Five Key Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA

Jul, 2023 nikopartners.com | Silicon Valley • Shanghai • London • Bangkok • Jakarta
research@nikopartners.com | © Niko Partners
Five Key Mobile Game Genres
in Asia and MENA
A bulletin by Niko Partners in collaboration
with AppMagic

Table of Contents
Introduction to the Bulletin 3
Methodology 4
Ranking the Mobile Game Genres 5
Executive Summary 7
RPGs 8
Strategy Games 9
MOBA 10
Puzzle Games 11
Battle Royale 12
Key Takeaways From the Bulletin 13
Suggestions on Related Research 14
About Niko 15

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 3
• This bulletin “Five Key Mobile Game Genres
in Asia and MENA” delivers strategic
insights and guidance on the profile of
gamers that play games in these genres in
Asia and MENA.
• Readers, such as developers, brands,
publishers and more, will be able to use the
data and insights in the bulletin to make
informed strategic decisions for better
business outcomes when targeting the
player profiles.
• Niko Partners partnered with AppMagic for
this bulletin.
• Niko’s proprietary data on the video games
industry in Asia and MENA & AppMagic’s
mobile game data analytics led to the most
important mobile game genres, and we
scored them and provided insights for you
to use in your own company’s analysis.
Introduction to the Bulletin
Leveraging unmatched local expertise with a global perspective, Niko Partners delivers
the most in -depth video game market intelligence for Asia and MENA, the world’s
fastest -growing regions. With our deeper understanding of these complex markets,
game developers, publishers, investors, and suppliers can make smarter business
decisions with the utmost confidence.
AppMagic is a mobile market intelligence tool: we offer detailed statistics of Apple App
Store and Google Play Store top charts, estimations of app revenues and downloads in
these markets, and a whole set of tools for mobile market research. We collect public
information from Apple and Google mobile application stores altogether with additional
information provided by a number of mobile app publishers (such as Revenue and
Downloads for their apps).

Niko Partners
• Niko Partners tapped into its robust survey data collected in 2022
which included thousands of samples across the Asia and MENA
region.
• Our 2022 survey was taken by 9,000 gamers across China,
Chinese Taipei, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, and
Vietnam.
• The survey was delivered to respondents in both English and
local language. Individuals were screened for inclusion based on
spending a minimum of playing games for 60 minutes in the last
30 days.
• We arranged the survey questions within four unique categories to
build a player profile for each genre.
• The genres were assigned a score for each question, relative to the
overall performance of each genre.
AppMagic
• AppMagic provided Niko Partners with key data and insights from its
mobile game analytics platform to supplement the survey data.
• AppMagic data was used to confirm that the top 5 genres we selected
accounted for a significant percentage of spend in 2022.
• This included 2022 data for genre level revenue, downloads and
revenue per download across the Asia and MENA region.
• The company also provided insights on the top games in these genres
which were matched with our survey results to build a robust games
taxonomy for this bulletin.
• AppMagic’s data was combined with Niko Partners survey data to
introduce additional metrics that were used to calculate final category
scores and build out the player profiles for each genre.
© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 4
Methodology

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 5
• The focus of this bulletin is on 5 key mobile game genres: RPG, Strategy,
MOBA, Puzzle and Battle Royale , which cumulatively accounted for nearly
80% of mobile game spend in the Asia & MENA region during 2022.
• Niko Partners analyzed its survey data to create player profiles for the key
mobile game genres that provide a relative performance comparison.
• Niko Partners and AppMagic collaborated to enhance the accuracy and
relevance of the research findings by combining Niko’s survey data with
AppMagic’s mobile game analytics to rank the genres across four different
categories.
• Genres were evaluated across 21 unique metrics derived from Niko and
AppMagic proprietary data to create scores that were then aggregated
across the four categories of monetization, engagement, esports, and
appeal to create overall category scores.
• The genres were scored between 1 -10 for each metric and category, with 1
indicating weak performance and 10 indicating high performance.
• A final genre score between 1 -10 was then calculated by using a weighted
average of the four category scores, providing an approximate value of
how each genre performs relative to each other.
Ranking the Mobile Game Genres
Category
Scores Description
Monetization
Score
This aims to measure how well a particular genre is able to
monetize. We used total spend data, average spend per user,
income level, in app purchase ratios and other metrics to
calculate the score
Engagement
Score
This aims to measure how active and loyal players of the genre
are. We used average hours played per week, player lifespan of
individual games, total downloads and other metrics to
calculate the score
Esports Score
This aims to measure how much esports appeals to players of
the genre. We used esports viewership data, esports
attendance, esports engagement and aspirations to compete in
esports to calculate the score
Appeal Score
This aims to measure how likely the genre is to appeal to a
wider audience. We analyzed age and gender distribution as
well as game satisfaction levels and other metrics to calculate
the score
Genre Score
An average score of the four metrics above, measuring an
approximate value of how each genre performs across the four
areas

