Uzbekistan’s Video Games Market: Growth, Digital Sales and Payment Opportunities

According to Statista Market Insights, the physical video games segment covered by its Uzbekistan dataset is expected to enter a period of stronger growth from 2026.

It is important to understand the scope of these figures. The dataset covers B2C sales of physical video games, including discs and cartridges, while excluding downloaded games, browser-based games, in-game purchases and other digital gaming content. It therefore represents one specific segment of Uzbekistan’s wider gaming economy rather than the total value of the country’s games market.

A market returning to growth

Statista estimates that revenue in the segment reached approximately US$846,000 in 2025. It is forecast to rise to US$1.10 million in 2026 and US$1.54 million by 2030.

This represents projected growth of approximately 82% between 2025 and 2030. Following a forecast increase of 29.6% in 2026, Statista projects annual revenue growth of around 8.9% from 2027 through 2030.

The number of users is estimated at 1.13 million in 2025 and is projected to reach 1.21 million by 2030. With the user base growing more slowly than revenue, the forecast suggests that higher spending per user will be an important driver of market growth.

Average revenue per user is projected to rise from US$0.75 in 2025 to US$0.97 in 2026 and US$1.27 by 2030.

Online sales are gaining ground

One of the clearest trends in the Statista data is the shift from offline to online purchasing.

Online channels accounted for an estimated 33.9% of sales in 2025. This share is forecast to increase to:

• 44.3% in 2026
• 48.6% in 2027
• 53.4% in 2028
• 58.5% in 2029
• 64.2% in 2030

Online sales are therefore expected to overtake offline sales during the forecast period. This transition will make payment accessibility, checkout conversion and local acquiring increasingly important for companies serving the Uzbek market.

The devices used to complete purchases also reflect the country’s mobile-oriented digital environment. Smartphones are expected to account for approximately 52.5% of purchases in 2026, compared with 45.1% for desktop devices and 2.4% for tablets.

These figures describe the devices used to make purchases rather than the platforms on which games are played. Nevertheless, they reinforce the importance of designing mobile-friendly checkout and payment journeys.

Local and cross-border commerce

Statista estimates that cross-border sales represented 24.6% of the segment in 2025. This share is projected to fall to 19.0% in 2026 and decline gradually through 2030, while the domestic share is forecast to increase.

The forecast points toward a market becoming more locally oriented. International companies may therefore need more than cross-border card acceptance to reach consumers effectively. Local payment methods, domestic settlement capabilities and market-specific pricing are likely to become increasingly important as the market matures.

For publishers and distributors, this creates an opportunity to combine international content and expertise with local payment infrastructure, customer support and market knowledge.

Opportunities beyond physical game sales

The wider opportunity is larger than the Statista category alone suggests.

The dataset excludes downloaded games, browser-based products, in-game purchases and other digital gaming revenues. These areas are particularly relevant in a market characterized by young consumers, strong mobile usage and growing interest in free-to-play games, competitive multiplayer products and esports.

The strongest opportunities in Uzbekistan can be found in:

• Mobile-first free-to-play products
• Competitive multiplayer games and esports
• Localized publishing and live operations
• Alternative and local payment solutions
• Community- and influencer-led user acquisition
• Game development, QA, art production and customer support

Transparent public data on player spending and genre-level digital revenue remains limited. Publishers should therefore combine market forecasts with soft launches and direct product testing before making large-scale investment decisions.

Local developers remain focused on PC

While Uzbekistan’s broader digital environment is increasingly mobile-oriented, 70.9% of surveyed local development teams plan to release their games primarily on PC, compared with 27.3% targeting mobile platforms.

Consumer behavior and developer release strategies are not directly comparable. However, the findings point to a potential opportunity for further mobile game development within the local ecosystem.

The survey results should also be interpreted as an indication of developers’ current plans rather than the market shares of different gaming platforms.

An internationally oriented GameDev ecosystem

Uzbekistan’s GameDev ecosystem is strongly internationally oriented. According to the industry survey, local teams most frequently target CIS markets, while others are considering markets in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the wider Central Asian region.

Only a relatively small share of surveyed developers identified Uzbekistan as a primary distribution market. This does not necessarily indicate weak domestic demand. Instead, it may reflect the export-oriented nature of the local industry and the ambition of emerging studios to reach larger international audiences.

For international publishers and technology providers, this orientation may create opportunities for co-development, production outsourcing, localization and regional partnerships.

Payments as part of the market-entry strategy

Uzbekistan should not be treated as a smaller version of an established gaming market. Companies need a dedicated approach to localization, pricing, payments and community development.

International cards may serve part of the audience, but they do not necessarily provide the broadest possible reach. Gaming businesses should consider local and alternative payment options, including the account-to-account infrastructure and Unified QR schemes being developed within the country’s Central Bank-led payment ecosystem.

An effective payment setup should cover the complete transaction lifecycle: processing, settlement, foreign exchange, reconciliation, reporting, customer support and fraud prevention. It should also allow companies to test different price points and payment methods without adding unnecessary complexity to the player experience.

Uzbekistan’s video games market remains at an early stage, but the direction is clear: online sales are expanding, mobile purchasing is becoming central to the customer journey, and local payment infrastructure is increasingly important.

Companies that enter with realistic expectations, test their products directly and build around local payment behavior will be best positioned to participate in the market’s growth.

Sources

• Statista Market Insights, eCommerce Media — Video Games — Uzbekistan, USD. Dataset created on 6 August 2026; underlying indicators last updated between July and October 2025. The category covers physical video games and excludes downloaded games, browser-based games and in-game purchases.
• Uzbekistan GameDev Industry Survey 2025. Survey findings reported across 55 industry participants; the number of responses may vary by question.