Half of the world lives in Asia, and many of them are gamers. In 2023, the region generated over $130 billion in revenue in the gaming industry, and it’s not looking to slow down anytime soon. Experts believe that in the next five years, the number will grow by 10% every year. But that’s too far in the future. What does 2025 hold for Asian gamers?
1. The future is mobile
Gone are the days when we were glued to the TV and restricted to playing in our homes. The console and PC market is not going anywhere but is dwarfed by their mobile counterparts. Handheld consoles like Switch and Steam Deck are making prominent sweeps, and the entire mobile video game industry will remain a giant. So much so that over 60% of the entire video game revenue will be made from it. And that was over $120 billion in 2023, making Mobile the leader and a trendsetter for the gaming industry. The ability to play at any time and anywhere has certainly contributed to the popularity of mobile games, but there are other factors to consider when we talk about their future expansion. First, we can see all game genres going mobile. We have:
- FPS (first-person shooters)
- RTS (Real-time strategies but also auto battelers)
- MMO (and MOBA) (massively multiplayer games with the battle arena subgenre)
- Casino,
- Racing,
- Simulator games (driving, building, managing)
- and casual games,
all coming to mobile, due to their popularity and profitability. Mobile tech is far more advanced than it used to be, offering high-end graphics that online casinos are heavily implementing to provide top-quality entertainment, a great variety of games, and stimulating multimedia. Thanks to the massive rise of the mobile market and the Internet altogether, you can equally access such games from any country, be it Singapore or France. Just like other gaming platforms, some online casinos might even adapt their offers and features to local markets, which can come in handy to the regions where local online gaming platforms are frowned upon or nonexistent. (Source: https://cointelegraph.com/igaming/sg/online-casinos/ ). The barrier of entry remains low as all a player needs is a mobile phone, and they can start playing most games without even buying them. Which brings us to our next topic.
2. Freemium for the Win!
Besides leaving the couches and chairs, the mobile future is also leaving behind the practice of buying games. It may sound incredible, but since the competition is fierce, and companies are battling for each gamer, games had to go to the route of the freemium model, where a gamer can have most, if not the entire game, for free. So, how does this model generate profit? Players can pay for
- Exclusive skins,
- Boosts,
- Cosmetic upgrades
- Account upgrades
in most freemium games. Some offer a substantial chunk of their game for free while locking other content behind small purchases. Whatever the decision is, the freemium model is the driving force behind the popularity and profitability of mobile games, which has seen its practice pour over to regular gamers. Freemium games like League of Legends have done freemium right, and the trend will continue in 2025 as more companies realise its benefits.
3. The more inclusive half of gaming
Traditionally, gaming was seen as a male-dominated field but that has taken a drastic turn. Over 60% of mobile gamers are female, and while that number is a bit lower on consoles and PC, it’s still rising and looking to even the odds. Never generations, starting from Gen Z and onwards are more open to gaming, where we can see a big tick as we look towards a bit older generations. 25% of women, from ages 45-55, are regularly gaming, and Vietnam is a prominent example as almost 60% of women play games on any platform. If we take into account that Vietnam has almost 49 million women, that’s a pretty big number of gamers, but what does this mean for the industry? In 2025, we could see a rise in genres that appeal to women, like RPG games, dating simulators, battle royale games, and MOBAs. Dating simulators, in particular, are prominent and are called “Otome“, and 2025 could be a big year for them. As more women play, the industry will shift towards making games suitable for their taste, starting with character design, story, game mechanics, themes and other mechanics that women prefer.
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