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The mobile phones are compelling enough for the game developers to gain user attention and it is leading the global revenue generation factor in the gaming industry. According to a survey on the global revenue generated by the gaming sector, it was found that PC and console games contribute 24% and 25%, while 51% of the revenue is generated by mobile gaming.
Mobile Game Genres Have Their Price
Mobile game development is a popular niche. However, the bitter truth is that not all the games turn into successful ones. Just recreating a famous game does not bring success, through market research has to be done before the ideation of the game. And the crucial part is deciding the genre of the game because it is related to the budget.
There are a few mobile game genres available with different categories. We cannot define a particular category as a successful one, or games build in that particular category results in success. The success factor depends on several factors. Based on a report released by Newzoo, the top-ranked games of 2018 have generated ten times higher than the estimated market value, while 15% of mobile game development companies have gained nothing from the app.
What is The Role of the Game Category in Revenue Generation
Can a game’s success be predicted? What is the secret to getting to the top rank in the list? What type of games attain success?
To answer all these generic questions, we have to do market research on the game genres and how it influences the profit of the game.
We have all come across the hyper-casual games, games that are called lightweight games that have instant gameplay with simple mechanics. These kinds of games are mostly addictive because of short sessions that help players to instantly hook up to their target. However, when we take a look at Google Play, the best gaming apps are classified into hardcore or mid-core games.
Hardcore game: The hardcore games are directed towards a particular set of players, who are interested in a specific genre of games. They spend quality time learning the difficulty and high level of engagement of the game.
Mid-core game: The mid-core games are a little more challenging than the casual games, that needs ranking among the players and requires strategic thinking.
And based on the prediction of game development companies, the thin gap between the hardcore and mid-core games would fade away when the mid-core games have complex functionalities and serious feature sets, while hardcore games become easily accessible.
When you take a look at the top-selling games in Play Store and App Store, the chart consists of only the mid-core games that are built for the loyal players, while the best free games are the hyper-casual games.
When you wonder which one of them gained profit, it is definitely the mid-core games. For example, the famous Clash of Clans game is six years old game, but is still a profitable and popular mobile game, with 13,000 daily downloads and generating a daily revenue of $329647. While the hyper-casual and casual games don’t last for a longer period of time.
Some of the popular game genres are:
City Building: Is a simulation game in which the players have to build a sustainable construction so that the people in the gameplay can survive through various conditions.
Battle Royale: This is a fighting game, where only one fighter ultimately survives.
Match 3: In this game, the player will have to align identical elements in a line.
Turn-based RPG: In this game, the player has to lead the character under various actions so as to overthrow the opponent.
Endless Runner: The players will have constrained control over the game characters that keep going forward in the game.
Nevertheless, some of the game’s popularity is based on user engagement and the functionality of the game. Therefore, you need not assume that all the games that generate millions of downloads are profitable ones, because, in the end, a mobile game’s commercial success is based on the revenue generation.
Monetization Mechanism for the Mobile Games
When you take a look at the Play Store, there are three million apps available in which only 3% of the apps are paid apps. The freemium apps are dominating the mobile game market and this means that the users get the app for free, however, they have to pay for certain additional contents.
Some of the monetization methods of the freemium games are:
In-app Purchases: This method of monetization is used by most games because it helps the game developers avoid the ads and allow the user to use the in-game purchases to upgrade the game. The interesting fact about the in-app purchases is, 50% of the revenue is generated from less than one percent of the users.
Reward advertisements: This is one of the welcoming formats that is socially acceptable and the players find it beneficial because watching an ad gives the in-app rewards, like virtual currency, customized game elements, or extra lives. Allowing the players to earn coins for watching a video gives a break from the constant tapping.
Advertisement: When it comes to hyper-casual games, the developers try to use the in-game ads as a monetization strategy. But many players find it irritating to see ads the moment they complete a level. They think the game development companies gain more monetization through this method.
Subscription: Though this form of monetization is overlooked by the developers, this is the future of the monetization mechanism. Let’s see how it works, so once the developer subscribes some amount is written off to their card and it is easy for the players.
Summing up
A game developed with insightful competitive intelligence, productive user acquisition strategy, and excellent game design can uphold any kind of competition. Always remember the success of an app is based on the user engagement and monetization mechanism.
