Previously, not all publishers and developers have been interested in entering the MENA market.

Sandsoft Games CEO Mo Fadl explained in his talk - A Tale of the $6bn Neglected MENA Gaming Market - at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2 why now is the time to enter the Middle East and North African market.

"Every player deserves the best entertainment experience. It's time to level up the MENA games experience," said Fadl.

"The industry can do so much better and should do so much better" in regards to the MENA, despite it being perceived as an emerging market Fadl wants people to see the opportunity.

MENA numbers

Considering many refer to the MENA market as an emerging sector, it boasts some impressive numbers such as having generated $1.5 billion revenue through 27.3 million gamers, of which 12.6 are paying players. Furthermore, the annual spend per player is $119.

The market has continued to grow in recent years, In 2018, there were 342 million smartphone users, and 601 million online users in a population of 1.7 billion - app revenues were at $4.4 billion.

"The market is evolving faster than anything we have in the region globally," said Fadl.

Growth has continued in an impressive fashion as the smartphone market has hit 1.1 billion users, and is expected to exceed 1.5 billion in 2021. Samsung holds 48.7 per cent of the MENA market share; Apple is in second at 13.2 per cent. Android holds an overwhelming majority in the market. However, iOS also generates high revenue numbers.

How to gain success in MENA

"The market is growing like no other market," said Fadl

Next year, the market is expected to exceed $6 billion. But, to achieve success localisation is no longer enough, it is time for culture to come into play - in the last three months PUBG Mobile has been downloaded five million times in the region and earned $22 million.

OneMT's Revenge of Sultans has been the top-grossing game in MENA for the past four years. There are three key areas the game is focused on messaging, visual and story. It is a game that speaks to the player, they feel a connection to it, and that is why it has performed so well according to Fadl.

On top of this, OneMT is the top-grossing publisher on iOS in MENA and is in second place on Android devices.

Why now?

"If you are not willing to go all the way, then don't go there," said Fadl.

You must be willing to be fully invested in breaking into the MENA market and turning your game into a success. Furthermore, it is essential to build a diverse team to incorporate development.

"It is the biggest market in regards to players," said Fadl.

Saudi Arabia is the biggest market in MENA and wants to diversify its business by 2030. Furthermore, Neom is aiming to become the regional epicentre for the games industry, and "It allows us to level up all gaming in the region."

If that wasn't enough, Ajlan and Bros are one of the largest private sector companies in the region, and it has 7000 employees worldwide, they "Wwnt to create something unique."

"Every player, in the end, deserves the best possible entertainment experience," said Fadl.

PG Connects Digital #2 is the best of our Pocket Gamer Connects conference in an online form, with an entire week of talks, meetings, and pitch events taking place from June 8th to the 12th. You can read up on all the tracks taking place through the week here.