Korean games most popular among Middle Eastern users last year

Middle Eastern users played and spent the most on Korean games compared to any other region in the world, according to an annual survey done by Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca) released on Thursday. The survey was conducted on over 6,800 users..

[KOCCA]

Middle Eastern users played and spent the most on Korean games compared to any other region in the world, according to an annual survey done by Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca) released on Thursday.

The survey was conducted on over 6,800 users aged above 15 who enjoy games published by Korean game companies across 16 countries last year.

Southwest Asia and the Middle East were new regions added to 2022’s survey, contrary to other years when only East Asia, North America and Europe were surveyed.

Users in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spent the most on average. Qatar users spent $76.21 monthly, while users from the UAE spent $68.98, well above the average spending of $38.51 by the 6,800 participants.

Users in India and Egypt are evaluated to have spent the most time playing Korean games, each spending an average of 172.28 minutes and 170.07 minutes on weekdays. On average, global players spends 102.01 minutes for PC and online games, 111.86 minutes for mobile games and 107.99 minutes for console games.

Among Arab countries, 60 percent of users in Egypt responded that they spent more time consuming Korean games during the Ramadan period. Fifty five percent of users in Saudi Arabia said they spent more time playing games during the same period.

Massively multiplayer games were enjoyed the most in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan for the Middle Eastern region. Roleplaying and sports games were also popular among the regions.

Among PC and online game players, Black Desert massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) ranked No. 1 in popularity in countries such as Japan, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Ragnarok topped the list in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) topped the list in the U.S., Canada, U.K., India and Qatar.

Among mobile game players, PUBG mobile topped the chart in the U.S., India and Pakistan. Marvel Contest of Champions topped in Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Most respondents from the Middle East said they enjoyed playing the games because they were “entertaining and easy to use" and they knew a lot of other users who play the same games.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]