The global games market continues to grow stronger every year and this year is no exception. According to the research firm Newzoo – which recently released its quarterly update of its Global Games Market Report – an estimated $108.9 billion in game revenues is expected to be generated by 2.2 billion gamers worldwide, by the end of 2017. This is a 7.8% ($7.8 billion) increase from the previous year.
What’s more notable is that mobile gaming is the most lucrative segment of the global digital gaming industry. Smartphone and tablet gaming has claimed 42% of the digital game global market (which makes up 87% of the total global games market). Mobile has grown 19% year on year to $46.1 billion. Newzoo predicts mobile gaming will represent slightly more than half of the total games market in 2020.
This is good news for developers. According to a mobile games industry survey conducted by Pocket Gamer – a report which took a broad look at how industry professionals perceive the recent past and future of the sector – the mobile games industry has created many opportunities for developers. Due to skyrocketing revenues, more developers are diving into the industry, hoping to cash in on the mobile gaming market while the going is good.
The survey conducted by Pocket Gamer – the globe’s leading destination for the gaming community on mobile – included 250 participants from the mobile game industry from around the world. Participants were from the UK, US, Canada, Nordic countries, Japan, China, India and Australia.
Over half of the respondents believed that the biggest opportunities this year will result from the growth of emerging markets. Countries like China and India as well as Southeast Asia continue to grow at a fast pace and have the potential to unlock new opportunities for Western developers who are willing to localize and branch out into these regions.
In addition, where developers are also likely to find opportunities in the industry is with new monetization methods. Mobile gaming growth means that ads are becoming increasingly popular and hold greater value to developers. What’s more, monetization opportunities can be improved further with real-time competitive multiplayer games, which was seen with Supercell’s popular Clash Royale mobile game, which reportedly grossed an estimated $1 billion in less than a year after its launch.
Other opportunities for developers in mobile gaming include in augmented reality, virtual reality, location-based games and more. Plus, with mobile casinos leading the way, and gaining more popularity over the traditional desktop casino experience – especially since they’re awarding huge prizes as reported by Vegasmaster – there’s even opportunity growing in the mobile gambling industry.
A recent study – The Growth of the Mobile Gambling Industry – conducted by Pocket Winnings, reveals that the market share for mobile gambling is increasing at an incredible rate. The study suggests that the growth is accelerating with an average growth of about 5 to 6% each year. It has also been estimated that in 2017, the mobile gambling industry will reach a market value that exceeds $100 billion.
With increasing revenue in the many different mobile gaming sectors and so much potential and likelihood for future growth, it’s not hard to imagine how this can be a lucrative opportunity for marketers, developers and other businesses as well. Games and ads in games are one of the best ways to promote a product when targeted at the right users because it puts the message right in the hands of potential customers.
The reality is that every year mobile devices are increasingly becoming mainstream worldwide. This has made mobile gaming rather ubiquitous. Moreover, due to the fact that mobile game apps prompt users to return to them, mobile game applications typically see a notably high level of engaged, regular users. These two factors alone make the mobile gaming industry an ideal marketing channel for brands to optimize even further in the future.
Brands who want to make the most of mobile monetization in the gaming industry now and in the future will find that there are numerous ways in which to use this industry as a marketing channel. It’s not just about banner ads and popups (although both can still be effective in the right context). For instance, a brand could pay the company of a game app to actually participate in the application. This was seen in the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go, where a brand could pay to become a Pokéstop to boost its own in-store traffic and sales.
Another way for a brand to use mobile gaming as a marketing channel is via geo-location services that push targeted messages and coupons to users playing a game near the brand’s brick-and-mortar location to encourage users to shop at the store, etc.
Essentially, as long as the mobile gaming industry continues to grow, with it will grow money-making opportunities for marketers, developers and beyond.