Top Games for Each Genre in 2022
RPG
© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 6
Strategy
MOBA
Puzzle
Battle Royale
Uma Musume Pretty Derby Genshin Impact Lineage W Fate/Grand Order FWJ Mobile
Three Kingdoms: Tactics Clash of Clans Rise of Kingdoms State of Survival Top War
Honor of Kings Mobile Legends LoL : Wild Rift Brawl Stars Pokémon Unite
Candy Crush Saga Royale Match Homescapes Gardenscapes Anipop
PUBG Mobile Free Fire Knives Out Sausage Man New State
Includes highest grossing and most downloaded titles

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 7
RPG is the #1 genre based on overall genre
score, ranking highly across the four different
metrics.
RPG has the highest score for monetization,
engagement, and appeal, with it having the
second lowest score for esports.
The genre, including its sub genres, continues
to dominate mobile ranking charts, especially
in South Korea where RPG accounted for 75%
of core game revenue in 2022.
Most notably, players of RPG games have the
highest average annual income and a more
equal gender distribution than other genres.
Battle Royale is the #1 genre for esports, with
its genre score 3x that of the puzzle genre.
While both Battle Royale and MOBA rank
highly in terms of the number of esports
tournaments and prize pools, the Battle Royale
genre beats MOBA when it comes to other
esports metrics such as viewership.
While the market has experienced some
turbulence due to oversaturation and
regulation, which led to the shutdown of Apex
Legends Mobile, and the ban of BGMI and Free
Fire in India, there remains an opportunity for
non -shooter battle royale games and casual
competitive battle royale games.
The strategy, puzzle and MOBA genres still
have their merits despite not ranking #1 by
any of the metrics.
Players of strategy games are the least likely
to be dissatisfied with the games they are
playing and are the most likely to try a new
game in the same genre.
Players of puzzle games are the most likely to
value localization and the genre ranks #1 for
overall downloads.
Players of MOBA games rank #1 for hours
played per week and exhibit higher levels of
loyalty and stickiness than other genres.
Executive Summary

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 8
RPGs Generate the Most Revenue in Asia + MENA
Monetization Score: 7.7
Engagement Score: 6.8
Esports Score: 4.0
Appeal Score: 6.8
Genre Score:
6.6
An overview of Role -Playing Games on mobile:
• RPG is the largest genre by revenue in Asia & MENA with total spend in 2022 more than
50% higher than combined spend from the other four genres covered in this bulletin.
• RPGs have the highest revenue per download of all genres , primarily due to high spending
in East Asian countries, which contributed to it having the highest monetization score of
the genres covered in this bulletin.
• RPG also has the highest engagement score of the genres covered in this bulletin with high
downloads and downloads per gamer. However, it does fall short on overall longevity, with
other genres such as MOBA and battle royale having a longer average lifespan.
• RPG falls short on esports , primarily because most RPG games do not have a competitive
esports component, but also because players of RPG games are less likely to stream esports
events, aspire to compete in esports, or attend esports events in person.
• The genre has a high appeal score as it is more likely to appeal to both male and female
gamers than other genres. While the genre still skews in favor of male gamers (61%), this is
lower than other genres that can skew 70% or higher in favor of male gamers.
• RPG is a very broad genre on mobile that encompasses multiple sub -genres . While puzzle
RPGs continued to dominate in 2022, several new action RPGs witnessed strong
performance during the year too.

