As 2021 begins to fade into memory, we're taking a look back at the events that have defined the last 12 months in mobile gaming.
We've asked the industry's great and good to give us their take on the year, as well as predicting the trends that will dominate in 2022.
Mike Ng is chief revenue officer at Digital Turbine, a US-based mobile monetisation platform.
PocketGamer.biz. What do you think was the biggest news for the mobile games industry in 2021?
Mike Ng: Epic vs. Apple was huge news, and it’s only started to ignite the 'App Store battle'.
Even with Apple’s privacy changes and ATT rollout making headlines, the lawsuit and subsequent discussion it opened will be setting us down an interesting path in 2022 and beyond.
What is your favourite mobile game of 2021?
Clash Royale.
In terms of Digital Turbine, what's the thing you're most proud of during 2021?
2021 marked a transition year for Digital Turbine, with the strategic acquisitions of three companies - Appreciate, AdColony and Fyber.
Towards the end of 2020, we began to anticipate an aggressive consolidation and 'size matters' focus in the mobile industry, specifically around adtech and mobile marketing, and moved quickly to start putting together a full stack platform.
Discussions and much of the leg work already took place in late 2020, allowing us to close and announce the deals by the end of H1 2021. The integration process is well on its way, and we look forward to having an even stronger 2022.
What do you think will be the biggest trend over the next 12 months?
Apple’s ATT rollout and privacy changes have changed the way we advertise on iOS, and the industry continues to adapt.
I believe we will be seeing more innovation as marketers and publishers tweak their iOS model.
Some will accommodate changing measurement capabilities, look to contextual targeting and different audience segmentation solutions, while others will choose to invest on other platforms that generate more measurable ROI.
What are you most looking forward to in 2022?
Adtech and mobile continue to grow, and the consolidation and industry changes signal more opportunity for marketers and publishers.
I’m looking forward to our continued execution and integration of our full stack marketing platform and building the largest independent growth platform to deliver more strategic opportunities to our clients with our various product assets.
You can check out all of our 2021 in Review interviews here.
