The gaming industry is gradually becoming significant in the global economy. The estimated industry volume for 2018 was about 139.7 billion dollars. These numbers are 10% higher than years earlier.
The result of the great financial success of the industry is the emergence and development of certain trends. So, virtual reality, mobile, and indie games, as well as e-sports, play a big role. They are these areas that you need to pay close attention to, assessing the state and prospects of the gaming industry.
Today, the gaming industry is experiencing a new stage of development. Gaming companies are increasingly playing an economic role which forms key trends and create innovations. Based on the reports and opinions of experts, it is safe to say that the game market is becoming deeper and larger. There is a place for breakthrough virtual reality technologies, expanding the user base of mobile gaming.
Given today’s realities, the future of the gaming industry promises to be truly exciting.
In recent years, we have also witnessed the continuous growth of mobile gaming. For the period of 2018, the global income of the gaming industry from mobile games reached 35%. According to experts, in 2021, mobile gaming will bring global revenues of 50% of the total market, ahead of the console and PC.
This is due to the fact that almost everyone has a mobile phone, the characteristics of which allow you to run high-quality games with exciting content. Availability, low price for paid applications and ease of development make mobile games a successful and profitable segment of the market.
Current market trends in the mobile games industry
2020 brought a number of magnificent trends in mobile gaming which occupied the market. It made many developers grab the idea for their own projects to catch the success wave. Also, there were some features that were met with excitement or hate all over the world so that became popular.
Games
1. Cryptocats
«Cryptocats» or «CryptoKitties» is a game in which you can buy, grow, breed and sell cats! Each cat is unique and 100% owned by you; it cannot be deleted or destroyed. The game was developed by Canadian developers Axiom Zen on November 28th and at the moment they “sold the seals” for $5 million. The game works on the Ethereum platform.
The point is quite simple: you are offered to have a virtual kitten and cross it with another, in order to get a new pet with unique characteristics and sell it. The first 100 cats were named generation number 0 and belonged to the developers. It is their offspring that enthusiasts around the world are currently buying. A virtual animal can only be purchased for broadcast – the internal currency of the Ethereum network.
The game had a commercial component. The maximum sale price of a pet has exceeded the equivalent of $170k, and this is not a unique case.
2. Battle Royal
Battle royal is one of the most demanded mobile gaming genres out there for players of any age. The popularity of such releases was able to raise them to the rank of the most popular multiplayer games.
In fact, in this genre of games, some elements of the usual survival simulator and the nuances of the last-man-standing modes are combined. They lead to an impressive number of gamers on a small map. At the same time, users are given a very narrow set of equipment for battles.
The main principle of the game is to search for weapons and destruct enemies, until the last, most stable player remains. Actually, he will be the only champion of the match.
A particularly interesting point in the royal battle is the constant decrease of the so-called safe zone. The longer the match lasts, the fewer shreds of the map are available to gamers and the match itself becomes more severe and fascinating.
3. Live Casino Gaming
Live online casinos are a new favorite playground for professional and amateur gamers. This top mobile games trend will continue this year, and we are sure to observe more interest among people to live casino games.
Online casinos perform thousands of various games. From licensed slots are based on the themes of comic book superheroes to the computer versions resemble more traditional slot machines. Most games have worth graphics and sound, almost as in real slots. Players can look through the rules of any game and view the payout table with a single click.
Features
1. Banned loot boxes
Lootboxes work as follows: inside a game a player buys either the loot boxes or the tokens/keys(to open them) for real money. Lootboxes contain random items, the player who opens the loot boxes does not know in advance what is waiting for him inside. There may be a subject that exceeds the value of the money spent, and maybe – a useless object. Many countries considered this feature as gambling, so in 2018 loot boxes met a wave of rejection.
2. Subscription
When using Freemium (a combination of “free” and “premium”), the main features are available to users for free, and extended functionality – for a one-time fee or for a paid subscription.
