AppAnnie report: Mobile games continue to grow, this year or more than 120 billion US dollars!

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GameLook report/Recently, App Annie released a trend report “Analysis of Mobile Games in 2021” based on the analysis of the performance of the global mobile game market in the first half of the year.

Unless otherwise specified, the data and charts in this article are from App Annie.

In March 2020, mobile game downloads exceeded 1 billion times per week for the first time, and this result was maintained in the first half of this year.

In the first half of 2021, on Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play, the average weekly global game downloads exceeded 1 billion times, an increase of 25% compared to the same period in 2019, and the average number of games played by players per week Time has also increased by 36% over the same period in 2019, exceeding 5 billion hours.

More aggressive downloads and longer game time will undoubtedly directly promote player consumption. Compared with the same period in 2019, in the first half of this year, the average weekly consumption of players on mobile games through the app store also exceeded US$1.7 billion, an increase of 40%, and the number of games with a total monthly consumption of more than US$1 million by players was also large. There are more than 810 games, of which 7 games have an average monthly user expenditure of more than 100 million U.S. dollars (only 2 games in 2019), an increase of 25%.

Although players around the world are gradually getting rid of the shadow of the epidemic, coupled with Apple’s IDFA policy on mobile advertising, many game companies have shown various sequelae in the latest financial reports, but the actual global mobile game market demand has been maintained. With strong growth momentum, there is no sign of slowing down.

In the first half of this year, player spending on mobile games reached 3.1 times that of home console games.

Based on the performance of the mobile game market and the continued enthusiasm of global players for mobile games in the first half of this year, App Annie predicts that in 2021, players will transfer more digital game consumption to mobile devices, and in 2021, global mobile Game spending is expected to exceed US$120 billion.

Mobile game won

In March 2020, as the world enters the era of epidemic isolation (the domestic market is gradually unblocking), countless users turn to games to seek psychological comfort in difficult times, or to socialize with friends online through games, consolidate social relationships, and socialize offline The disappearance of entertainment and entertainment has allowed the entire game industry, including mobile games, to achieve historic growth in the second quarter of 2020.

After that, game companies and market analysis agencies have actually managed to some extent the psychological expectation that after the epidemic has subsided, players will leave and growth will slow down.

However, App Annie stated in the report that even with the relaxation of home isolation worldwide and the return of offline entertainment and life, people are still playing the games they downloaded in the past year, and are continuing to make money. There has been no significant slowdown in game spending, at least it has not fallen back to the level of consumption before the epidemic.

In this regard, Sam Yang, senior vice president of global market operations at App Annie, said, “At home, when players have a choice, thanks to the portability of mobile devices and instant play, more players will choose mobile games. And At the same time, in recent years, the demand for high-end PCs and consoles has been in short supply, which has also made many players choose mobile games.”

With the enhancement of the software and hardware of mobile devices, the screen and gameplay of mobile games are getting closer to the quality of end games or host games, and this trend will even be strengthened. With the expansion of mobile games in the user groups of all ages, and traditional 3A game manufacturers have entered mobile games, the chain of discrimination between game players is gradually disappearing.

“The phone in your pocket is also a host,” Lexi Sydow, head of marketing insights at App Annie, said in an interview with foreign media.

However, the changes brought about by mobile games don’t stop there.

First of all, from a global perspective, female players have stood up. In the mobile game market of most countries in the top 1,000 mobile games by average MAU, the proportion of overall female players is generally about 10% higher than that of male players. In the United States, the gap is even as high as 28%.

Looking at the world, among the top 1,000 mobile games with average MAU rankings in various countries, the only two regions with more male players than female players are Japan (56% males) and South Korea (53% males).

From the data of various countries, the two favorite games of female players are “Among Us” and “ROBLOX”.

Secondly, in terms of geographic location, India is the world’s largest mobile game market in terms of downloads, while Brazil, Indonesia and Russia are ranked 3-5 in the ranking of game downloads in the first half of this year. The mobile game market is becoming mature, and App Annie It is predicted that these regions will usher in rapid growth in the next few years.

From the point of view of the average monthly user expenditures in mobile games per device, thanks to the payment service of Japanese operators, online payments can be made without entering credit card information. Japanese players have become the world’s favorite in-game krypton. For Kim’s players, South Korea ranked second and China (iOS) ranked fifth.

