Register your curiosity and safe the perfect charges!
You possibly can at present lock in the perfect value attainable for this improbable alternative. Register your curiosity at present and you’ll be the primary to know when tickets can be found! Keep tuned, we’ll contact you as quickly as tickets go dwell so you possibly can take pleasure in early entry and the perfect costs attainable.
See you in Dubai!
