Lion Studios

2019 Predictions: The Hyper-Casual Party, as We Know It, Will End

Mobile arcade games had a breakout 2018, but the hyper-casual segment driving that growth is already maturing, according to this analysis of the Arcade category within casual games.

• The hyper-casual market matured rapidly in 2018, characterized by slowing quarter-over-quarter download growth, increased competition, and rising user acquisition costs.
• Hyper-casual games experienced significant growth in 2018, with a greater than 200% year-over-year increase in downloads and a nearly 340% increase in in-app purchase (IAP) revenue.
• To combat low long-term retention, successful hyper-casual publishers are shifting toward hybrid monetization models that combine ad revenue with deeper IAP systems, such as subscriptions and light meta-game designs.