Korean Game Trends in Global Markets in 2020
To say that online gaming is popular in South Korea would be an absolute understatement. In a country where high speed internet access is the norm and free Wi-Fi is readily available in many public places, online gaming has naturally found its way into the Korean society and grown into a multi-million dollar industry.
Among some of the most popular mobile games played in South Korea in 2020 is Lineage 2M, Rise of Kingdoms and AFK Arena. Games vary from Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) to Sports and Shooting.
Most notably within the past 5 years, Korean games have experienced a sharp increase in demand from overseas markets. All over the world, people are playing more Korean games than ever, further fueled by the increased time at home during the COVID19 pandemic.
This article explores the trends of Korean game usage in 16 countries of five geographical areas: Greater China (People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong), Asia (Japan and Australia), Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia), North America (US and Canada) and Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Russia).
500 individuals were surveyed from each country at a 55:45 ratio of male to female. 62% of those surveyed were of age 30 or under and 38% of those surveyed were of age 40 or over. Data has been separated for Korean PC/online games and mobile games.
1. Frequency Use of Korean Games
Wow, the US takes the crown when it comes to playing Korean games on PC/online, while Malaysia dominates in the mobile gaming scene!
The percentage of those who responded “yes” to the question “Do you play Korean games almost every day?” was highest in the US for PC/online games and highest in Malaysia for mobile games.
2. Preferences of Game Category
When we asked gamers from 16 different countries about their favorite Korean PC/online games, a whopping 13 of them couldn’t resist the charm of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs).
But wait, there’s more! The second top choice varied across countries, with popular picks like shooting, sports, racing, and roleplaying games (RPGs).
The survey results were different for Korean mobile games, however. The number one preferred game category choice was RPG for nine countries: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, US, Canada, Italy and Spain.
Sports game category was chosen as the preferred number one choice for Germany, France and Malaysia.
3. COVID19 and Korean Games
Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, people have been diving headfirst into Korean games on both PC/online and mobile platforms. Indonesia takes the crown here, with an astounding 83.9% increase in playing Korean PC/online games and a staggering 78.5% increase in playing Korean mobile games.
The pandemic not only got us playing more, but it also had us spending more on games. The costs associated with playing Korean games skyrocketed across all countries. Hong Kong takes the lead with an incredible 75.6% increase in spending on Korean PC/online games, while Indonesia snags the top spot with a whopping 73.5% increase in spending on Korean mobile games.
4. Average monthly spending of Gamers
Now, let’s take a look at the big spenders in the world of Korean games. We’ve compiled the top 10 countries that splurge the most, and it’s no surprise that Australia, China, the US, and Hong Kong lead the pack. On average, gamers in Australia dish out a cool $57.52 per month on Korean games. Time to get your game on!
Conclusion
There are many lessons to take away from observing the users of Korean games. It’s safe to say that Korean games will continue to be successful both domestically and internationally. Likewise, developers of Korean games will continue to cater to its users overseas by ensuring their games have an English version and making improvements to make servers operate quickly even outside of South Korea.
China, Australia and the US are surely three of many countries that need to be focused on by any gaming company, as they play the most Korean games and even spend the most on Korean games.
If you would like to try Korean games by yourself we highly recommend to start from the most popular games:
- For PC/online — Battleground
- For mobile — the top games were KartRider Rush+, Marvel Contest of Champions and BattleGroundM.
If you’d like to know more about Korea’s market trends, visit the AJ Marketing Blog.
Read Next:
Top 20 South Korea Market Trends in Charts
Marketing in Korea: Top 10 Successful Instagram Campaigns
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