Report, UAE 3rd in P2E gaming adoption

Play-to-earn (P2E) gaming adoption is set to rise in popularity among Emirati adults this year, according to Finder’s NFT Gaming Adoption Report.

Finder.com polled 43,312 people across 26 countries to reveal that 27.3% of Emirati adults have used a P2E game.

This places the UAE 3rd for P2E gaming adoption, behind only India (34%) and Hong Kong (29%), but ahead of countries like Singapore (23%), the United States (9%), and the United Kingdom (8%); and almost double the global average of 14%.

However an additional 12.4% say they plan to try a platform this year, meaning adoption could soon reach 39.6%. This means that by year-end, the UAE could rank 2nd for NFT gaming adoption, behind only India at 45%.

Finder.com’s cryptocurrency editor Keegan Francis says men are the biggest adopters of NFT gaming in the UAE. “Emirati men are 1.5 times more likely than women to have played a P2E NFT game, which is just in line with the global average.”

“30% of Emirati men say they’ve played a game and this is set to grow to 44% by the end of the year. Meanwhile 20% of women say the same and this figure will grow to just 29% this year.”

The only countries where the gender gap is wider are Singapore at 19 percentage points, and Malaysia at 11 percentage points.

“P2E awareness may also explain why the gender gap among Emiratis is wide - half of Emirati men know what a P2E game is, while only 38% of women can say the same,” Francis continued.

“As awareness increases, higher adoption rates will follow especially with game developers increasingly using NFTs and cryptocurrency to build more enticing monetary incentives into their games.”