Staying in the game

It’s safe to say that the notion of mobile apps and their absolute utility to brands and consumers has been cemented by the pandemic

Apps are literally everywhere and the acceleration towards a more app-focused world is not likely to slow down any time soon. The mobile gaming vertical, in particular, has seen staggering growth over the last 12 months. As more and more brands turn to gaming apps as an invaluable and authentic channel through which to interact and communicate with their users, expect that growth trend to continue - even after the pandemic recedes.

At YouAppi, we’ve experienced the mobile gaming trend first hand. We saw explosive growth in 2020- despite the pandemic. This growth was tied directly to our laser focus on the gaming vertical as well as to the elevation of our retargeting solution, ReAppi, where we saw 100% growth in revenue from the start of the pandemic forward. The gaming industry proved itself to be a particularly pandemic-resistant vertical. More time spent isolating at home meant more time spent on mobile devices oftentimes with games.

The global game sector is now estimated to be worth $175 billion - that’s 20 percent higher than initial predictions. Game downloads have increased more than 42% YoY in 2020. Games represented 40% of all Google Play and iOS downloads in 2020. In total, gaming is predicted to reach nearly 3BN people by 2023. It’s clearly a global phenomenon with plenty of runway to grow.

On both iOS and Google Play, games were in the top 3 for growth globally. Mobile games took $0.71 of every dollar generated across iOS and Google Play combined. This reflects the year’s mobile gaming gold rush and yet, as this trend continues in 2021, it’s useful to consider why.

Part of gaming’s success during the pandemic is tied to its growth as a social platform that helps connect users. In the face of social isolation and quarantining gaming has come to represent a great alternative way to spend time with socially distanced family and friends. More people are playing mobile games today than ever before and social interaction is a major reason why. 56%tof frequent gamers play multiplayer games and 55 % say that video games help them stay connected with their friends, according to the Entertainment Software Association.

When it comes to entertainment, gaming is also driving more ad revenue than the US sport and film industry combined! Playable ads have helped spur that growth as they’ve become an increasingly popular ad format largely due to their ability to give consumers the chance to experience a game before downloading it. A recent survey conducted revealed 46 percent of game developers consider immersive in-game advertising a key opportunity for monetization. 2021 will see more game developers take advantage of this unique ad type, as well as new and immersive interactive ad formats - such as Snap’s deal with Unity - to reach more players.

If the past year has taught us anything it’s that mobile gaming will likely continue its meteoric rise. Key social features such as chat, friend invites, video chat, and competitive multiplayer modes will continue to drive mobile gaming adoption and market share The big question that remains, however, is will media habits adopted during the pandemic revert as COVID-19 eventually fades? The smart money says no but this will be the key challenge for mobile games going forward.