Gaming industry in Korea breaks ₩20T revenue record in 2021

South Korea is one of the top video game markets in the world, and this ranking only shows it has a very strong gaming culture. In fact, almost three-quarters of the citizens love playing video games either competitively or socially.

With the high number of individuals engaging in video games in South Korea, the country is definitely a leading gaming powerhouse. As per Korea Joongang Daily, the game industry’s annual revenue here has grown by 11.2% in 2021, and it has maintained an upward trajectory that has continued to go up since 2013.

Two years ago, the revenues of local gaming companies reached KRW20.99 trillion or about $16.52 billion. Based on Korea Creative Content Agency’s (KOCCA) published year-end report, this was the first time that firms have gone over the KRW20 trillion mark.

It was noted that surging numbers only point to the fact that the gaming industry in the country has been growing steadily in the last decade. In 2020, it displayed exceptional growth when the gaming market earnings soared by 21.3%.

This increase was credited to the COVID-19 pandemic as people spent more time at home. KOCCA has now predicted that overall revenue for 2022 will increase by 8.61% to KRW22.7 trillion

In a report, it was said that South Koreans’ love for technology is one of the reasons why they have an expansive gaming culture. The country also has one of the fastest internet networks in the world, and the availability of high-speed internet is another driving factor for the rapid expansion of online gaming and esports in the region.

In terms of revenue, the country has been ranked as the fourth-largest gaming market globally. Meanwhile, the sales increases and developments in the gaming industry were published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the KOCCA titled the “2022 Korea Game White Paper” which summarized the statistics and trends in both local and international game business.

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