Market Trends of Africa Gaming Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Africa Gaming Market according to our research experts:
Improvement in Technology and Internet Network Access
- The enhancement of mobile technology and its associated use cases have unleashed technological evolution in the region. The surge in overall smartphone usage leading to internet adoption has further leveraged the rise in the adoption of everyday use cases such as gaming.
- 5G is one of the major drivers for the growth of the smartphone, leading to the surge in competitive gaming in the region. According to Ericsson Mobility Report, in the Middle East & Africa region, the total number of subscribers for 5G services may reach 60 million by 2024, representing about 3% of all mobile subscriptions in the region. GSMA also estimates there may be around 50 million 5G connections across the MENA region, of which 20 million connections could be in the Arab States alone by 2025.
- Africa's overall share of internet users has grown drastically. Last year, around 13 % of internet users worldwide were from Africa, whereas in 2017, only 9.1 % of internet users were located in Africa. In addition, the Internet penetration in Africa is about 40 %. This rise in the total number of internet users and Internet penetration in Africa significantly augment the market's growth.
- Additionally, the launching of various gaming smartphones by several regional companies is increasing the market's overall growth rate. For instance, in last year, MediaTek, a fabless semiconductor company, reiterated its commitment to providing new technology solutions to enable the rollout of future-ready smartphones in the South African market. The company announced the launch of its premium gaming chip, MediaTek Helio G95, along with its offerings across the spectrum, including G90T, G85, G80, G70, G35, and G25 chips. The products were aimed at the premium 4G gaming smartphone segment. The company has also associated with various smartphone brands such as Oppo, Xiaomi, and Infinix to launch up to ten premium, feature-rich smartphones powered by the MediaTek Helio G series last year.
- As per Ericsson, the overall monthly smartphone data traffic per smartphone in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to amount to 10.99 gigabytes (GB) per active device by 2027. Last year, the average data traffic per active smartphone amounted to 2.89 GB per month. This overall rise in the average data traffic per active smartphone will exponentially drive the market's growth.
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Nigeria is Expected to Hold a Considerable Market Share
- In the current market scenario, the existence of a vast customer base of young middle-class Nigerians is a significant aspect contributing to the rise in the gaming industry in Nigeria. This is further expected to create ample growth opportunities for the market to grow and sustain throughout the forecasted period.
- Gamers in the country are shifting to social gaming, the free-to-play revenue model with downstream in-game purchases. It has become increasingly popular in the country. Also, the gaming industry in the country is bringing millions of dollars to countries per year. This is for all categories of video games: mobile, PC, Xbox, and PS. Due to such factors, Nigeria is expected to contribute substantially to the entire African market.
- Also, the gaming market in Nigeria is anticipated to witness a considerable surge in overall usage of the internet through mobile over the forecast period, with international market players injecting large-scale investments into the region. Hence there is a constant rise in subscriptions, resulting in the growth of the mobile gaming sector within the country. As per NCC (Nigeria), Between 2017 and 2021, MTN was the most significant mobile internet provider in Nigeria. With around 58.81 million subscriptions last year, it accounted for over 40 percent of the Nigerian mobile internet market. Other major mobile operators in Nigeria were GLO and AIRTEL, with more than 35 million subscribers.
- Moreover, the Nigerian gaming market trend is aided by improved mobile penetration. For instance, according to Hootsuite's data, the mobile penetration rate had increased to 51% this year, owing to increased awareness through aggressive expansion and marketing by operators and technological improvements in payment platforms. Nigeria's gaming industry is fragmented, with the presence of various small market players. As user behavior changes and spending needs increase, the industry is anticipated to reach consolidation over the forecast period.
- As per NCC (Nigeria), the total number of active internet subscriptions stood at around 139.7 million in Nigeria in July 2021, whereas in February this year, the total count reached about 143.6 million in Nigeria. The vast majority of these connections are mobile GSM connections. This rise in the total number of active internet subscriptions in Nigeria will amplify the market's overall growth rate throughout the forecasted time frame.
