Gaming is one of the most significant industries in the smartphone and mobile devices market, generating commercial transactions of over $86 billion a year. In the past decade, the democratization of access to smartphones and the increasing competition within the gaming sector has led to a boost in the mobile gaming business.
Overall, the impact of mobile devices on the global economy has been tremendous. For instance, according to the latest data, there are currently over 6.2 billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide. This number is expected to grow by a billion in the next four years. These figures are particularly relevant, considering that six years ago, in 2016, there were only 3.6 billion smartphone subscriptions.
The New Wave of Mobile Games
Thanks to smartphones, video games have become much more accessible. Before this, users would have to own specific devices, such as consoles or computers capable of running games. However, smartphones have changed all that as they have the ability to serve countless functions and still store all of your favorite games, with many options being available for free.
In fact, even if we take into account paid games, they still make up 72% of all revenue on app stores. At the same time, it has also been reported that consumers spent over $116 billion globally in 2021 on mobile games. This number is an increase of 15% in comparison to 2020 and 20% higher profit than other combined platforms, including PC and consoles.
In line with this exponential growth, several sectors within the mobile gaming industry are booming. One of the most relevant is the online gambling market which is currently valued at $59 billion worldwide. Online casinos and sports betting have been at the heart of this expansion as providers have diversified their offers and made their platforms increasingly attractive. For instance, users looking to join an online casino will find a slots welcome bonus at the most popular options or a bingo bonus in their first deposit. In addition, online casinos now feature innovative gambling games, such as live blackjack and roulette, with real dealers.
Reframing Gaming and New Trends
The growth of the mobile gaming industry has led to the rise of a new type of gamer, one that actively downloads new games and is open to trying all sorts of games. In fact, when looking at mobile games, they often become viral because of their impact on social media and their ability to establish themselves as the latest trend.
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As a result, game studios, including streaming giant Netflix, have heavily invested in the development of new innovative games that can be the next big hit. This has also led to the growing diversification of game categories and the crossover of different genres. Nowadays, some of the most popular types are puzzle, arcade and action, among others.
All these categories are incredibly competitive as they are aimed at different types of gamers with specific behavioral patterns. As an example, recent studies indicate that casual gaming users, who tend to focus on puzzles, arcade games and social gambling, tend to delete and install new games frequently. On the other hand, games that require learning time, or involve high competitiveness, appeal to more dedicated users that try out fewer games and have their own go-to titles.
Ultimately, the gaming industry has greatly benefited from the rise in smartphone use and has even found new ways to monetize games and increase revenues. Over the next few years, mobile gaming is only expected to become even more relevant as there are now more gaming phones that can help take the mobile gaming experience to the next level.