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 9
Strategy Gamers Are Willing to Engage with Esports
Monetization Score: 6.0
Engagement Score: 5.2
Esports Score: 7.5
Appeal Score: 6.0
Genre Score:
6.1
An overview of Strategy games on mobile:
• Strategy is the second largest genre by revenue covered in this bulletin and the third
largest for downloads . However, it ranks second last for revenue per download.
• Strategy has an above average monetization score due to its revenue ranking and
percentage of players that make in game purchases.
• The genre has the lowest engagement score of the genres covered in this bulletin,
primarily due to low longevity of titles and average hours played per week. Gamers play
strategy games for an average of 5.1 hours a week compared to 6 hours for MOBA gamers,
which ranks #1.
• Interestingly, the strategy genre has a high esports score among players. 65% of strategy
games are a fan of esports and players of this genre are more likely to attend esports
events in person and aspire to compete in esports at a professional or amateur level.
• Strategy has the second highest appeal score of the genres covered in this bulletin. Players
are the least likely to be dissatisfied with the game they’re playing and the most likely to try
new games in the same genre.
• The genre performed strongly in Asia and MENA during 2022, while seeing declines in the
West . Innovation within the strategy genre, which involves combining traditional gameplay
with new sub genres, has helped the genre remain engaging for players.

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 10
MOBA Has the 2
nd
Highest Revenue per Download
Monetization Score: 5.4
Engagement Score: 6.4
Esports Score: 6.0
Appeal Score: 5.6
Genre Score:
5.8
An overview of Massive Battle Online Arena (MOBA) games on mobile:
• The MOBA genre continues to excel in Asia and MENA, especially when compared to
Western markets, and has the second highest revenue per download of the genres
covered in this bulletin.
• While the high revenue per download and high total spend contributes to boosting its
monetization score , players of this genre tend to earn less income than players of other
genres and spend less on gaming overall.
• MOBA has a high engagement score as it ranks #1 for average hours played per week (6
hours) and player lifespan.
• Despite its dominance across mobile esports in terms of number of tournaments, total
prize pools, and medium to high scores across esports metrics, MOBA gamers are the least
likely to attend in person esports events , which drags its esports score down.
• MOBA games have the youngest player base of the genres covered in this bulletin and
have a more equal distribution of male and female players compared to battle royale and
strategy players.
• MOBA is a tough genre to crack due to the dominance of a few titles in the region . In
addition, existing MOBA gamers are extremely loyal to their preferred game, being least
likely to play another game within the MOBA genre.

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 11
Puzzle Has High Downloads and Engagement
Monetization Score: 4.9
Engagement Score: 6.0
Esports Score: 3.0
Appeal Score: 5.2
Genre Score:
4.9
An overview of Puzzle games on mobile:
• The puzzle genre is the largest by downloads of the genres covered in this bulletin, but has
the lowest revenue per download.
• The low average spend contributes to the weak monetization score, along with a low
percentage of in -game spenders . However, players of puzzle games are more likely to have
a higher average income than players of other genres except for RPG players.
• Puzzle has a high engagement score , primarily driven by a high number of total downloads
and downloads per gamer. However, puzzle gamers are the least engaged in terms of hours
played with an average of 3.9 hours played per week.
• The genre has a low esports score due to a lack of engagement and mobile esports
tournaments involving puzzle games. Players of puzzle games are the least likely to be fans
of esports , stream esports events online, and aspire to compete in professional or amateur
esports tournaments.
• While puzzle has a low appeal score comparatively, it has a more even split of male and
female gamers than all other genres in the bulletin except RPG. Puzzle games are more
likely to appeal to older gamers , with the genre having the oldest average age of players.
• Innovation within the puzzle genre has seen sub -genres such as merge perform well in
2022. Puzzle gamers in Asia and MENA are more likely to value localization than players of
other genres.

