Mobile gaming has experienced a renaissance over the past few years as app install ads have risen in prominence. What did we learn about gamer preferences in 2014, and how can game developers apply predictions to this year’s strategy? Read on for mobile studies concerning game genres, revenue, downloads, and country targeting.
2. 1. App Monetization Strategy: A Look Back
According to a 2014 study conducted by app testing firm Swrve, offer walls came out on
top as the least annoying method of tapping non-paying players for revenue; banner ads
scored the highest. Paying attention to gamers’ preferences is crucial for monetization in
2015.
3. 2. Gender Targeting: A Look Back
In 2014, EEDAR (Electronic Entertainment Design and Research) studied how
females and males fall in terms of favorite game genre, and the results are still
highly valuable to digital advertisers. The split appears to be 50/50 for casino
skill games, while action and matching puzzle games are more polarizing.
4. 3. 2015 Games Revenue: Global
Investment bank Digi-Capital
predicts that mobile games
revenue will hit $38B by
2018, increasing its
domination of the gaming
industry over the next few
years as the growth of online
and console gaming slows
down.
5. 4. 2015 App Store Revenue: By Country
In Japan and South Korea, app store revenue clocks in at over 90% in favor of the games
category, compared to the US (80%) and the UK (70%) in Q1 2015.
6. 5. 2015 Revenue: Downloads v. In-App
Purchase
The popularity of the freemium
monetization model is clearly
increasing the prevalence of in-
app purchasing as a revenue
driver for mobile game
developers.
According to eMarketer, in-app
revenues for mobile games will
total $1.82 billion in 2015 (59.8%
of all mobile game revenues)
and continue to trend upward in
share next year.
7. 6. 2015 Revenue: Mobile App Install Ads
Mobile app install ads have experienced a recent surge in popularity, and BI
Intelligence indicates that revenue generated by MAI ads (an estimated 30% of all
mobile ad revenue) will continue to ramp up in the next few years – reaching
$4.6B in 2015 and jumping to $6.8B by 2019.
8. 7. 2015 Top Apps: Downloads v. Revenue
A recent report by App Annie Intelligence shows that while mobile games may be
overshadowed by messaging apps in terms of downloads, mobile gaming studios like
Supercell and King claim the lion’s share of revenue in the iOS and Google Play stores.
9. 8. 2015 Mobile Game Downloads
The International Data
Corporation estimates
that the rise of
smartphone and tablet
purchases will
contribute to 45 billion
mobile game
downloads this year
and 60 billion in 2018.
10. 9. 2015 Market Share: Asia
China’s digital games market growth is 5x bigger than the rest of
Asia’s – making it a prime candidate for geotargeting this year.