An Overview
The history of mobile gaming is a relatively short one, but it’s already making huge waves in the world of entertainment. The first mobile games were developed in the early 2000s, but they didn’t really take off until 2009 when Apple introduced its App Store for iPhone. At that point, mobile gaming became an industry on par with console and PC gaming—and one that was even more lucrative than either of both.
Firstly, mobile games are popular because they’re accessible: you can play them anywhere, at any time. They’re also easy to develop and distribute thanks to the rise of app stores like Apple’s App Store and Google Play. They have become one of the most go-to platforms for developers looking to make money in mobile games. Plus, with more than 2 billion smartphones worldwide (and counting), there’s no shortage of potential players out there!
The rise of mobile gaming has changed the way people play games forever. With a variety of devices and platforms, it has never been this easy to access games that you can play anywhere, anytime. In this article, we’ll go over how mobile games make money and how this revenue can help developers increase profits even further through strategic advertising campaigns that target specific demographics. This is based on location data collected from users’ phones (which may include age range).
Pay-to-Win
In a Pay-to-Win type of game, you’re competing in a complex environment with other people for in-game rewards. Usually, these games have a large upfront cost, so during your first few weeks after signing up, you’ll be incentivized to pay more to keep up with players who’ve been around longer. The idea is that the game will keep producing new content and challenges that require the player to go through more rounds of spending money to continue playing.
The most well-known example of this style of game is probably Clash of Clans (2012), which was one of the most lucrative mobile games ever created and generated over $1 billion annually at its peak. In this game, players build a village and train an army to attack other villages run by other players. As they progress through increasingly difficult levels, they’re able to unlock upgrades that improve their army and weapons.
However, these upgrades are time-limited. If you want them all completed sooner than later, it’s in your best interest to spend real money on extra resources or speed boosts. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for months before your troops gain another level or before you can afford another upgrade.
Gacha or Mystery Boxes
Gacha or mystery boxes are a monetization technique where players spend in-game currency for a chance to win an item of value. Players can spend real money to buy in-game currency, or earn the currency by playing the game. In some games, this is the only way to obtain hard-to-find items that may be necessary to progress in the gameplay. While the mechanics of gachapon vary from game to game, most games include some type of gacha system.
The term comes from Japanese vending machines called gachapon (or “gashapon”) that dispense capsule toys at random. Gacha has been compared to loot boxes and randomized rewards from video games and is also commonly referred to as “loot box” or “pay-to-win” systems by players and critics.
Ads
Ads are a popular way for mobile app development company in Delhi to monetize their games. The most common type of ads in mobile games is full-screen video ads, incentivized video ads, interstitial ads, and banner ads.
Full-screen video ads
Full-screen video ads are displayed after the user has reached a certain point in the game. For example, they can be shown after every few levels have been cleared or at the start of a new level. They usually last between 5–30 seconds and give users an option to skip after a couple of seconds if they want to.
Incentivized video ads
Incentivized video ads are displayed when players need something like coins or gems for performing an action in the game. Players can watch these videos to get rewards and move forward in their gameplay.
Interstitial Ads
Interstitial Ads appear during natural transitions such as taking users from one level to another or from one screen to another within the app. They take up most of your device’s screen space but do not affect gameplay as reward videos do. Users don’t necessarily have to interact with them but can click through them if they want to see what’s being promoted. They can click on it for more information about that particular offer/service, or download it if it is an app being advertised.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions are a recurring monthly fee that players pay in exchange for something, and they’re common in games that offer a lot of content. A subscription might allow you to play a game for free or give you easy access to newer content.
Since mobile games have shorter development cycles than console and PC games, they need new content more frequently to keep customers interested. As such, subscriptions are very popular with mobile games.
Grind-to-Win
This is the basis for all GTW (grind-to-win) games. GTW games are designed to give you regular positives, so you don’t get bored, but also to make you feel like the game will never end. These games are usually based on two elements—collecting and leveling up. In these games, you constantly collect new items or characters that have different levels of rarity and power. You can then either combine them to create new items/characters or use them in some other way to level up your main character. Below are two examples of popular mobile games and their methods of generating revenue.
Candy Crush Saga
Candy Crush Saga requires players to match three or more similarly colored candies vertically or horizontally to advance through a series of stages. Each stage has a different objective that must be completed within a certain number of moves. The goal is simple: keep playing until all the objectives on a stage are complete, and then move forward one stage at a time until you reach the end game.
When you advance past enough stages without paying for an upgrade (like extra lives), these games will often drop an ad into your game session where they try to sell you something like extra lives or more moves per round. Then, after seeing enough ads without buying anything, they’ll usually stop asking altogether and just let you continue playing at your own pace from there on out!
