Among the factors propelling Mexico's gaming market to the top that year were the mobility restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a notable spike in game sales and the frequency of their use during the first months of the outbreak.

Mobile gaming and leisure

In its relatively short history, the video game industry has not only dramatically reduced the size of gaming hardware but has managed to break away from the need of having a console to play, adapting its products to everyday devices such as tablets or mobile phones. In Mexico, mobile device adoption among gamers has taken off. During a 2020 survey conducted among adults in the country, 69 percent of respondents stated playing via mobile. Aside from its affordability, much of the popularity of mobile gaming lies in its ease of use to pass the time. In fact, when asked about the amount of time spent playing on these devices, more than half of Mexican mobile gamers interviewed reported playing for 40 minutes or more per day.

eSports: playing in all seriousness

Although video games remain for many just a pastime, this activity increasingly evokes a booming business. In 2019, the Mexican National Commission for Physical Culture and Sports (CONADE) officially recognized eSports as a sport, granting endorsement to the country’s eSports Federation (FEMES). According to estimates, the eSports market in Mexico was expected to generate revenues of nearly one billion U.S. dollars in 2020. That same year, a total of 8.4 million Mexican gamers were reported to have participated in eSports tournaments and as many as 11 million to have followed such events online. During the coronavirus outbreak, eSports stood out for giving the Liga MX Clausura 2020 a second chance. After the cancellation of its physical format, the final phase matches of the championship were held virtually, pulling in more than 4.9 million Mexican online viewers.

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