Mobile gaming has been on the rise over the last decade. Since the release of smartphones, gaming on mobile has evolved a lot from just hurling furious birds at piles of pigs. Mobile gaming revenue accounted for 51% of total gaming revenue in 2018, with this figure expected to reach 54% in 2019 and 57% by the close of 2020. This is because more people are engaging with the ease of mobile gaming, compared to the hardware needed for console gaming.

2020 will see the yield reach $165.9 billion, up from 2019’s $151.9 billion. But, what other trends are we expected to see in mobile gaming in 2020?

Cross-Platform Gaming

Cross-platform play will continue to develop throughout 2020. For example, we’ve already seen a synthesis between Pokémon. Go on mobile and Pokémon Sword and Shield on the Nintendo Switch console due to the Pokémon Home ability for cross-platform trades. Cross-platform Google Stadia’s rollout and wider adoption will see a rise in cloud-based cross-platform gaming as people are attracted to its style of gameplay that requires only an internet connection. While it is still early days, Stadia could become the de facto mode of gaming due to its gateway nature.

Hyper Casual Gaming

Despite being able to play Slingo Bingo since the 1990s when it was developed, the modern take on the classic bingo game has been optimized for mobile devices. This reflects the growth of mobile and the understanding of companies that mobile will be a key battleground when it comes to gaming and engaging with simple and fun games. This also reflects the trend of the growth of hyper casual games that mobile gaming will see. From reky to Starbeard, hyper-casual games will see continued growth. Due to the fact that we want to game on the go and for shorter bursts, these games help fill in a gap where a longer campaign may be inappropriate.

AR Gaming

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite has helped show how popular AR gaming on mobile devices can be. From this, we will see more games be developed that take advantage of the surroundings, and interactions with your environment will be incorporated into the game. Fodder for the upcoming AR games includes TV shows Stranger Things and The Walking Dead. Players will work together to solve puzzles, and the map function will be used to personalize the game to the player’s location in the former while running from zombies will be in the latter.

Mobile gaming continues to show experts just how versatile our smartphones can be. The main reason for its success and the continued investment in the games is the fact that mobile gaming doesn’t require anything but the mobile to play it. So, if players are convinced to become gamers, the natural first exposure they will have to gaming will be through the phone they carry with them anyway. This opens it up to investors for more of a guarantee and explains why mobile gaming is growing in areas that other forms of gaming haven’t yet even attempted.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.