Business Today Egypt | October – November 2023, Special Edition

Gaming
The gaming industry is a diverse and dynamic
sector encompassing the creation, dissemination
and sale of video games and interactive
entertainment across various platforms, including
consoles, personal computers and mobile
devices.
Egypt has hosted the Insomnia Gaming Festival
since 2018, representing a significant step
forward for the gaming industry in Egypt and
the MENA region as a whole. The festival allows
gamers to try out the latest video games,
compete in Esports tournaments, take part in
contests and more.
According to a Adel Abdel-Sadek, an expert
at the International Relations Unit at the
Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic
Studies, the gaming sector has a direct impact
on the economy by boosting investment in game
production, promoting trade and consumption,
opening up markets, and increasing revenue.
Abdel-Sadek added in a report that there is also
an indirect impact, as technological and service
innovations developed from games transfer to
other sectors and non-entertainment applications.
This fosters the exchange of knowledge
related to game development, contributing to
the creation of new applications and ideas that
attract more consumers and increase capital accumulation.
Additionally, the electronic gaming
industry helps create job opportunities with
high incomes.
In 2022, Egypt emerged as a leading player
in the MENA region, boasting the highest percentage
of gamers with an impressive share of
58.2%, according to Statista. Data projects that
the number of gamers in the MENA region is
expected to grow substantially, with estimates
suggesting that the figure will reach approximately
87 million by 2026.
Despite the enormous number of users, the
value of revenues from electronic games and
the spending on them in Egypt is relatively low.
According to a study by global research company
Niko Partners, the revenues from electronic
games in Egypt in 2021 were $172.5 million,
accounting for no more than 9.8% of the total
revenues from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates, and Egypt, which amounted to $1.76
billion.
While the study expects the revenues from
electronic games in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and
the UAE to reach $3.14 billion by 2025, the
share of the Egyptian market revenues is expected
to remain low in the absence of government
support.
Meanwhile, the governments of Saudi Arabia
and the UAE support the electronic gaming
sector and have launched policies to encourage
the localization of games and the development
of local games.
However, statistics from Statista have predicted
that revenues in the electronic gaming
sector in Egypt will reach $681.3 million by the
end of 2022, continuing to rise to $815.5 million
by 2027.
The video game industry in Egypt, South Af-
30 November 2023 www.businesstodayegypt.com