Usually, the number of those willing to pay is relatively small. Therefore, people get their cards in to have a free-month subscription and forget about it. After the month, a fixed amount of money is withdrawn, mostly, without notifications.
3. Innovative elements
Integration of AR/VR and 3D elements, for instance, automatically boosts the value and trendiness of your game in the market. The new technologies can be most efficiently used to your benefit. Everybody has a high-def camera and a QR scanner on their smartphones these days, even kids. And you may simply throw in an amusing augmented reality character or two to make your game more exciting and engaging for all types of users.
4. Cloud-powered gaming
As the cloud is taking over the usual methods of Internet connection and virtual storages, you no longer need to have a powerful smartphone or computer with compatible OS and other specifics in order to play AAA titles that need significant hardware powers. These experiences can simply be streamed. Combined with the reliable and flexible data storage opportunities the cloud technology provides, this is certainly a trend to look out for.
5. Battle Royale and other competition
We have all seen the immense success of such titles as PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, League of Legends and Dota 2, Fortnite, and, for Christ’s sakes, the good old deathmatch fun of Counter-Strike. We can clearly see that competitive games are dominating the market and they will be even more all-consuming in the coming years. This is backed up by the fact that the main target audience involves huge numbers of kids playing via smartphones and tablets while also staying quite social as a community.
The future of mobile gaming in 2021
In the gaming market, the latest development tools are simplified and the number of games produced increases. Steam, App Store, Play Market – pop on the number of games. Sales for 1 game are reduced, marketing expenses of studios are increasing and dependence on stores decreases. So what should we expect from 2021 game developing?
Previously, Steam served as a publisher. That is, if you have a good game, then Steam was a guaranteed source of sales. He switched his audience to the game and brought a bunch of buyers.
But the problem is that every year this function worked worse and worse. It’s all about the unstoppable increase in the number of games.
Steam has ceased to be the place where your game is guaranteed to receive sales. Now the decisive factor in the success of the game is its own audience. It is waiting for the game and is ready to buy it.
Then for what to pay Steam 30 percent from sales of games? Is it worth it? So many game studios thought and began to leave Steam on their own or alternative sites.
All of these factors led to the emergence of new platforms. There are several new gaming stores: Epic Games Store (and Epic Games has become more expensive than Valve at $3 billion). His store appeared in the Discord. Humble Store and GOG are actively developing.
Several stores were announced at once with a minimum commission (from 0 to 5 percent of sales). These are shops, which perform only the function of selling goods. No audience, nothing. Filled the game, led the audience – got a sale.
That the role of publishers in the market will grow.
If you want to be successful – make an awesome game, and then look for an awesome publisher who can present your game in the most favorable light.
That those studios that learn to collect audiences themselves, or around which there is already a fan base, will win in the competition.
That the role of marketing before the release of the game will increase many times.
Already it will be impossible to develop a game, come and immediately sell it. It will be necessary to talk about the game, to attract the audience to the tests. Show game features. Engage fans in making a decision, engaging them in development. In general, to maximize the interest of the audience before the start of sales.
Multi-Programming Solutions has valuable experience in creating and developing various kinds of web and mobile games. We are open to new projects and challenges to help our clients launch engaging and well-made products.
Every self-respecting business owner, at some point, thinks of improving employees' knowledge, mastery, and confidence. They may already succeed in creating an eLearning platform for corporate training. However, it still needs constant updating to keep the staff up with time and deliver the most relevant data. While developing online lessons is a lengthy process requiring experience and tech power, distributing tasks can become the only solution for companies searching for quick and efficient results.
Today’s busy and tech-savvy online customers are interested in mobile-friendly educational courses suitable for smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets. User-centric and accessible, gamified and bite-sized, mLearning can happen anytime, anywhere. You should learn how to implement it in the organization to make it a part of your corporate culture.
If you practice edtech in your organization, then you might already understand the crucial role of digital learning platforms in constant employee growth. Corporate training has a direct impact on your company’s productivity.
