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Charity Effort Through Mobile Gaming: 5 Examples of Games Giving Back
Mobile game developers are increasingly integrating charitable initiatives into their live operations to engage players and support global causes.
- Mobile game developers are increasingly using limited-time in-app purchase (IAP) offers for cosmetic items to raise funds and awareness for charitable causes.
- Sky: Children of the Light raised over $1 million for Doctors Without Borders in May 2020 and helped plant 40,000 trees through a reforestation partnership with One Tree Planted.
- Supercell supported Australian wildfire relief efforts by donating 100% of the net proceeds from 'Koala Nita' skin sales in Brawl Stars through March 2020.
The Most Unbelievable Collaboration Events in Chinese and Japanese Mobile Games
Promotional collaboration events serve as a powerful tool for mobile game developers to drive engagement and retention, particularly in the Asian market.
- Collaboration events are a major driver of engagement in Asian markets, with 62% of the top 100 grossing games in Japan and 51% in China implementing them as of August 2021.
- In the US market, promotional collaboration events are a key differentiator, appearing in 40% of the top 100 grossing games compared to only 9% of games outside the top 100.
- Collaboration events are highly effective at driving revenue, evidenced by a 126-fold single-day spike in in-app purchase revenue for Alice Gear Aegis following an event and a $1 million daily peak for Sky: Children of the Light during a Kizuna Ai partnership.
Plus: The Post-Summer Sale (Semi)-Rush of Game Hype
This analysis examines the state of game discovery and market performance following the Steam Summer Sale, focusing on upcoming releases and recent launches across Steam, Nintendo Switch, and Twitch.
- Construction and management sims are high-performing categories, evidenced by The Immortal Mayor securing over 15,000 followers and 150,000 wishlists prior to its July 2021 launch.
- Established franchises like F1 2021 maintain strong market momentum, building on a predecessor that achieved 20,000 Steam reviews and estimated lifetime sales of 500,000 to 1 million units.
- Marketing strategies involving free 'prologues' are effective for indie discovery, as demonstrated by the traction gained by SuchArt: Genius Artist Simulator.
Plus: Next Week's Hype Makes an Ascent to the Starbase
Analysis of Steam Hype data and platform sales charts for late July 2021 reveals a busy release window dominated by high-profile indie and mid-tier titles.
- The Nintendo Switch digital ecosystem is shifting toward free-to-play titles like Pokémon Unite and Sky: Children of the Light, which is negatively impacting the discoverability and sales performance of new premium indie games.
- Starbase and The Ascent are the primary drivers of Steam consumer interest for late July 2021, with Starbase entering Early Access backed by 40,000 followers.
- Death’s Door achieved breakout success with a 92% positive review rate, while Cris Tales underperformed commercially due to technical instability and a $40 price point.
Why Game Stories Matter
Effective storytelling serves as a critical driver for player retention and monetization in the mobile gaming industry.
- Strong emotional investment through storytelling reduces player price sensitivity, making users more likely to spend money on in-game purchases.
- Effective narrative design acts as a retention tool, keeping players engaged over the long term by creating a sense of 'falling in love' with the game world.
- Genshin Impact demonstrates that integrating storytelling into live operations—such as voice-acted questlines and unique narratives for seasonal events—is a highly effective engagement strategy.
Top Hyper-Casual Games Worldwide: December 2019
This analysis identifies the leading hyper-casual mobile games by global download volume for December 2019.
- SayGames' 'Sand Balls' was the most downloaded hyper-casual game globally in December 2019, generating over 32.8 million installs.
- Homa Games' 'Sky Roller' secured the second position with more than 19 million global installs during the same period.
- India was the primary market for 'Sand Balls,' accounting for 40 percent of its total downloads, while Brazil contributed 6 percent.
Top Mobile Games Worldwide for December 2019 by Downloads
The mobile gaming market experienced significant activity in December 2019, with Brain Out emerging as the most downloaded title worldwide, securing approximately 41 million installs.
- Eyewind’s 'Brain Out' was the most downloaded mobile game worldwide in December 2019, securing nearly 41 million installs.
- Ruby Game Studio’s 'Hunter Assassin' ranked second globally with over 40 million installs, driven primarily by India (33%) and Brazil (8%).
- The top five most downloaded games for December 2019 were 'Brain Out', 'Hunter Assassin', 'Johnny Trigger', 'Sand Balls', and 'Ink Inc.'
GameDaily Connect 2019 Highlights: Familiar Challenges Persist, But Fresh Ideas Abound
GameDaily Connect 2019, held in Anaheim, California, served as a focal point for analyzing the evolving landscape of the mobile gaming industry.
- thatgamecompany’s mobile-first title 'Sky: Children of the Light' surpassed one million installs in less than a week and has grossed over $1 million with more than two million total downloads.
- Mobile developers are increasingly adopting rewarded video monetization, a strategy that has expanded beyond casual and hyper-casual genres to become a standard industry practice.
- The industry continues to struggle with persistent operational challenges, specifically rising user acquisition costs, development crunch, and a growing need for better diversity and representation.
September 2018 US iOS Market Facebook Platform Mobile Game Ad Share Top 20
The September 2018 analysis of the United States iOS mobile gaming market highlights the dominance of Chinese developers in Facebook advertising.
- In September 2018, Chinese mobile game developers dominated the US iOS Facebook advertising market, securing all of the top five positions in share of voice.
- The top-ranked game for advertising share on Facebook was 'Game of Sultans' by Mechanist Games.
- Nine Chinese-developed games appeared in the top 20 list for Facebook ad spend in the US iOS market during September 2018.
iOS Gaming Leaders: February 2016
The February 2016 iOS gaming landscape was characterized by a seasonal contraction in download volume, alongside the emergence of high-performing indie titles and celebrity-branded games.
- Global iOS game downloads declined 7.5% in February 2016, falling from 688 million in January to 636 million.
- U.S. iOS game downloads dropped 15% month-over-month to 158 million, though this figure represented a 9.7% increase year-over-year.
- The indie title 'Color Switch' maintained the No. 1 spot for U.S. downloads and reached the top of the worldwide download charts, following a 23-day streak as the top iPhone app in the U.S.
Games Lift: Honeybeak Aim for the Sky
The Games Lift incubator program in Hamburg serves as a developmental hub for emerging indie game studios, providing mentorship and structural guidance to help teams refine their projects and professional operations.
- The Games Lift incubator in Hamburg provides indie studios with mentorship in market analysis, pitch development, and production planning to bridge the gap between academic concepts and market-ready products.
- Honeybeak, a four-person team of graduates from the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, utilized the incubator to refine the genre and narrative focus of their project, ForeFeathers.
- ForeFeathers is a story-rich exploration game featuring a penguin character that explores themes of cultural appreciation and generational tension within a world of floating island ruins.