Regional turbulence triggers a decline in dual end data

According to DianDian data statistics, the total downloads and revenue of mobile games in the Middle East region both showed a significant decline in February, with a decline rate of 8.78% and 9.65% respectively. On the one hand, there is a natural data trough caused by the relatively short data collection time in February, but the main reason for the significant decline in data is also the impact of local turbulence caused by regional conflicts on gaming and entertainment, and even the entire mobile application field. The trend of data download from various regions also clearly shows that Iran, which is one of the conflict centers, has a more obvious downward trend in data compared to other countries and regions.

In terms of platform composition, the Google Play platform still occupies a large proportion of game application data on both ends in the Middle East, and the advantage of data proportion is particularly prominent on the download end. However, it is worth noting that the proportion of data on the App Store platform has maintained a slight upward trend since last year. In addition, despite the overall decline in data, the data changes on the App Store platform are relatively more stable.

In terms of category composition, the top three categories of download data are still leisure, simulation, and action, and the proportion of leisure category data is still far ahead; The income side remains unchanged from the last statistics, still consisting of strategy, leisure, and action. In terms of category download revenue ratio, medium to heavy games represented by strategy and action are still the categories that Middle Eastern players are most willing to invest in.

Event binding, stable growth in PUBG MOBILE data

During the statistical period, the classic battle royale shooting action game PUBG MOBILE, operated by Tencent in the region, once again won the top spot in mobile game revenue in the Middle East with an estimated revenue of over 9.22 million US dollars. At the same time, despite a decline in downloads for most of the top products in the region, the product achieved a month on month increase of over 6.1% in downloads in the Middle East region in February, setting a new record for peak data in nearly a year.

In our previous observation report on this region, we mentioned the impact of the 2025 EWC Esports World Cup on the data of related mobile game projects in the Middle East, and PUBG MOBILE is one of the beneficiary products. And the data growth in the first two months of the year may also be related to this. In January 2026, the organizers of the 2026 Esports World Cup officially confirmed that PUBG MOBILE will participate as an official competition event in the event scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in July. Stimulated by another record breaking $75 million total prize pool, PUBG MOBILE, as one of the important projects of the tournament and also one of the most popular games in the region, has been able to continue its peak gaming life cycle due to the binding of the tournament.

In addition, the continuous deepening of localized operations is also an important reason for PUBG MOBILE to maintain high popularity in the Middle East region. In terms of products, in addition to globally shared events such as the upcoming 8th anniversary celebration, the operations team continues to launch themed versions and unique character item appearances tailored to local culture, including the "Soaring Eagle's Charm" themed event launched in February, and the "Drowning Miracle" set, both of which have a strong local cultural flavor. In addition to the product, publisher Level Infinite has strengthened its cooperation with local cloud service providers and optimized server routing in response to the complex network environment in the Middle East over the past few months. This move not only helps optimize the gaming experience for regional players, but also to some extent contributes to the improvement of the product's data.

Targeting elderly users, Mahjong Dragon Quest game achieves rapid growth in the Middle East

During the statistical period, a product called "Vita Mahjong" with elimination gameplay achieved a month on month download growth of over 19.1% in the Middle East region in February, ranking in the top ten of the regional mobile game download charts with 2.21 million monthly downloads.

The product name carries the word "Mahjong", but the gameplay is actually simple pairing elimination. However, it cleverly utilizes the influence of Mahjong in the Middle East and even globally, as well as a hint of foreign users' curiosity about this Chinese "national treasure" sport, to stimulate and attract players' initial downloads and experiences. The clear core positioning of the product, which is "designed specifically for the elderly" with large character plates, high contrast interfaces, eye protection modes, and simple operating logic, has also created a "zero threshold" difficulty in getting started with the product. Combined with the elimination of the addictive appeal of repeatedly tried and tested gameplay, it has created the core driving force for its sustained growth.

According to DianDian data statistics, the download volume of this product has shown a continuous growth trend since its launch in the Middle East in early 2024, and has entered a period of rapid data growth after 25 years. The significant increase in February data was due to the data explosion of users in Iraq.

Non gaming applications have a greater impact on dual end data

In February, the download and revenue data of non gaming mobile applications in the Middle East both declined, with the decline even exceeding that of the mobile gaming market. Among them, the download volume decreased by 8.1% month on month, and the revenue decreased by 10.36% month on month. The double-digit percentage decline in revenue is undoubtedly a heavy blow to the Middle East region, which is currently promoting digital transformation with Saudi Arabia at its core.

The overall composition of data platforms for non gaming applications in February has not changed much compared to before. The Google Play platform accounts for a larger proportion of downloads, while the App Store contributes a larger proportion of revenue. However, similar to the situation of gaming applications, the proportion of data on the App Store platform has expanded at both ends of download revenue, and the platform's data seems to show relatively stronger resilience in the volatile regional situation.

In terms of category composition, the top three categories of download data are tools, entertainment, and life; The income side includes social communication, entertainment, and efficiency. Based on the changes in the data of the top applications on the list, it can be seen that categories such as social chat, photography, and video recording have experienced a significant decline in data due to the impact of regional conflict events.

"Yandex ai" has become popular in Türkiye, and the Russian model is moving towards globalization?

In the statistical cycle, an AI intelligent browser application named yandex ai became popular in Türkiye, and it landed on the Top 20 download list of non travel applications in the App Store in the Middle East in February. The monthly download volume is overwhelming the surging Meta AI.

According to the description of the app store, Yandex AI is positioned as a search tool that combines artificial intelligence chat with advanced search. However, based on its application name and publisher information, it can be inferred that it belongs to Russian tech giant Yandex. Although its reputation is not well-known, in fact, as early as 2023, Yandex integrated its self-developed large language model YandexGPT into its voice assistant Alice, making it one of the first virtual assistants in the world to have native large model capabilities, even earlier than many Western competitors.

For Yandex, its strategic focus has always been anchored on technological breakthroughs themselves - the practicality and multimodal capabilities of its models. Yandex has built a highly mature, fully self-developed, and deeply integrated AI ecosystem into daily life in Russian speaking regions and CIS countries that are far from international public opinion. At the end of 2025, Yandex launched an internal test of the "Find Cheaper" AI agent function, followed by the launch of a research mode for complex tasks, which confirms its technological landing and continuous breakthroughs in the field of AI agents. From a technical perspective, Yandex is fully capable of entering the top tier of the global AI field.

This popularity in Türkiye, or its global layout, is the beginning of a remarkable moment. In the fierce competition between China and the United States in the field of AI, Yandex, as a representative of Russia's AI industry, has not actually fallen behind.

Ramadan is approaching, and the popularity and development of religious applications

With the arrival of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan (approximately from February 17th to March 19th this year), in addition to social media and streaming applications increasing the frequency of pushing traditional religious and cultural programs, the download volume of some books and knowledge applications strongly related to religion has also begun to grow rapidly. There are two apps on the list this issue, namely "WeMuslim" and "Wahy".

In addition, the "Ummah" function within its product is similar to a forum for Muslims to browse and share recitation experiences. At the same time, the audio recitation mode of the Quran by many famous readers is similar to our previous article 'When Cyber Prayer becomes the new normal for young believers, what will the ultimate form of future religious apps look like under the deep empowerment of AI?'? 》It was mentioned in the article that the novel "religious social" product "Hallow" has a subscription function for "well-known pastor prayers". It can be seen that with the increase and development of the younger generation of believers, religious related applications may develop into more comprehensive applications with more complete functions. For the Middle East region, integrating social attributes and even embracing AI may be the only way.