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The South Korean market is mainly driven by digital sales and online PC titles, the two being obviously closely linked.
Data firm Euromonitor reports that, in 2014, online PC games accounted for 65 per cent of the overall $2.2bn (1.5bn) digital sales.
Revenues generated by PC games increased by 16.9 per cent in 2015, according to Statista. SuperData adds that 28 per cent of South Korean PC players said MMOs were their preferred genre. But the country’s most popular title remains Riot Games’ MOBA League of Legends – but Blizzard’s Overwatch is more and more popular.
Last year, the country’s industry generated $4bn (2.75bn) in revenues, which represented a 2.3 per cent increase compared to 2014, according to Newzoo.
South Korea is the fifth largest video games market in the world.
Mobile gaming is also a key segment of the South Korean market. Mobile revenues represented $1.8bn (1.23bn) in 2015, a total that grew by 23.3 per cent in 2015.
There are around 25.2m players in South Korea and 55 per cent of them spend money on games. The average annual spend per player for video games in the country is $290.10 (199.22), which is the second highest average worldwide, after Japan – as a comparison UK players ‘only’ spend an average of 109.55.
South Korea is also known for its buoyant eSports scene, with 10m South Koreans regularly following eSports thanks to dedicated TV channels broadcasting 24/7, such as OGN. The South Korean government even has a body dedicated to eSports, known as the Korean eSports Association (KeSPA).
Population: 49,512,000
Capital City: Seoul
Currency: Won
GDP (Per Capita): $26,481.6
KEY RETAILERS
Lotte, Sonokong, E-Mart, Homeplus, Yongsan Electronics Market, Play-asia.com
TOP DISTRIBUTORS
Hanbitsoft, Daewon Game Company
TOP DEVELOPERS
DeNA, NCSoft, Nexon, Gala Lab, Axis Entertainment, Gamevil, Grvaity, Blueside, SmileGate
PUBLISHERS IN THE REGION
Riot Games, EA, NCSoft, Ubisoft, Square Enix, Sony, Microsoft, Konami, Gameloft, Nexon, Sega, SmileGate
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