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.
Chris Farm is the CEO and co-founder at US adtech outfit Tenjin.
PocketGamer.biz: What do you think was the biggest news for the mobile games industry in 2021?
Chris Farm: Apple’s de-facto removal of IDFA and implementation of the App Tracking Transparency framework was undoubtedly the biggest news for mobile games.
Ultimately, it has made it more difficult for indie and mid-size publishers to grow their games. We’ve already seen the impact of it, such as advertisers starting to spend more on Android than iOS. It will have a significant impact on mobile games in 2022 as well.
Which mobile game do you think had the biggest impact on the industry this year?
I think Axie Infinity is doing some very interesting things and could expand the way a lot of game developers think about economies within their games.
What is your favourite mobile game of 2021?
Chess seems to be having a bit of a moment recently – I’ve been playing it a bunch too. That and good old Angry Birds.
In terms of Tenjin, what's the thing you're most proud of during 2021?
In 2021, we took the time to think differently about Apple’s SKAdNetwork and how our customers can make the most of it in the long-term.
As more new policies get implemented on iOS and Android, more unique data types get generated. Finding ways to stitch all this data together is the key to unlocking user growth and future ROI for our mobile game customers.
What do you think will be the biggest trend over the next 12 months?
For us it will be understanding how data moves and how it gets automated and optimized.
Finding ways to integrate and make use of all the unique data now being produced is what will drive growth for mobile games.
What are you most looking forward to in 2022?
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m really looking forward to figuring out the best ways to integrate data together.
It’s what will enable indie and mid-size developers to compete with the big guys going forward. If Tenjin is at the forefront of helping them do this, I’ll be very happy.
You can check out all of our 2021 in Review interviews here.
