When the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go, a collaborative effort between Japanese companies The Pokémon Company and Nintendo as well as San Francisco-based software developer Niantic, took the world by storm in 2016, the
at approximately 48.5 billion U.S. dollars – almost 100 billion dollars short of its estimated valuation for 2022. In this ever-growing industry, the Asia-Pacific region plays a key role on both the developer and the consumer side, as it is the region with the biggest
, boasting over 1.3 billion gamers across Asia and Oceania. Moreover, for the past few years, China, Japan, and South Korea have consistently ranked within the global top five countries for
The success of the free-to-play model
The success of mobile games can be attributed to several aspects, with some major ones being increased smartphone penetration rates, improved internet infrastructure, the lack of additional hardware required, and the variety of casual and hyper-casual games that are accessible to users of all ages and skill levels. In addition, a lot of the most successful titles are free-to-play games, including the Chinese-developed PUBG Mobile and Singapore’s Garena Free Fire, both among the
highest-grossing mobile games of 2021. While initially free to download and play, these games generate revenue through advertisements or optional in-app purchases. In January 2020, PUBG Mobile reached over 200 million dollars in
monthly player spending on in-game currency for the first time.
Growth opportunities for the mobile gaming market
Apart from the big three established gaming industries in East Asia, the increase in technical literacy and more affordable smartphone models are noticeably accelerating the growth of the mobile gaming markets in South and Southeast Asia. Games previously only available for PC or console are becoming accessible to every smartphone user. Additionally, more players are joining eSports events. With more than half a billion
viewers, the
eSports market in the Asia-Pacific region has become so popular that eSports will be debuting as a discipline at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where PUBG Mobile is representing mobile eSports as one of the medal events.
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