Newzoo: Latin America's mobile games market will earn $3.5 billion by the end of the year

The analytical company Newzoo shared an analysis of the Latin American mobile market. In a recent study, she talked about the gaming demographics in the region, how much local gamers are willing to spend on games and what genres they prefer.

The overall picture:

• Last year, the Latin American mobile market earned $3.1 billion. This year, he can earn $ 3.5 billion already. And by the end of 2024, gamers will spend about $5.1 billion on mobile games. Such growth rates make this segment the fastest growing in the region;
• Brazil is the largest country in Latin America both in terms of the number of players and expenses. It is estimated that 88.4 million Brazilians will bring over a billion dollars in revenue to the mobile market in 2021;
• Mexico, Argentina and Colombia are also among the top countries in terms of user spending;

• according to analysts, the popularity of mobile games is associated with a low entry threshold. Consoles and computers are too expensive for local players, which cannot be said about smartphones. In addition, the quality of the Internet is growing in the region, and online games can be run on mobile devices.;
• 5G is gradually being introduced in Latin America. According to Newzoo’s forecast, most of the region will get access to this standard in the next five years. But due to political, economic and topographical nuances, 5G will penetrate into different countries at different speeds, which will directly affect the entire mobile market in the region.;
• In small countries such as Colombia, Chile and Peru, due to 5G, there will be more people using the Internet and smartphones. Thanks to this, the number of indie developers will also grow;
• In larger markets like Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, 5G will lead to the proliferation of games with high-quality graphics, the popularity of MMO and increased competition in mobile esports.

Demographics:

• The majority of mobile gamers in Latin America are men aged 21-35. There are 22 of them%;
• but in general, the number of male and female gamers in the region is about the same;
• 47% of local gamers have a high income. The most generous players are the elderly.

Player expenses:

• 47% (128.5 million) of mobile gamers in Latin America are ready to spend money on games in 2021. And their number is growing every year. For comparison, in 2019 there were 102.3 million paying players in the region;
• ARPU (average income per player) for the current year may approach $27.3. The highest ARPU is in Mexico;
• most often, local gamers pay in games from Google Play. In 2021, this store will account for 68% of the total revenue of stores. The App Store will receive only 29.9%;
• the most popular virtual purchase in the region is in—game currency. 43% of gamers buy it.

Genres and preferences:

• Over the past six months, mobile gamers in Latin America have been most active in strategy (35%), shooters (32%) and racing (30%). But casual games were not very interesting to them;
• users especially liked sci-fi setting games (47%) and fantasy titles (43%). But they also didn’t mind playing horror (21%);
• 30% of respondents said they appreciate open-world games. And 29% of gamers consider the most attractive feature in games to be a strong plot;
• according to analysts, the highest-grossing genres in 2021 in Latin America will be battle royales, strategies, puzzles, shooters and adventures.