Mobile Gaming Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Market Overview

The mobile gaming market is expected to register a CAGR of 12.6% during the forecast period, 2021 - 2026. The growing smartphone penetration and technology advancement with the increasing adoption of trending technologies for developing games are major factors in developing the mobile gaming industry.​

• The growing smartphone penetration and technology advancement with the increasing adoption of trending technologies for developing games are major factors in developing the mobile gaming industry.
• The gaming industry worldwide is expanding, and smartphone is playing a significant role in this expansion. The development of mobile games has resulted in scalability for the gaming industry. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have also started to develop innovative mobile games to ensure high product differentiation and benefit from engaging games to enhance their advertisement strategies.
• Many governments around the globe are also establishing funds to support the local gaming industry, which is also expected to develop space for mobile games. For instance, in 2019, the German government allocated EUR 50 million for the creation of a games fund. The Sweden Game Arena in Sweden is a public-private partnership that helps students develop games using government-funded offices and equipment.
• In-game purchase, i.e., the option to purchase additional privileges within the games, is a significant revenue-generating channel for the mobile gaming industry. The flexibility for in-game payment methods is also facilitating the growth of mobile gaming revenues worldwide.
• Despite geopolitical tensions, the growing smartphone penetration and increasing gaming options are also increasing the mobile gaming penetration in many parts of the world. For instance, according to White Designers Game Studios, in Iran, with a population of 82 million and a smartphone penetration rate of about 35% (in 2018), there are more than 30 million active mobile gaming players in the country.
• As most countries globally are under lockdown to control the spread of the virus, there has been significant growth in the consumption of digital entertainment, including mobile games. The major gaming vendors have witnessed strong growth in downloads of multiple types of mobile games in the COVID-19 affected markets.

Scope of the Report

Gaming is defined as playing electronic games conducted through multiple varieties of means, such as through the use of computers, mobile phones, consoles, or another medium altogether. There is an increasing prevalence of high-speed internet connections, especially in emerging economies, which has made online gaming practical for more people in recent years. ​

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Key Market Trends

Free-to-play Pricing Model Offers Potential Growth

• Free-to-play is the pricing model preferred by most mobile game developers because of its unlimited potential and can be downloaded without any charge. This allows players to sample a game before deciding whether they want to commit time or money and tend to accrue higher revenues.
• Games such as Pokémon GO are following a free-to-play game model, and according to Bank of America, in the United States in 2016, 27 million users were playing this. It is estimated to cross 67 million by 2020. Moreover, in the Asia-Pacific region, the number of players is set to expand from 84 million to 311 million in the same timeframe. Therefore, the increasing number of users is expected to have a positive outlook on the market.
• Further, Hyper Casual games mostly monetize through advertising and captured more than half of all gaming app downloads by 2017. Seeing the future in such games, Zynga acquired Gram Games for USD 250 million in 2018, and in the same year, Goldman Sachs also invested USD 200 million in Voodoo.
• Moreover, this model is expected to evolve with the development of technologies such as augmented reality and 5G. With the deployment of 5G, coupled with faster download speeds, it is expected by the advertising videos to increase in quality and engagement.
• For instance, in April 2019, Hatch, together with Samsung, launched 5G cloud gaming in the United States with the Hatch for Samsung app launch. With Samsung’s first flagship 5G phone, the Galaxy S10 5G, customers were able to play popular games like Hitman GO, Monument Valley, and Arkanoid Rising instantly over streaming.
• Therefore, due to the factors mentioned above, the free-to-play pricing model is expected to drive mobile gaming in the future.

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