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Mobile gaming is a billion-dollar industry on this planet. The gaming market is growing at a remarkably fast pace. Gone are the days when people thought PCs and consoles would be the only sector that would affect the gaming industry. In the last 5-8 years, the popularity of mobile games has increased much more than PC or console games, which shows that the number of mobile games has increased more than PC and console.
So what's that mean? Is mobile becoming the next big thing in the gaming industry?
If we talk about numbers, you will surely see a massive difference between PC gamers and mobile gamers, but it does not mean that PC or console gamers forget their platform. The only difference is that they are expanding their gaming portfolio to another platform, mobile gaming Esports.
You may be surprised to hear that, now in 2022, 90% pc and console players have become mobile gamers, and 10% are still into PCs and Consoles. Later on, we will confirm it through some accurate statistics.
But why is there a big difference in number?
The availability of mobile phones is a significant factor in making a big difference in the numbers. Smartphones have been easy to use from the beginning, but PCs and consoles are still very expensive to buy. Let's look at some key statistics and find out where the mobile gaming industry really stands.
Technavio's market sizing methodology has estimated that the mobile gaming industry size is predicted to reach $66.43 billion from 2021-2026 at an accelerating CAGR of 12.26%.
Mobile Gaming Market Research Insights has also given a clear picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mobile gaming industry. There is no denying that mobile gaming was on trend even before the pandemic, but the real boom happened during the pandemic. The Pandemic Mobile Gaming report says that several market vendors, such as Activision Blizzard, EA Games, Epic Games, Ubisoft, etc., helped them evaluate their business approach to mobile games.
With its increasing popularity in recent years, Esports has officially become the fastest-growing sporting genre globally. According to a report by Newzoo, the global gaming market revenue for 2021 was estimated to reach $1.0 billion. Global revenues were generated around $947.1 million at a CAGR of 14.5% as compared to 2020. Juniper Research estimates that global e-sports and game streaming revenue is expected to reach more than $3.5 billion by 2025.
Gamers are now getting almost the same PC and Console gaming experience on mobile phones. With emerging advancements in technologies like cloud gaming and 5G services, it is no out-of-the-box thing that mobile gaming has evolved and revolutionized from just a casual gaming platform to a strong competitor to PC and Console games.
The mobile gaming genre is growing at a stable rate and is expected to take over the majority share of the gaming market very soon. In 2020, PC gaming accounted for 23%-25% of market revenue and Console gaming 31%, while mobile gaming accounted for 46%. By the end of this year, mobile gaming will account for more than half of global gaming marketing revenue.
All these stats can give you an estimate, but the reality is that the mobile gaming market is nowhere close to going down. The mobile Esports journey is gaining its footing across the globe, and soon many other genres of mobile games will be competing with Esports games like PUBG (known as BGMI in India), COD Mobile, League of Legends, etc. Recently, many companies have shown interest and invested a lot in dragon tiger game development to reach out to maximum online casino gamers worldwide.
The mobile gaming market has become such a big thing in the entertainment sector because of the various compact benefits of mobile phone games. Mobile gaming accounts for half of total gaming revenue, with the other half split about equally between PC and Console games. Following are some of the reasons that have contributed to the immense success of the mobile gaming industry.
Many mobile games have evolved since smartphones were first popularized about 10 years ago. Mobile games offer more superficial and unrealistic graphics and limited gameplay modes compared to PC and Console games. Due to the difference in aesthetics and gameplay, serious gamers have always chosen Consoles and Gaming PCs over mobile gaming.
However, things are changing rapidly. Thanks to advanced and new-gen technologies, AAA title games are now easily playable on smartphones. The biggest eye-catching thing is graphics, and the current mobile games have it all. The new era of mobile games has brought an extra improvement in visually and user interaction that enhances an overall gaming experience for the user. Crossover games for mobile include ports (controllers and attachable components) of games already available on Consoles and PC, as well as multiplatform games that can be played on multiple platforms.
Today's mobile phones have become influential over the years. They are capable of processing data at a high-speed rate and very large amounts in seconds and also have massive storage capacity. This has made it possible for many game developers to develop better games containing a large amount of data, which was previously impossible due to hardware restrictions.
Games like COD Mobile, Pubg, League of legends, and Sky: Children of Light would have been impossible and tough to develop without recent hardware and technology advancements.
Color prediction game development companies are now looking for ways to improve the gaming experience by promoting color prediction games on smartphones. One way they do this is through controllers that fit the mobile form factor.
The Nintendo Switch and Razer have recently released a mobile game controller that can be paired on either side of the smartphone. Unlike other types of mobile game controllers that require the phone to be clipped to the controller, Razer's controller is more suited to the inventiveness and functionality of a gaming mobile phone. There are many types of mobile game controllers that have made similar and impactful progress in the mobile gaming industry.
Smartphones have become the ideal easy to access, rapidly reducing costs for mobile game developers. Game production costs were higher in the past, and marketing costs were also significantly higher than in today's scenario. As a result, several issues hassled the gaming industry to reach higher possibilities in enlarging the mobile gaming market and stabilizing it for the future. Most of the games can be downloaded from Play Store or App Store with just one click on the install button, thanks to their high level of accessibility.
