News

PGC Digital: Industry pros discuss what defines a hypercasual game

Four industry pros explain their studio’s stance on developing hypercasual hits

PGC Digital: Industry pros discuss what defines a hypercasual game

Four hypercasual games industry pros were brought together to discuss what hypercasual games are for a panel for Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #7.

Each panellist gave their individual insight into what distinguishes a game hypercasual, along with ways that their studio dissects the development of a hypercasual game.

Sunday Games head of publishing Balaji Thangaraj Vijayan defined hypercasual games as "free to play mobile games that involve very short sessions with very simple mechanics that are accessible to everyone, with the same experience between all players and something that is monetised through the use of ads."

Thangaraj Vijayan also mentions other key elements of hypercasual games is that players must "understand what the mechanic of the game is five seconds after starting it" and that developers are "not making games for gamers but making everyone feel as though they are a gamer."

When speaking about the development process he says "that’s the beauty of hypercasual, anyone can make a game, we like to see people who haven’t made a game before bringing a fresh outlook, it’s constantly evolving."

Constantly evolving

Umami CEO Riley Andersen said that hypercasual games provide “short and sweet” experiences for players and also for the developers of the game.

"You can assess whether to continue making the game very quickly," says Andersen. "You need to understand what is currently trending and how much innovation is needed to make a unique and key moment to your specific game."

Erhaan Ahmad, who works in business development at Lion Studios that hypercasual games must have a high appeal so anyone can play.

"The aim is to make non-gamers into gamers so that someone who is not looking for a game can show satisfaction from playing," he said.

"You (developers) must identify what will make something attractive to these people. Some of our biggest hits that have been live for a long time and those games are definitely working on keeping an audience engaged and re-engaged."

Non-gamers into gamers

Admix partnership manager Natalia Pakhomova explained that with hypercasual games consumers are "very open" to see advertisements. Pahkomova says that non invasive in-play adverts, such as banners, are a great way to be user friendly and make additional revenue for hypercasual developers.

"Some of the benefits of hypercasual games are that they have a large audience that, partnered with simple gameplay, bring plenty of opportunities to monetise for developers and publishers."

Earlier today, Sunday Games discussed how to make hypercasual games profitable in a presentation for PGC Digital #7.

To keep up to date with all of our coverage, check out the roundups here. There's still time to sign up - to find out more and book a ticket, head to the website.


News Editor

The man formerly known as News Editor.