[Emerging Market] Fast-Growing Thai Game Market
KeyTakeaways
– Thailand is the 4th largest game market in Southeast Asia and 19th in the world.
– Thailand is prospected to be the first billion dollar market in SEA.
– The Thai government’s promotion of e-sports has increased the public’s preference for game streaming and subscription services.
– Considering that most Thai people are unfamiliar with English, the key to success in the Thai game market is complete localization.
Market Size
- The population of Thailand is 69.3 million as of 2018, and about 53% of them can access the Internet.
- About 64% of the Thai population have smartphones, indicating the country’s relatively well-established communication infrastructure.
- Thailand is one of the six big game markets in SEA. It is the 4th largest game market in SEA and 19th in the world.
- According to Niko Partners, a leading game market research firm, Thailand is prospected to be the first billion dollar market in the SEA.
- As of 2019, the Thai game market generates $249 million in revenue, more than half of which, $134 million, comes from mobile games.
With the growth rate of mobile games in Thailand projected at about 7% annually, revenue from this sector could top $200 million in 2021.
Preferred Game Genre
- Thai gamers prefer domestic publishers’ games than imported ones.
- Their favorite genres are MMORPG, MOBA, and RPG.
- The most popular games in Thailand Free Fire and Garena Rov: Link Sart, battle royale games from the leading Thai game publisher Garena.
Recent Market Trend
- Travel restrictions as a result of COVID-19 have led to a surge in demand in the game industry of Thailand.
- Local mobile carriers and global video platforms compete fiercely to meet the demand.
- As of 2019, Thailand boasts 27.8 million gamers, which account for 40% of its population.
- 59% of these gamers, 16.3 million, are paying users.
- The rates of the gamers and paying users of Thailand are higher than the average rates of Southeast Asia, 32% and 14%, respectively.
- According to ZDNet, Thai gamers play 5 hours a day in average.
- Adolescents in Bangkok play games about 8 hours a day on weekends.
A Guide to Thailand’s Game Market
- Thailand has the 20th largest population in the world, and its middle class has been expanding since mid-2010.
- The GDP per capita in 2017 reached $17,000, increasing the purchasing power of its population.
- Such increase in income has resulted in the increase in smartphone users and paying gamers.
- The keys to success in the Thai game market are “mobile” and “localization.”
- According to Xolla, 69% of the Thai gamers play on mobile. The numbers of gamers playing on PC and console are only 22% and 8%, respectively.
- For those thinking about launching their games in Thailand, Xsolla recommends mobile games that have a simpler development process and shorter development cycles.
- It also recommends light, offline mobile games targeting the ages of 18 to 34 that gamers can play on low-spec devices without access to Wi-Fi.
- Thailand is one of the largest game markets in SEA but is rarely enthusiastic about English-version games.
- Therefore, it is essential to provide games and customer support in Thai.
- Such localization must include local payment methods, too.
Our extensive knowledge of video games helps us to deliver superior gaming services.
We are a team made up of game specialists who fully understand and love video games.
We provide our clients with the highest quality gaming services for all types, platforms, and genres of video games. With considerable knowledge and experience, we support global video game developers and publishers for their successful launch.
