With a lot of iGaming casinos, such as online casino CA sites, there are certainly trends in the market as every company is vying for the attention and patronage of gamers.
Mobile devices are saturated with games. It is, therefore, worthwhile to take a look at the recent trends in mobile gaming and some relevant statistics.
Mobile Gaming Trends
Below are some of the most recent trends observed in the mobile gaming market.
1. PC-quality Expectation
Times have changed. In the early days of mobile gaming, the titles that people could play were either novelty games or of really low quality. Today, people expect Triple-A games from game developers. In addition to that, gamers expect these games to be free. All of these are happening because of the improvement of mobile hardware in the last decade.
Today, mobile devices have powerful processors, and they also have high-resolution displays. As such, game developers are under a lot of pressure. They must deliver games that must match PC standards. Of course, developing a Triple-A game is not cheap. There are a lot of production costs involved. The good news is that many gamers who demand Triple-A games for mobile are also spenders. It only takes one good title for a company to make a fortune.
2. Social Connections
People are more social nowadays, and they want to play games where they can involve their friends and family. Some players also want to be able to chat with others. The social element of gaming has become an expectation, thanks to other platforms. On Xbox, PC and PlayStation, gamers can chat with people they do not know, and they can do this with a chat box or via audio.
Social gaming is not just a trend. It will be here to stay. There is a higher tendency for a gamer to keep on playing the same game because of the social aspect of it.
3. Better Monetization Experience
People are tired of being bombarded with ads. Nothing destroys a gaming experience more than advertisements. Because of this, a game developer must adapt to the players’ demands. Ads will not go away. However, game providers must not show ads every minute. They are more likely to increase consumer retention if the players have ample time to enjoy the game before seeing an ad.
One trend that works so well is “rewarded ads.” People can watch an ad as many times as they want. In return, they get a free diamond or any in-game currency. This advertising model works because the player has an option. It makes players feel in control—and they are in control.
Game providers, of course, should not just rely on rewarded ads. However, they can blend it with a forced ad, so the players will not leave the game out of annoyance.
Gaming Statistics You Should Know
Here are some mind-blowing stats you need to know about the gaming industry.
- About 48% of gaming happens on computers – rightfully so; it is much more enjoyable to play on PC because of the quality of the games.
- Mobile games account for about 70% of gaming revenues – despite most gaming happening on PCs, the PC industry does not embrace the play-to-win model. As such, the mobile gaming industry has a higher revenue.
- 350 million people play instant games on Facebook – Facebook is still the king of social media. Almost all the games here are free, and people love to pass the time by playing games that do not require a huge investment in time and effort.
- There are more than 40 million gaming channels on YouTube – gamers want to connect with someone who has the same interest. It is for this reason that there is an audience that YouTube creators want to serve.
What Is the Future of Gaming?
There are two things that people are working on to advance the gaming industry. The first one is VR, and the second one is the metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg is serious in the metaverse. It is a platform where people would create an avatar and then move around the “digital universe.” In the metaverse, a person can also own digital properties. Today, the most common digital assets are NFTs and “digital real estate.”
Virtual Reality is now an existing technology, but then there is a lot of work to do to catch up with payer demands. For one, game developers must take it seriously by creating virtual environments worth the time and money of players. Soon, the metaverse and Virtual Reality will become one. Players will use VR headsets, but the platform where they play is the metaverse.
Gaming is here to stay. There will come a time when mobile may surpass the number of gamers and gaming activities worldwide. A mobile device is much more accessible than a desktop or laptop. Gamers are also changing, so we should see some major developments soon. For one, game developers are surely gearing up to make Triple-A games and bring them to the mobile community.