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 12
Battle Royale Ranks #1 for Mobile Esports
Monetization Score: 6.0
Engagement Score: 5.6
Esports Score: 9.5
Appeal Score: 5.2
Genre Score:
6.4
An overview of Battle Royale games on mobile:
• The Battle Royale genre has seen tremendous growth on mobile since 2018 and has
established itself as a core genre.
• At 6.0, Battle Royale has the average monetization score of the genres covered in this
bulletin. With 55.1% of players having purchased in -game items in the past year, it ranks #1
in this category. However, its total revenue is the lowest of the genres covered in this
bulletin.
• Engagement is high in terms of average hours played per week and player longevity, but the
genre falls short across other metrics measured.
• Battle Royale is a leading genre for mobile esports . Players are the most likely to stream
esports tournaments online, watching an average of 2.5 hours of esports content per week.
They are also most likely to aspire to compete at a professional or amateur level. 60.2% of
Battle Royale players consider themselves to be fans of esports.
• The genre has narrow appeal comparatively, as it is more likely to appeal to male players
than female players by a notable margin, and because players are more likely to be
dissatisfied with the game they are playing.
• The market for shooter battle royales has become oversaturated but an opportunity
remains for non -shooter battle royale games and battle royale mechanics in casual
competitive titles.

$0 $5,000,000,000 $10,000,000,000 $15,000,000,000
Battle Royale
Puzzle
MOBA
Strategy
RPG
© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 13
• The combination of Niko Partners and AppMagic data in this
bulletin provides readers with an overview of player profiles for 5 key
genres in the Asia and MENA region, which are critical insights for firms
looking to target players of each genre.
• The most dominant genres in the Asia and MENA markets are RPG by
revenue and Puzzle by downloads.
• RPG is the most diverse genre , appealing to a wide number of gamers,
driving high levels of loyalty, and is highly monetizable.
• Strategy gamers are the least dissatisfied with the games they play , and
they are more willing to try new genres, games and mechanics.
• MOBA gamers are the most loyal group in this bulletin. Once they have a
preferred game, they are fiercely loyal and most likely to stick with it for an
extended period of time.
• Puzzle gamers are open to trying new games and are likely to download
multiple games.
• Battle Royale gamers are highly engaged with esports in terms of
watching esports online, attending tournaments in person, and aspiring to
compete in esports events.
Key Takeaways From the Bulletin
Mobile game revenue by genre in Asia & MENA (2022)
Mobile game downloads by genre in Asia & MENA (2022)
Source: AppMagic
Source: AppMagic
0 500,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,500,000,000 2,000,000,000 2,500,000,000
MOBA
Battle Royale
Strategy
RPG
Puzzle
AppMagic’s estimates are for Google Play and iOS only across the 14 markets that Niko Partners tracks, it does not account for spend via third party Android stores.

Niko Partners
• Our syndicated reports:
• 2022 Asia -10 Games Market Report
• 2023 MENA -3 Games Market Report
• Recommended subscriptions:
• Value Added News Analysis (VANA)
• Esports Tracker
• Visit us at www.nikopartners.com !
Appmagic
• Our annual reports:
• Mobile Gaming in 2022
• Mobile Games in 2021
• Genres’ deconstructions:
• Merge Games
• Idle Tycoon Games
• Visit us at www.appmagic.rocks
© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA 14
For more information on the mobile games market
in Asia and MENA , here are our suggestions:

© Niko Partners 2023 | Five Mobile Game Genres in Asia and MENA
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About Niko
Leveraging unmatched local expertise with a global perspective, Niko Partners delivers the most in -depth video game market intel ligence for
Asia and MENA, the world’s fastest -growing regions. With our deeper understanding of these complex markets, game developers, pub lishers,
investors, and suppliers can make smarter business decisions with the utmost confidence.
• Focus groups
• Gamer surveys
• Market reports
• IPO and market
opportunity analysis
• Market entry strategy
• Partner selection
• Transaction advisory services
• Investor due diligence
• News analysis service
• China games database
• China games streaming tracker
• Consulting
Niko Partners