Vietnam, Philippines see largest growth in spends on mobile games in SEA

The Covid-19 pandemic has sent most sectors including travel and hotels into a tailspin. However, the gaming industry in Asia has managed to buck the broader trend as consumers picked up controllers and consoles to beat lockdown blues.

A pro gamer in action / Image credit: Wikimedia

Southeast Asia is a major market for mobile gaming growth. For instance, Vietnam and the Philippines are seeing over 50% and 55% increase in consumer spending on mobile gaming respectively, according to a report by app analytics and market data provider App Annie.

The Philippines was the fastest-growing market in the region in terms of mobile game downloads in 2020, accounting for 16% of all such downloads. Meanwhile, Indonesia has the largest share of mobile game downloads in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia, which recorded a 35% surge in game downloads, is on par with Thailand when it comes to consumer spending on mobile games, with both countries seeing a 30% jump.

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Meanwhile, Vietnam-based apps like VNG, Recorder & Smart Apps, and LuuTinh have captured spots in App Annie’s list of Southeast Asia’s the top 10 app publishers. Other players including Sea, Shareit, Grab, and Indonesia’s Telkomsel are also in the list.