In a new report by Newzoo, the South African video game industry has been put under the spotlight revealing some interesting stats. The report comes thanks to GamesIndustry.biz’s week-long focus on the South African video game industry which forms part of the site’s South Africa Games Week coverage.
According to the report, South Africa is home to 26.5 million gamers. While that number might seem high, 85% of players are mobile gamers while 15% make up console and PC numbers. South Africans spend an average of $25.50 (R480) on games per year which again, aligns with the mobile gaming demographic. Most of this spend is through in-game purchases across mobile games including Fortnite.
In 2023, South Africa contributed $266 million towards the global video game industry. This accounts for 0.14% of the worldwide $184 billion spent. 91% of this local revenue was spent on mobile games. 5% was through the PC market and the console market only contributed 4% to this.
The report revealed that the top five most popular games in South Africa include Fortnite, The Sims 4, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Minecraft and Roblox.
When it comes to the South African gaming audience, 53% of gamers are male with 46% female. The majority of gamers, which make up 47% of the group, are aged between 14 to 28. 30% of gamers are 29 to 42 years of age. Children under 10 account for 12.1% of the gaming population in South Africa.
Twitch streaming is the most popular form of live-streamed games in South Africa. 64% of gamers in the country watch content on Twitch regularly. Of that number, 57% are men and 42% are women. 61% of all gamers watch gaming content while playing games at the same time.
Most of these viewers are aged between 14 to 28 which accounts for 36% of the audience. 33% of gamers who watch live streams are aged between 10 – 13 years of age.
Newzoo expects the South African gaming audience to continue growing with a forecasted 30.2 million gamers by the year 2026. South African games spending is expected to reach $333 million by 2026 too.
Source: Games Industry.biz
