The video game industry in the UAE and Saudi Arabia received a massive boost last year due to new lockdown habits, and a new report predicts that it will flourish even more this year.
Stuck at home and unable to socialise due to the coronavirus pandemic, more than 50 percent of consumers in the two countries have been spending more time playing video games, according to the latest findings from a gaming survey by consultancy GfK.
“With social distancing and strict policies to curb COVID-19 being imposed by policy makers in both countries, gaming is still seen as one of the leading forms of entertainment,” said Shika Samuel, analyst for IT panel at GfK.
In its report, GfK said the number of gaming hours spent on smartphones, consoles and laptops in both UAE and Saudi Arabia markets “spiked” during the lockdown. Also left with huge amounts of time to kill indoors, women have joined in on the gaming craze, as well.
“The pandemic has also triggered a newly installed base of gamers in the UAE (up 15 percent) and Saudi Arabia (up 10 percent), with women accounting for over 40 percent of this new base. The majority of new gamers overall were between the ages of 26 and 35,” GfK said.
The gamer study was conducted in November and December 2020, to understand how gaming habits have been shifting and continue to evolve since the COVID-19 outbreak.
The study covered nearly 3,000 respondents in the UAE, which accounted for 1,000 participants, Saudi Arabia (1,047) and South Afarica (874).
The number of gaming hours were indeed reduced after the COVID-19 lockdown ended, but the average time spent by gamers post-lockdown was still higher than before the outbreak took hold.
“People continued to spend more hours playing games,” said GfK.
In the UAE, an additional 1.4 hours were spent daily on smartphone gaming after the lockdown ended, compared to before the outbreak. In Saudi Arabia, the duration is slightly higher, at 1.5 hours.
More than half of the gamers in the UAE (52 percent) downloaded new games on their smartphones, spending an average of 50 dirhams in the past three months on in-app purchases.
Continue to flourish
In Saudi Arabia, 44 percent downloaded new games and made in-app purchases of approximately 42 riyals.
With restrictions still being imposed, Samuel said more people are expected to turn to gaming to while away their time.
“We will most likely see a continued growth in time spent playing across all devices in the coming months. I believe that experience fosters a growing habit, and with more time for gaming, we will most likely see an increase in purchasing consideration for devices, accessories, and games as people might look to enhance their gaming experience,” Samuel said.
Dubai announced new restrictions on Monday after a surge in coronavirus cases. The emirate said it would close all bars and pubs this month and impose crowd limits in malls, hotels, cinemas and other public venues.