Subway Surfers
Subway Surfers is a mobile game developed by Kiloo and SYBO Games. It is an arcade running game that has had over 1 billion downloads since its release in 2012. The game is free to play, but it makes money through in-app purchases (IAPs).
The main way Subway Surfers generates revenue is through IAPs. In the game, users can purchase coins that they can use to unlock new characters, boards, and hoverboards. Players can also purchase power-ups like shields and jetpacks, which help them avoid obstacles while running on the tracks.
Users who do not want to spend money on these items can earn them by completing special missions that require players to collect coins or complete certain tasks. These missions often take up a lot of time and effort, so many users choose to pay instead of completing these missions manually.
Subway Surfers has other ways of generating revenue as well. It sells merchandise such as t-shirts featuring their characters (like Jake) or branded products like headphones with characters. While this may seem like a fun game that costs nothing to play, it actually generates revenue through several different methods.
Firstly, there are in-game purchases available through the use of coins collected by playing the game. These in-game purchases range from power-ups like hoverboards or jetpacks to clothing items such as hats or sunglasses for your character. Players can also purchase coins directly through their phone’s app store account or by using real money within the game itself.
Secondly, Subway Surfers has partnered with several brands to create branded content within the game itself (e.g., “Zombie Cheats” for Burger King). This type of advertising is typically placed at key points during gameplay. It is where players are likely to see it so that they can be reminded about upcoming events or promotions set up by these companies.
In-App Purchases
As mentioned before, in-app purchases (IAP) are another way for a developer to make money from a free game. IAP are used to buy virtual goods like extra levels, additional characters, or power-ups that allow players to progress through the game more quickly. Since Apple and Google charge developers 30% of the amount paid by users when they buy items through the app store, developers have to take this fee into account when setting prices for their in-app purchases.
Freemium Marketing
Freemium marketing is the most common method of revenue generation used by mobile game developers. It’s a system that provides basic content or functionality for free but charges a fee for advanced content or functionality. This model is often applied to gaming apps, where gamers play for free until they reach certain levels of proficiency. At that point, gamers must pay to unlock more advanced skills and capabilities.
In addition to game-playing apps, this business model has also been used by video streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu; software developers like Adobe and Microsoft; and music service providers such as Spotify and iTunes. These companies offer the ability to download a limited number of songs or videos each month at no charge. Once you reach your quota limit, you can either pay for unlimited access or wait another month for the free downloads to be replenished again.
Mobile games are mostly free & revenue comes from in-game purchases
You might be surprised to learn that the most popular mobile games today are free-to-play. So, how do these games make money? It’s easy–through your time and in-app purchases.
Let’s say you downloaded a free game on your phone when you were bored. No big commitment, right? But once you get into it, you’re hooked—and have been playing it for at least three hours now. No harm done, right? It’s for free anyway.
This occurrence isn’t unusual. According to a statistic cited in Forbes magazine, the average smartphone user spends at least eight hours every week playing mobile games. That comes out to nearly 500 hours a year! And while many of these people don’t pay upfront for their game downloads, they could end up paying later in other ways. One, by sacrificing some of their time or even purchasing virtual goods within the game itself.
Undoubtedly, in-app purchases are a major part of the mobile gaming economy as users spend billions on them each year. The appeal of such purchases is simple. They can get immediate access to things like extra lives or boosts to help them advance faster through the levels. Some games even charge players for virtual currency that can only be used within the game’s world. More advanced players often want these types of items badly enough to pay money for them.
Playing Mobile Games on PC
If you’re looking to play your favorite mobile games on your PC, there are a few options to choose from. The first is to install an emulator that allows you to play games from different platforms on your computer. As with most things, there are both free and paid emulators available. So, it’s up to you whether or not this route is worth it for you.
You can also play Android games on PC by visiting specialized sites. These sites come with their own unique system that allows you to play mobile games on PC without emulators.
The Future of Video Games
Video Games, especially mobile games, are big businesses. A recent report from the research firm Newzoo estimates that by 2023, the number of players will balloon to 3.07 billion. And video game revenue will surpass the $200 billion mark. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what makes mobile games such an attractive option for players and developers alike.
First off, it’s important to remember that mobile games aren’t just played on your phone. The vast majority of gaming happens on PCs, where the screen is much larger and more conducive to playing longer games. In fact, many console versions of popular games are actually ported over from their mobile counterparts because of how much easier it is for players to play them when they’re not hunched over their phones trying not to drop them!
Secondly, there’s no doubt that mobile gaming has changed the way we interact with computers in general. Playing games on our phones has made us generally more comfortable interacting with technology—whether it be through social media or apps. It makes us feel like we’re interacting with real people instead of machines.
In a nutshell, it is fair to say that mobile gaming is going to be the trend for many years to come. This makes video game development one of the most sought-out professions not only today, but no doubt also in the future.
