Moonton is expanding its geographical footprint by taking its signature game, Mobile Legends Bang Bang, beyond its bastion in Southeast Asia. A new partnership opportunity with Esports Middle East will seek to make it possible for more gamers from the region to come and truly appreciate the potential of this popular game. To this end, the pair are launching the MPL MENA Esports Series which will put MLBB in direct competition with Honor of Kings, its main competitor, and not least, Riot Games’ own Wild Rift.

The mobile esports segment is quickly getting busy and online esports betting on these games are gaining momentum as well. The bottom line is that we are seeing some of the main demographics out there to be quickly changing up their preferences for mobile games and as with most esports, Mobile Legends can use a bit of a boost. This is where Esports Middle East is coming in.

Why Team up with EME?

The success of any new product – especially a product that you may call a marginal one – in a new market will depend on how well promoted is. When Age of Empires IV and Warcraft III: Reforged were released, one game clearly did better. This is because of the support it got from its developers along with the people involved in the community-building exercise.

Mobile Legends, and Moonton in particular, are aware of the risks that exist if you decide to wing the launch of a promising product in a new market that is not traditionally known to stick to mobile gaming options. However, this may be changing rapidly now.

The MENA region has already taken kindly to console gaming so branching off from PC gaming is not really something that players in the region have to worry about. Esports Middle East, though, will not just be making the case for a great product, or a brand new form of gaming. There is more. The organization will be charged with several aspects of promoting MLBB and building its footprint in the region:

  • Promoting Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
  • Creating the Competitive Circuit for the Game
  • Hosting the Events and Tournaments

While this sounds like a rather easy task, to begin with, you need to consider that a lot rides on the successful accomplishment of the tasks set out by the companies involved. Essentially, Moonton wants to make sure that Mobile Legends finds a strong foothold in the MENA region and the way to achieve this is through the successful carrying out of this tournament.

Does MENA Love Mobile Gaming?

The good news is that while mobile esports itself is not very popular in the MENA region, there are reasons for optimism. There are strong indicators that the Middle East region may be rapidly adopting mobile gaming which is a welcomed opportunity for developers and esports tournament hosts alike.

The region is not that poor, to begin with, which means that consumers can afford to spend a lot on this pastime. In fact, a closer look at gaming options in places such as Saudi Arabia reveals that the majority of gamers are presently interested in mobile gaming over console or desktop gaming and that is an important way to form your opinion about the opportunities presented to players in the Middle East really are.  

So, does a game like Mobile Legends Bang Bang have a foothold in the country? This is yet to be determined, but judging from previous mobile games and the overall interest in the segment, it’s rather safe to say that MLBB can actually hope to achieve some distinctive performance in the sector overall.

Players who are welcome to MLBB are anyone with a keen competitive sense. Yet the game itself is not only earmarked for competitive players per se. Mobile Legends is clearly pivoting towards the competitive experience as such but it truly strives to be different than your run-of-the-mill competitive product.

Rather, MLBB wants to be about a casual experience that can be shared by all interested parties. The Middle East region has many of these types of gamers. Now that Esports Middle East is involved, though, it’s not just about blind luck making this work. It’s about concentrating the efforts towards the esports scene so that more gamers may enjoy and see Mobile Legends as a game that is truly capable of achieving success.

Esports and casual gaming are closely related these days and you can hardly imagine one without the other.