We’re past the half way point in 2022, and industry analysts have been watching the mobile gaming market closely to identify the evolving trends in this rapidly developing sector. NewZoo reports that of the 2.7 billion gamers on the planet, 2.5 billion play mobile games. It’s a pastime that touches all of us, either directly or indirectly.
AAA games making the leap to mobile
There has been this question hanging over the gaming sector for a few years now. Is the console era coming to an end? The answer has always been that while console gaming remains the pinnacle, then it will remain part of the picture. People can download free mobile games by the million, that’s fine, just as long as they continue to camp out in queues overnight, waiting for the shops to open so they can spend $100 on the latest edition of FIFA for their X-box.
In short, the indicators are that this is less likely to happen in the years ahead. FIFA is an example of a game that is trying to keep a foot in each camp. The latest version of FIFA mobile is much better than its predecessor. In fact, it’s not so different to the “full” console game, and therein lies the problem for EA Sport. Marketing a mobile game as a free, “lite” version of your AAA console cash cow is just not going to cut it in 2022.
Mobile casino is go
This is a point that the iGaming sector embraced some years ago. Over the past two to three years, mobile casino providers have shaken off old-fashioned thinking of making their platforms mobile friendly or even mobile first. So few visitors arrive via anything other than a mobile device that it seems pointless to even consider anything other than mobile only.
It’s not necessarily as easy as it might sound. If it were just a case of people logging on to play slot games and video poker apps, that would be one thing, but today’s casino platforms place more emphasis on live games played in real time with a human host or a dealer over a webcam. New brands are competing with long-established names from the casino world. It’s worth keeping an eye on a comparison site like gambleonline.co/en-in/casino/mobile/ to understand the range of games available, the comparative deals they have on offer and so on.
Hyper casual hit 10 billion installs
Bigger than the AAA and bigger than the iGaming, though, are the hyper casual games. People install hyper casual games for a little idle distraction and oh boy, do these meet the needs of the times.
A report published by Sensor Tower showed that general adoption of the top hyper casual gaming categories grew by 45 percent and that total installs crossed the 10 billion threshold in 2020. Distraction is what it’s all about, even if it just means a few minutes time out to gather one’s thoughts.
