The global demand for mobile games has increased by 45 per cent worldwide in 2020, according to AppsFlyer.
Moreover, the impressive growth is 40 per cent higher than what 2019 had experienced year-on-year.
However, the primary reason for the increased demand for mobile titles is COVID-19. Earlier this year, the pandemic swept across the world, forcing countries to go into lockdown. As a result, more people turned to games as a means of entertainment.
Moreover, the amount of revenue generated has also been impressive due to lockdowns.
Get hyper
The hypercasual genre proved to be as popular as ever, as it saw an increase of 250 per cent for non-organic installs. However, this has been attributed to the number of people that chose to give mobile gaming a go due to the coronavirus.
“It’s not a surprise that we saw a massive increase in new players trying games for the first time; in particular, Hyper Casual installs surged 90% globally, including a staggering 250% in the number of marketing-driven non-organic installs,” said AppsFlyer head of content and mobile insights Shani Rosenfelder.
“What’s significant is that gaming apps realised the opportunity to accelerate their user acquisition efforts and took full advantage of this trend while in the moment. The brands that made the reactive, nimble moves to meet heightened demand dominated the stay at home peaks in gaming app engagement.”
On the rise
In-app purchases (IAP) saw an increase globally of 25 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, casual games saw a jump of 55 per cent, which made the genre a big IAP earner.
Furthermore, IAP revenue grew by 67 per cent between February and August. Meanwhile, during the same period, in-app advertising dropped 16 per cent.
Meanwhile, in EMEA, in-app purchases grew by 22 per cent on iOS devices. The platform boasted 20 per cent more than users that were spending money on Android. Again, the increase can be linked to the ongoing pandemic.
“While there was an 18% increase in revenue generated from in-app purchases on iOS devices during lockdowns in Europe, it’s clear that there are still areas for major growth,” said AppsFlyer director of product for gaming Adam Smart.
“Install growth and the return of big brands beyond gaming created a surge in media costs, so in order to maintain the increase in revenue generated from in-app purchases, we recommend remarketing as a strategy to drive continued success.”
