Since innovation has led to the improved smartphone devices we all have access to today, so too has the games in which we can play on them. With the more sophisticated modern smartphone devices has come a surge in terms of the quality of games in which we can sample them. These games all come alongside the taxi booking apps and dating apps of this world which have also become a common option for people to utilise on a smartphone device.
As gaming on a smartphone becomes a popular go-to option when boredom sets in, developers have aimed to tap into the space with a variety of titles. We have even seen an array of console-quality titles make the transition over to mobile, with the likes of Fortnite, FIFA and Minecraft registering huge success. These types of games accompany popular casino titles like the 3 Devils Pinball slot game, Among Us, Pokemon Go, and a whole host of other games people can’t seem to get enough of at the moment. As a result of this, the statistics around mobile gaming highlight the dramatic progress the overall genre has made. We have always spent a lot of time on our mobile phone devices, but now we’re spending more time on our mobile phone devices playing games.
In 2020, for example, mobile gaming revenue grew to $68.5 billion. According to Iron Source, that figure was estimated to hit a 12% increase by the end of the year too. At the time, most people were flocking to download popular titles like the aforementioned Pokemon Go, although Slap Kings was the most popular game of 2020. In fact, it received an astonishing 35.6 million installs in the month of March alone.
Asia is the biggest market
Asia is the market most games developers are desperate to crack. According to German database company Statista, the Asian continent makes up almost half of the mobile gaming market. In 2020, the company estimated that the smartphone gaming market in Asia recorded approximately $34.114 billion in revenue and accumulated an astonishing 905 million users. China is the biggest market, with the country generating around 61% of all of the continent’s revenue at around $21.02 billion.
The types of games being downloaded vary, too. Casual games are most definitely the favourite option for people, though. Not only are they designed to be picked up and put down throughout the day, but they also require far less skill and are generally more enjoyable. Udonis, an industry leader in mobile app marketing, states that in 2020, 58.86% of people who played mobile games were casual gamers, closely followed by puzzle gamers and mobile arcade gamers.
Women spend more money than men
When assessing the gender statistics too, Mopub found that women tend to spend more money on smartphone gaming titles than men. With many games offering in-game purchases and the opportunity to buy a variety of add-ons or add details to your character and the like, 4.5% of women are shown to pay for in-app game content, whereas only 3.3% of men do.
The same company found that people aged between 45-54 are turning to smartphone games in their droves too. The stereotypical teenage gamer has been replaced by a broader target audience who are now discovering the delights of gaming on a smartphone device, with Mopub also finding that 53% of internet users between the age of 45-54 play a range of smartphone games. PUBG is the title with the most revenue recorded too, after accumulating a mightily impressive $225.2 million in revenue in April 2020 alone.