In recent years, the Southeast Asian mobile game market has rapidly emerged as a key growth driver in the global gaming industry. With a population of over 600 million, a youthful user base, and widespread smartphone adoption, Southeast Asia has become a highly sought-after market for many game developers and companies. Notably, numerous games and app developers have successfully introduced their products to the Southeast Asian market, achieving remarkable success.
Top-performing overseas mobile game icons in the Southeast Asian market
Whether in strategy games, RPGs, or casual games, Chinese developers have quickly established a strong foothold in the Southeast Asian market through innovative gameplay design and precise localization strategies. As local users’ demand for high-quality mobile games continues to grow, Chinese companies are leveraging this favorable trend to further expand their market share in Southeast Asia.
In light of such vast market potential, standing out in the highly competitive landscape has become a core challenge for every developer and publisher. Precise market insights and effective marketing strategies are more crucial than ever. To provide an in-depth analysis of the dynamics in the Southeast Asian mobile game market and capture the latest marketing trends, the SocialPeta Data Research Institute has specially released the 【2024 Southeast Asia Mobile Game Marketing Trends Insight Report】.
In this report, it will provide an in-depth analysis of the overall mobile game marketing trends in Southeast Asia, popular marketing creatives, and the advertising strategies of top-performing advertisers. Our aim is to help companies seize opportunities in the global market and achieve greater breakthroughs.
The average number of monthly advertisers exceeds 21,000, with new creatives accounting for nearly 70% in July and August.
In 2024, the number of advertisers in the Southeast Asian mobile game market has shown steady growth, with an average of over 21,000 active advertisers per month, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 9.5%. Despite a brief decline in June and July, the overall market performance remains strong.
At the same time, new advertisers have shown particularly strong performance, accounting for an average of 3.7% throughout the year, peaking at 8.5% in June, indicating a significant influx of new games during this period. Although the proportion of new advertisers was lower during Lunar New Year months (such as January 2023 and February 2024), the overall growth trajectory of the Southeast Asian mobile game market remains positive.
This year, the trend in new creative placements in the Southeast Asian mobile game market has shown significant changes. During July and August, 63.8% of advertisers in Southeast Asia launched new creatives each month. Although this represents a slight year-on-year decrease of 0.8%, the proportion of advertisers using new creatives during these two months rose significantly, reaching the highest levels of the year. Additionally, in 2024, the monthly proportion of new creatives in Southeast Asia averaged 39.6%, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. The highest proportion was seen in June, at 49.1%, while July and August experienced a slight decline, stabilizing at around 45%.
These data highlight that advertisers in the Southeast Asian mobile game market continue to place significant emphasis on creative updates, particularly during the mid-year period, where new creative placements have had a positive impact on the market. During this time, advertisers have been leveraging fresh creatives to enhance the appeal of their ads, thereby capturing more user attention and engagement.
Advertisers in Indonesia and the Philippines Surpass Japan and South Korea, with RPGs Being the Most Competitive Genre in Marketing
In the Asia-Pacific market, mobile game advertising in Southeast Asia demonstrates significant regional differences. Indonesia and the Philippines have surpassed Japan and South Korea in the number of advertisers, emerging as key markets in the region. Specifically, Indonesia averages 12.3K advertisers per month, the Philippines 9.8K, and Vietnam 9.2K advertisers. Thailand stands out as the only Southeast Asian country with an average of more than 100 new creatives per month, at 103 per month, followed closely by Singapore and Malaysia with 94 new creatives per month.
Southeast Asia as a whole averages 20.1K advertisers per month and 110 new creatives per month. However, with the exception of Thailand, most Southeast Asian countries have less than 100 new creatives per month. In contrast, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan significantly outperform in both the number of advertisers and creatives, with an average of 10.2K advertisers and 127 new creatives per month, far exceeding other countries and regions.
RPGs (Role-Playing Games) represent the most competitive category for advertising in Southeast Asia, with the highest average number of creatives per month, reaching 231, accounting for 16% of the total, which is 3.8 percentage points higher than the global average. The volume of advertising creatives for RPGs far exceeds that of other categories, surpassing the second-highest category, strategy games, by as many as 50 creatives.
Casual games have the highest proportion of advertisers in Southeast Asia, accounting for 28.4% of the market, which is 1.4 percentage points higher than the global average. However, their share of creatives stands at 29.6%, which is 1.9 percentage points lower than the global average. Casino games and puzzle games follow closely, with advertisers making up 13.9% and 11.3% of the market, respectively.
Strategy games have the highest proportion of video creatives, while mini-games attract attention through IP-based elements
In Southeast Asia, mobile game advertising primarily focuses on video creatives, with videos accounting for 65.8% of all ads, which is higher than the global average of 54.8%. However, this represents a 5.5% decrease compared to the same period last year, when video creatives accounted for 71.3%. Notably, nearly 70% of these videos are longer than 30 seconds, indicating that long-form video ads are more effective in this region.
Among various types of mobile games, strategy games have the highest proportion of video creatives, reaching 76.5%, indicating a strong reliance on video advertising for this genre. On the other hand, casino games have the highest proportion of image creatives, at 44.3%, highlighting the importance of image-based ads in this category.
In the Southeast Asian market, the majority of video ads are 30 to 60 seconds in length, accounting for 59.1% of the total. Image ads are predominantly in landscape format, comprising 67%, while portrait and square images represent 13.5% and 7.1%, respectively. These data highlight the diversity of creative types and advertising formats in Southeast Asian mobile game marketing, as well as the differentiated strategies adopted by various game genres in their advertising efforts.
Southeast Asia has become a key battleground for mini-games’ overseas expansion, following the Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan markets. Many classic domestic marketing strategies have been successfully replicated in the Southeast Asian market, showcasing a variety of creative formats.
- Leveraging IP for Growth: By utilizing well-known IP characters, advertisers capture the attention and interest of players, increasing the exposure and conversion rates of their creatives.
- AI Filters: Using AI filter technology to transform real people into anime characters, adding visual appeal to game promotions and enhancing the interactivity and personalization of ads.
- Side Gameplay + Voice-over: By showcasing side gameplay features combined with voice-over, the ad content becomes more engaging and immersive, boosting player participation.
- KOL Commentary + Gameplay Footage: Engaging Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) to provide game commentary alongside gameplay demonstrations makes the ads more dynamic, while leveraging the KOL’s influence to attract their fanbase’s attention to the game.
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These creative formats have effectively helped mini-games establish a strong foothold in the Southeast Asian market, leveraging diverse marketing strategies to capture the attention of local players.
The report also provides an in-depth analysis of three recently trending mobile game products in the Southeast Asian market: Ghost Story: Love Destiny (the overseas version of 倩女幽魂), the popular mini-game Legend of Mushroom: Rush – SEA, and the hit cartoon pet-themed MMO Draconia Saga. The marketing strategies employed by these products in Southeast Asia offer valuable insights for industry professionals.
The report consists of 24 pages, with data up to August 2024. After thoroughly analyzing Southeast Asian mobile game marketing data and comparing it with past experiences in overseas game marketing, SocialPeta has compiled this report to provide clarity for your journey into international markets and help to achieve success in global expansion efforts, Download the full copy and stay ahead in the ever-evolving mobile gaming landscape.
