The Mexican Game Market: Current State
•By 2024, the number of gamers in Latin America is expected to reach 325 million, establishing itself as a significant market and the world’s third-largest gaming region.
•The Mexican gaming industry’s growth is becoming prominent in Central and South America.
•Population growth, increased internet access, and the spread of smartphones fuel the growth of the Mexican gaming market.
•According to the Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) in Mexico, there were approximately 72.6 million Mexican gamers in 2019. In 2021, there were about 76.7 million gamers (accounting for 60% of the population).
•In Mexico, gamers 77.4% are aged 21-30, 51.7% are aged 31-40, 33.8% are aged 41-50, and 23.4% are aged over 50 years. And among those gamers, more than half of them are female.
Mexican Game Market’s Revenue Size
•The Mexican gaming market’s revenue in 2023 is estimated to be 1.896 billion dollars (approx. 2.545 trillion KRW). It is expected to grow up to 2.655 billion dollars (approx. 3.564 trillion KRW) by 2027, with about 8.8% of annual growth.
•Notably, the mobile gaming market is expected to achieve the highest revenue volume, reaching $833.2 million (approx. 1.119 trillion KRW) by 2023.
•The EAE Business School Strategy Research Center announced that 63% of Mexican gamers play mobile games, while 43% play console games.
•In Mexico, Shooters are the most preferred genre among mobile gamers. Two of the top 4 games in terms of in-app purchase market share in 2022 were Shooters.
•In 2022, Garena Free Fire claimed a 15% market share in in-app purchases, securing the top position. Roblox followed in second place with a 9% market share. Then Call of Duty Mobile and Candy Crush Saga jointly took third place with a 6% market share.
Issues of the Mexican Game Market
1.Challenges of the Mexican Game Developers
•In 2004, the Mexican government enacted a law that allows foreign companies to produce, distribute, and sell games in Mexico, fully opening up the gaming market.
•The Mexican gaming market has experienced exponential growth due to the presence of these global game companies.
•As a result, games from large foreign game companies and globally acclaimed titles have a strong presence in Mexico. Mexican gamers favor them over domestic ones due to their fun aspects, high-quality graphics, and storylines.
•Mexican game companies strive for competitiveness by collaborating and sharing information among developers to challenge foreign game dominance. To counter foreign game dominance, they develop diverse games.
•Other challenges for the Mexican gaming market are low female workforce participation and the gender wage gap.
•Despite the lack of competitiveness of the Mexican gaming companies and the gender pay gap, Mexico’s gaming industry continues to grow, making it an important market of opportunity for gaming companies.
•According to CIU (The Competitive Intelligence Unit), a research institute in Mexico, about 72.5 million gamers spent over 32.175 billion pesos (approx. 2.404 trillion KRW/ $1.844 Billion) on games as of 2019, surpassing the Mexican film industry’s revenue size.
•As Mexican gamers play all types of games, it is expected to see potential growth.
2. Popularity of Esports
•The esports industry keeps growing not only globally but also in Mexico.
•According to market research firm Statista, the Mexican esports market size in 2021 exceeded 1 billion dollars (approx. 1.343 trillion KRW). It is predicted to reach a market size of 1.34 billion dollars (approx. 1.799 trillion KRW) by 2024.
•Global game companies host esports events as an opportunity to communicate with Mexican gamers.
•Mexican universities provide scholarships to train esports players in various games and host tournaments. They also offer financial support and dedicated spaces for training professionals, such as offering training on how to run an esports team, game and app development.
•Following the current trends, there are ongoing discussions about establishing an infrastructure to support esports.
•The esports industry in Mexico is expected to grow continuously and gain greater popularity on the global stage.
Restrictions on Games by the Mexican Government
•In Mexico, game demand is high, as children and teenagers spend 60% of their free time on games and YouTube. Yet, the Mexican government is tightening regulations on the gaming industry.
•The enforcement of regulations on game ratings began on May 27, 2021. In April 2017, the Mexican Senate approved a bill granting the Secretariat of the Interior the authority to monitor and regulate the distributed games.
•The Mexican Secretariat of the Interior categorizes games into the following age ratings: A (all ages), B (12+), B15 (15+), C (18+), and D (extreme and adult content). Games with C and D ratings require age verification.
•In addition to such regulations, the government has been making efforts to protect copyrights in the gaming industry.
•The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) have partnered to combat game-related intellectual property infringement. Their plan is to block and remove illegal content.
The Mexican Game Market Outlook
•The Mexican gaming market is projected to achieve significant growth driven by COVID-19, next-gen consoles, increased availability of new platforms and improved smartphones, and the rise of new services.
•According to Antonio Uribe, the founder of Mexican video game studio Hyperbeard, more and more young people are joining the market, and he’s confident it will continue to grow thanks to the many ways to enter the industry.
•On the other hand, he mentions that investments are crucial for the Mexican gaming market to maintain its potential, and more investors now anticipate positive returns within a few years.
•According to Diego Villaseñor, the founder of the Mexican Video Game Association (AmexVid), Mexico possesses talents in development and animation. However, this level is only good enough for creating or editing websites, apps, etc., for other companies.
•Also, Diego Villaseñor voices that Mexico offers great opportunities for video game businesses, as the gaming industry has the potential to create a variety of jobs, not only for developers, but also others such as accountants, and lawyers. As he mentioned above, the Mexican gaming market is projected to experience significant growth.
