The smartphone has made gaming much more accessible, but much like console and PC gaming, mobile gaming is not immune to the swings of the market.
Spending and downloads of mobile games across genres fell by 9.6 percent year-on-year according to data from Sensor Tower. The firm analysed 14 genres from across the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and there is some interesting data to glean, even if it is exclusively for the US market.
For one, arcade games (which are similar to games you’d find in an old-school arcade) saw revenue climb 14.8 percent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Tabletop games for mobile saw 0.9 percent growth and those are the only two genres that saw any sort of revenue growth. The biggest loser was the racing genre which saw revenue 28.8 percent lower than a year ago.
“Factors such as a rise in the cost of living, inflation, and privacy changes like IDFA deprecation have combined for a negative impact on the industry,” explains mobile insights strategist for the EMEA region at Sensor Tower, Craig Chapple.
“The ending of many social distancing restrictions from the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic has also seen consumers engage with other activities outside of gaming. This doesn’t mean publishers can’t be successful and launch popular new titles, but an industry-wide rebound in the latter half of the year will likely depend on an improvement in macroeconomic factors, and whether publishers are able to adapt to privacy challenges,” Chapple adds.
The mention of IDFA depreciation is important. Also known as an Identifier for Advertisers, this allowed advertisers to track iOS users. This feature was depreciated in iOS 14.5 and it has hurt advertisers. The biggest example of this is Meta which has blamed Apple’s protection of its users for revenue declines on multiple occasions.
What we will admit is rather surprising is that advertisers continue to blame Apple’s actions for hurting their bottom line. One would think that the best thing to do would be to take action and find new ways to serve users relevant advertising. Instead, it seems as if the sector has simply thrown up its hands in defeat.
While the data from Sensor Tower isn’t good news, perhaps it will help inspire a shift in mobile gaming. Perhaps, if your business model relies so much on selling user data and charging exorbitant fees for microtransactions, it’s time to pivot.
[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]