At the same time, the global influence of Chinese games is also expanding. Following the Asia-Pacific region, products developed and released by Chinese mobile game companies rank first in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and some markets in Africa in terms of the scale of player downloads and expenditures.

Mobile gamers who are addicted to eating chicken and RPG games

According to App Annie’s statistics, in the global mobile game market in the first half of this year, ultra-casual games accounted for the largest share of downloads, shooting games took the lead in game length, and role-playing games performed best in terms of monetization, and strategy games Together, these two types of games brought nearly 50% of player spending globally in the first half of the year.

In the first half of 2021, ultra-casual games accounted for one-third of mobile game downloads, with 6.8 billion downloads, which is 2 times higher than 2 years ago and nearly 5 times higher than 3 years ago . Among them, puzzle ultra-casual games are the most downloaded category of ultra-casual games, and action ultra-casual games have the highest growth rate in downloads compared with the same period last year, at 37%.

More importantly, in the first half of 2021, about half of the new ultra-casual games generated at least 5 million downloads, which is of great significance for the frequently updated ultra-casual games.

In terms of game duration, hardcore games such as shooting and action drove the growth of 50% of the game duration. According to the market share of game duration, the top three subcategories were chicken games, MOBA and sandbox games. Chicken-eating games represented by “Free Fire” accounted for 16% of the overall game time, while MOBA games represented by “Glory of the King” accounted for 12% of the game time.

Moreover, App Annie also predicts that with the high participation of players who have 35% more game openings per month than the mobile game of “PUBG Mobile”, “Free Fire” launched by Garena is now second only to “Jedi” in terms of revenue. On the basis of the mobile game “Survival”, “Free Fire” will occupy a leading position in the second half of this year. In the category of chicken-eating games, global revenue surpasses the former.

Finally, there is game spending. As the most successful category in app store monetization, role-playing games with strong social elements have also seen new changes. In all popular games, the functional importance of cross-platform gameplay has become more and more prominent, and players have a strong demand for the ability to access the same game progress across devices.

Take “Pokemon Go” as an example. Compared with the revenue of other games in the 10 months of global release, “Pokemon Go” has surpassed “Pokemon Go” and became the number one game in terms of player spending. Represented by games such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and COD, more and more game companies will choose to expand the mobile game market, expand the audience of game IP, and extend the life cycle of the game. App Annie believes that the revenue of the original God is growing rapidly. The special feature is that the mobile game is basically the same as the host and PC version.

In any case, mobile games will continue to grow

App Annie has a very positive attitude towards the future development of the mobile game market

When asked what the uncertainty of the current epidemic will bring, Sam Yang said that mobile games may still prosper. “If people are forced to stay indoors, they will play more mobile games. If they go out, they will play more mobile games.”

“In any case, I think the duration of mobile games will continue to grow.”

In the report, according to App Annie’s predictions, in most parts of the world, ultra-casual games will still drive the growth of downloads.

The traditional dominant categories of each mobile game market may change. Take Japan as an example. The idol training simulation game “The Horse Race” surpassed all role-playing games and became the highest-paid game in Japan in the first half of this year. It also promoted the steady growth of domestic simulation games in Japan.

Finally, social functions are still important for many mobile game categories. Even if home isolation can be relaxed on a global scale, online social networking and multiplayer games will still be players’ rigid needs. Social is the biggest driver of overall user spending in mobile games, and App Annie also predicts that this will be a key growth area in 2021 and beyond.

Of course, in an interview with foreign media, Sam Yang also emphasized the expansion of games in other entertainment fields. A typical example is the recent concert held by Ariana Grande in “Fortress Night” and the entry of Netflix. The move of the gaming industry.

Whether it is the active exposure of games to other forms of entertainment, or the acceptance and absorption of games by social popular culture, games will be integrated into the cultural system of modern society in a more flexible form.

Finally, the game rankings of the global game market are attached:

Comparing the first half of 2021 with the second half of 2020, the world’s most popular breakthrough games

Top global games in the first half of 2021

Top global game publishers in the first half of 2021

This Article is curated from Source and we only provide the English version of the Story.

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