This article is part of an ongoing series of data-driven articles from PocketGamer.biz and App Annie highlighting trends in the global mobile games sector using App Annie’s Game IQ analytics.
Game IQ enables mobile game developers to dig into the data and discover not only which games are performing best but what characteristics they have.
In this week’s column we’re looking at the most downloaded Core Racing games on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Remembering times fast
Those with a good memory may remember back when racing games were the big category for mobile games.
Back before F2P became the dominant way to monetise, paid franchises such as Firemint’s Real Racing and Gameloft’s Asphalt competed annually to demonstrate that mobile games could be as enjoyable as any console experience at a tenth of the price.
A decade on, it’s great to see the latest F2P versions of these games - and mobile versions of console games such as Need for Speed - still featuring in the download charts, albeit following the acquisition of their original developers by EA and Vivendi respectively.
Yet the more recent growth has come from less well-known Asian companies such as Ivy Mobile and Gamexis offering more accessible experiences.
Racers appeal in high-growth markets such as India, Brazil and Indonesia, especially those supporting lower data storage and bandwidth speed.
“Racing games were the sixth most downloaded mobile game genres in Q4 2020,” comments App Annie’s senior market insights manager Lexi Sydow.
“Both racing games from the casual spectrum (with simpler controls and visuals), as well as from the core spectrum (which offers more precise controls and higher graphical fidelity) are optimized for adrenaline rush-fueled gameplay, which is effective in driving repeated use and engagement.
She also notes the growing geographic appeal of these games in high-growth emerging markets such as India, Brazil and Indonesia, especially titles such as Street Racing 3D and Real Car Race Game 3D which “tend to offer comparable experiences across devices, even for those with lower data storage and lower mobile bandwidth speed”.
Game IQ is a vertically tailored analytics product, developed by App Annie, that provides insight into dimensions such as class, genre, subgenre and tags. Games can now be analyzed by broad category class (tuning), genre, subgenre, and tags (modifiers) such as IP, art style, settings, monetization mechanic, and more.
For more information register for a demo here
