Video game segment: P@SHA chief says revenue likely to cross $200m mark in 2023

ISLAMABAD: The gaming industry is on the rise in Pakistan with the video games segment projected to cross $ 200 million in 2023 with an annual growth rate of 9.77 percent from 2023-2027.

This was stated by Muhammad Zohaib Khan, Chairman Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA).

With a focus on mobile gaming – and, mobile games alone have generated $ 171.30 million in the year 2022, Khan said while talking to media.

As per the latest statistics, $ 21.34 million were generated by online games and $ 16.13 million through download games as well.

P@SHA chief predicted that the revenue in the video games segment is projected to cross $ 200 million in 2023; with an annual growth rate of 9.77 percent from 2023-2027. However, this is not enough, given the true potential and expandable HR pool of Pakistan’s gaming industry, he added.

Currently, Pakistan employs around 8,500 game developers in three major sub-sectors; namely, gaming products, middleware and gaming services.

He stressed that we can easily add 3000 gaming developers to the HR pool every year; and, in that fashion, Pakistan can comfortably attain a 30 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth in the gaming industry’s foreign remittances – provided we can invest into HR and skills development for the aspiring game developers.

Khan referred to Statista Market Forecast and International Trade Center (ITC) and informed that Pakistan has the potential to become the next regional hub in game development as its 64 percent population is young; and, through targeted skills development, Pakistan can surpass its yearly projections.

Khan reiterated his stance that the federal government, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) need to adapt their practices and regulations to international best practices vis-a-vis foreign exchange management and allow IT & ITeS industry to freely manage their hard-earned foreign exchange to fund their businesses; reinvest into their entities; invest into marketing, sales & networking and, at the same time, contribute in strengthening Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves (FER).

Khan elaborated that ease of doing business for IT and ITeS industry can only be ensured if they are allowed to freely manage their finances and remittances through banking channels; as IT professionals are a pool of dynamic entrepreneurs, young professionals in various verticals and aligned with international best practices.

However, this has to be a win-win situation for the government institutions and the gaming industry alike and the IT industry as a whole, from the apex platform of P@SHA, is ever willing to have a constructive and egalitarian consultative process with SBP & FBR to resolve their outstanding issues, Khan added.

P@SHA and its member firms supported and participated in Game Developers Conference 2023 held in California with the support of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), the Ministry of IT and Telecom (MoITT), the USAID and Pakistani Consulate in Los Angeles; and, Pakistan Pavilion attracted who’s who of the global gaming fraternity due to the excellent presentation of the game development potential we have in Pakistan and it is our aim to make Pakistan a serious contender in the US$315 billion global gaming industry, Khan added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023