Mobile reports and market data

Report on App Categories

This report analyzes market share shifts and performance trends across non-gaming app categories, utilizing a proprietary classification system more granular than standard app store categories.

• Video apps, led by YouTube, Twitch, and BIGO LIVE, represent the highest growth category in Western markets as of early 2020.
• Video-on-demand services account for 20% of total in-app purchase revenue in Eastern markets.
• Asian markets demonstrate a higher density of apps with high average lifetime value (LTV) compared to Western markets.

Game VR/AR: Make Your Game Run on Quest (and Look Pretty Too)

Achieving high-quality virtual reality experiences on the Oculus Quest requires a rigorous commitment to performance optimization, as maintaining a consistent frame rate of 60 to 72 frames per second is essential to prevent user discomfort.

• Maintain a consistent frame rate of 60 to 72 frames per second to ensure user comfort and prevent motion sickness on the Oculus Quest.
• Limit draw calls to fewer than 120 per frame to stay within the hardware's strict mobile performance budget.
• Prioritize efficient rendering pipelines by utilizing forward rendering, single-pass stereo, and fixed foveated rendering.

Social Casino: Genre Outlook 2020

The social casino market has transitioned from a high-growth sector into a mature, stable industry characterized by consistent revenue generation and high-efficiency monetization.

• The social casino market has shifted from a high-growth sector to a mature, stable industry focused on high-efficiency monetization and aggressive VIP management.
• Major industry players are utilizing steady revenue from social casino titles as 'cash cows' to fund portfolio diversification and experimentation in other gaming categories.
• Market competition is defined by a 'plus-one' strategy, where developers prioritize iterative improvements on proven mechanics over radical innovation.

PocketGamer.biz Podcast Episode 2: App Store expansion, Cooking Mama drama, and more!

Apple has significantly expanded its global footprint by launching the App Store in 20 additional countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, bringing its total reach to 175 nations.

• Apple has expanded its App Store reach to 175 nations by adding 20 new markets across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia to diversify service-based revenue.
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp saw an 800% surge in downloads following the console release of New Horizons, though analysts remain skeptical about the long-term retention of these cross-promoted users.
• The legal dispute between Office Create and Planet Entertainment over the unauthorized release of Cooking Mama: Cookstar highlights the increasing necessity for rigorous intellectual property and licensing oversight.

Acquisition of Candywriter

Stillfront Group AB (publ) produced this document to provide information regarding its proposed acquisition of Candywriter, LLC, a US-based mobile games developer and publisher.

• Stillfront Group acquired Miami-based developer Candywriter for an initial consideration of USD 74.4 million, with a total potential valuation of USD 195 million including earn-outs based on EBIT performance through 2022.
• The acquisition is expected to boost Stillfront’s 2019 pro forma net revenues by 8% and adjusted EBIT by 11%.
• Candywriter reported USD 26 million in net revenue and USD 15 million in EBIT for 2019, driven primarily by its flagship title, BitLife, which accounted for 85% of its annual bookings.

Game Narrative Summit: Conflict, Mystery, and Connection in Casual, Free to Play Puzzle Games

Casual, free-to-play puzzle games increasingly rely on sophisticated narrative frameworks to drive player engagement and long-term retention.

• Casual free-to-play puzzle games leverage narrative to drive engagement, with successful titles like 'Merge Mansion' generating $11 million in monthly revenue and others reaching $80 million in total earnings as of 2019.
• Effective game narrative relies on the 'CMC' framework: Conflict (bad things happening to create stakes), Mystery (unfolding secrets to maintain interest), and Connection (emotional bonds between players and characters).
• Narrative elements should be integrated directly into gameplay mechanics rather than relegated to dry tutorials, such as using story-driven tasks to guide players through mansion restoration or character interactions.

Clash of Clans: Bigger, Better, Battle Pass

Clash of Clans achieved a significant resurgence by systematically addressing long-standing progression bottlenecks and economic stagnation that had hindered player retention.

• The introduction of a five-dollar monthly Gold Pass served as the primary catalyst for a 30 percent year-over-year revenue increase and quadrupled the unique payer base.
• The Gold Pass model achieved high sustainability, maintaining a 70 percent monthly retention rate among its subscribers.
• Developers revitalized the game by spending two years refining foundational systems, specifically reducing upgrade costs and times while introducing magic items to eliminate progression bottlenecks.

In-App Ads Snapshot: Incentivized Videos US iOS

Special focus on incentivized videos US iOS VP of Games In-game ads now integral part of mobile games Until last year, in-game ads were primarily seen as a monetization method for smaller studios and hypercasual games.

Surviving & Thriving in Games with Demiurge | Marvel Puzzle Quest ($100M+ in Revenue)

Demiurge Studios demonstrates that a successful transition from a work-for-hire service provider to a proprietary mobile developer requires an experimental culture and early investment in emerging platforms.

• Demiurge Studios achieved over $100 million in revenue with Marvel Puzzle Quest by successfully localizing Japanese card-battler mechanics for Western mobile audiences.
• The studio’s transition from a work-for-hire provider to a proprietary developer and its subsequent acquisition by SEGA in 2016 were driven by early investment in emerging platforms and scalable live operations.
• Long-term organizational resilience is achieved by prioritizing a talent-first recruitment philosophy and maintaining rigorous financial discipline to mitigate industry volatility.

Is Your Game Cross-Platform Ready?

Cross-platform development has emerged as a critical strategy for modern game studios, shifting the industry focus from platform-specific silos toward a player-centric model.

• Cross-platform development requires a unified identity system that links disparate platform accounts (e.g., Xbox Live, Steam, PlayStation) to a single, developer-owned account ID to enable seamless cross-play and social features.
• Developers should implement dedicated or relay servers rather than peer-to-peer networking to avoid NAT restriction issues when connecting PC and console players.
• To maintain a consistent experience, unify commerce by using virtual currencies (like V-Bucks or Minecoins) and managing entitlements through a secure, centralized service that validates purchases across different platform storefronts.

Mobile Gaming Markets Overview | Latin America (With Jam City Bogota, Lockwood/Avakin Life)

The Latin American gaming market is defined by a youthful demographic and a strong preference for free-to-play experiences, with mobile gaming serving as the primary driver of regional growth.

• Mobile gaming is the primary growth driver in Latin America, where a youthful demographic heavily favors free-to-play experiences on low-to-mid-tier Android devices.
• Developers must optimize for constrained data environments and older hardware due to economic volatility and high import duties on gaming consoles and high-end devices.
• Monetization strategies require adaptation to low credit card penetration and a reliance on prepaid plans, favoring low-cost entry packs, subscriptions, and ad-based models over traditional in-app purchases.

I attempt to design a game as good or better than Adventure Communist. PART 2

The pursuit of designing a high-performing idle game requires a rigorous deconstruction of established mechanics, specifically the multi-tiered production loops that define titles like Adventure Communist.

• Designing high-performing idle games requires mapping multi-tiered production loops where lower-tier resource generation serves as a strategic gate for higher-tier progression.
• Theme selection is a foundational design decision that dictates the project's art direction, budgetary requirements, and mechanical constraints.
• Success in the idle genre depends on providing clear visual feedback and a highly structured progression path to maintain player engagement through incremental rewards.