Nowadays, game development expenses have been drastically cut, and revenue comes primarily from in-app purchases. This is all because of improvements in mobile graphics, exceptional sound quality, and new gaming mechanisms. Games are more interconnecting, eye-soothing, and fun than ever. With technological advancements and the approach of game development companies, millions of gamers are engaging in mobile gaming as a regular activity. Today's gamers love to play MMOGs and MMORPGs type games more than shooting or puzzles. Virtual and Augmented reality technologies will turn your room into a racing track or a battlefield.
The accessibility of smartphones has turned the table the other way around. Due to the ease of mobile accessibility, most people prefer gaming on mobile. The mobile gaming technology advancement benefited the mobile game developers to develop interactive and user engagement games. They develop mobile games that attract broad users from worldwide.
These games are easy to access from the Play Store and Apple App Store. Any age of user can download and install those games to reach a broader audience in the iGaming sector. Mobile users are more than PC or Console users; therefore, the reach of mobile gaming is broadly worldwide.
The advancement of mobile technology has led game developers to deliver a similar PC game experience on mobile as well. Today's smartphones are too compact and robust to handle multiple heavy tasks like gaming and productivity.
The high graphic games can render high-end processor smartphones themselves. These smartphones offer nearly the same gaming experience and performance as PCs and consoles. The Asus smartphones are the perfect example that does heavy tasks and gaming simultaneously without complications.
Major publishers such as Riot Games, EA, Konami, Bethesda, and Ubisoft have entered the mobile game market in recent years. And they have brought their big privileges to mobile.
For example, Riot Games has released League of Legends: Wild Rift on iOS and Android, the much anticipated and requested mobile version of their acclaimed League of Legends franchise. Similarly, EA Games has invested heavily in FIFA in recent years. And so did their competitor Konami with their FIFA competitor PES Online.
Meanwhile, Bethesda made a mobile game in its acclaimed Elder Scrolls series, Blade. In comparison, Ubisoft has released some Assassin's Creed game collections.
Mobile game developers have introduced new monetization strategies in recent years to better monetize their players. The new monetization model has helped developers generate more revenue and increase the overall revenue share of the global mobile gaming industry.
Additionally, Ads have become more attractive now. Game developers have integrated new ways of ad formats like playable ads and attractive banners. Moreover, reward ads have become a new lead to generate more revenue. These ads reward players for watching them with in-game perks and have grown in popularity.
Membership or Subscription models have also been introduced and led to great success. Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass are two great examples. Both give users access to a list of monthly paid games for free. Apart from these two companies, individual games like PUBG and Apex legends have also successfully monetized users with subscription-type revenue models.
These types of subscription models have been applied not only in the gaming sector but also in the entertainment sector; for example, Netflix and Hotstar.
The introduction of cloud game services was introduced by Nvidia, Google, and Microsoft in recent years. The cloud game services allow players to play PC or Console games on their mobile phones via the internet connection.
This is an innovative thing that has become a new trend in the mobile gaming market. Soon Amazon and Nintendo Switch will release cloud gaming services as well. In the future, mobile gamers can play all PC and Console games on their smartphone without any complication.
There is a specific type of game that requires a high level of expertise. Some gamers try to get ahead of their game, which often requires particular mastering combinations and playing the game multiple times as the producers intended. Those games are for hardcore gamers who constantly play them to be good at it.
However, brainstorming gaming is not always as hard. They are also designed to be simple for everyone to play. The continuation of play can make things a little easier. Competitiveness is the reason why gamers love to play games. They like to challenge other players to become better than them. Games like Pubg, Apex legends, and Asphalt 9 legends are great and perfect examples of hardcore gaming. These games have billions of players who play daily. Gamers play those games, not for fun but to compete and become leaderboard champions.
We are completely familiar with 4G networks, but the 5G has a lot to offer, especially mobile gaming. However, 5G has not been entirely rolled out worldwide. In a few countries, this mobile network. Sooner or later, it will roll out, and its most significant impact will be on the gaming sector. The 5G mobile network is 20X faster than current 4G networks, and its low latency technology helps improve the overall mobile gaming experience.
The powerful 5G mobile networks will help mobile gaming compete with PC and Console games. It will reduce and cut latency down to 5 milliseconds, which means mobile gamers will not face any lag inputs, and the overall gameplay experience will be on top. This is just a matter of time before 5G will cover the mobile gaming industry.
Mobile gaming is on the rise, and it's better than what it used to be a couple of years ago. Now the table has turned, and many users are attracted to new-gen and improved graphic mobile games. Many streamers are getting their hands on those mobile games to reach large viewers. And so do game development companies by investing more in mobile games to reach a broader range of mobile game audiences.
Mobile games will undoubtedly take a long time to compete with the graphics of PC and console games. However, the current graphics that mobile games offer are almost similar and share the same gaming experience as PC and Console games. Many game developers are working hard and pushing their boundaries to cross the limitations that stop mobile games from delivering the same performance and quality that Console games offer.
DC Kumawat is the CEO of Orion InfoSolutions, a leading provider of IT solutions to businesses of all sizes. He has over 14+ years of experience in the IT industry. He is a passionate advocate for the use of technology to improve business performance.