mobile games developer trends survey · time responses 12 months or less 7.0% 1-2 years 16.0% 3-5...

The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey

MOBILE GAMES DEVELOPERTRENDS SURVEY

Spring 2018

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

2The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey SPRING • 2018 in association with

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

2018 In Mobile Games

Now that spring is here, the year is already shaping up to be another hugely exciting one in the ever-growing mobile games industry.

According to a new report by market data firm App Annie and intelligence company IDC, mobile games spending was one-third higher than the combined total of console, PC/Mac and handheld in 2017.

It’s a staggering statistic that shows the sector has outgrown other platforms in a relatively short amount of time. And it’s showing no signs of slowing.

Recent smash hits like Lineage 2: Revolution, Lineage M and Arena of Valor (Honor of Kings) have taken the headlines for generating hundreds of millions to billions of dollars.

But perhaps one of the most interesting trends is the growing sophistication of live operations. Take Candy Crush Saga as an example.

While it’s always been a massive success for King for years, in 2017 the title has actually been performing as well as it ever has in many markets thanks to a renewed focus on serving up live events and regular fresh content.

It’s a sign that the industry is moving away from just the headline-grabbing high download numbers, and really doubling down on engagement and retention – thus leading to monetisation and a growing sector by revenue. It’s arguably an effective way to combat what’s long been a cited as a major challenge in our trend surveys: rising user acquisition costs.

But that’s just what we’ve noticed – what do developers think are the biggest opportunities in the mobile games market right now?

To learn more about the challenges and opportunities in the sector, we surveyed 250 industry professionals for our Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with The Specialist Works, and asked them about what excites them most in the space, and the key challenges that lie ahead.

THE OPPORTUNITIESThere are a plethora of other key trends taking place though, making it a hugely exciting time for mobile. There’s of course augmented reality, powered by Apple’s ARKit

and Google’s ARCore and now Google Maps.

Indeed, with titles like Next Games’ The Walking Dead: Our World, Ludia’s Jurassic World Alive and Niantic’s Harry Potter: Wizards Unite on the horizon for 2018, it’s no surprise that 43 per cent of survey respondents think AR is the hottest trend right now.

Real-time competitive multiplayer games (as show by those hit titles from Asia we mentioned earlier) was also seen by 41 per cent of respondents as a big industry trend.

Other notable trends developers cited were influencer marketing (35%), people watching games on platforms such as Twitch (32%) and the growth of emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India and China (31%).

THE THREATSIt’s not all sunshine and rainbows (though things do look good). There are major challenges that developers are facing.

The biggest threat developers cited is the sheer amount of competition and number of releases (66%). While Apple and Google are taking strides to increase discoverability on their marketplaces, the thousands of releases each day can make it tough to stand out, particularly with developers on small marketing budgets.

Craig ChappleSenior Editor, PocketGamer.biz

CONTENTSForeword by The Specialist Works p4

Demographics p5

Products & Budgets p11

The Mobile Game Industry p19

The Future Of The Mobile Games Industry p25

Offline Media Channels p29

Industry Events p35

PocketGamer.biz contacts p37


FOREWORD

Rising user acquisition costs was also a major concern (59%) – perhaps compounding the problems mentioned above. Then to complete the trifecta here – rising costs (46%) was also seen as a key problem for developers.

OFFLINE MARKETINGEspecially for this survey, we asked about TV advertising and the opportunities for developers there and whether it’s seen as a good avenue for marketing in the face of rising costs on other channels.

Offline channels such as TV, radio, outdoor advertising, cinema and printed were rarely used, with between two per cent and four per cent of our respondents doing so on a regularly basis. Many also said they were unlikely to do so in future.

Understanding of offline marketing channels however was reported as low to reasonable. Just 17 per cent had a good understanding of planning, 14 per cent had a good understanding of buying, and 13 per cent a good understanding of the potential results that can be achieved.

The most common reason for not using offline channels was the lack of budget, while other major factors included prohibitive costs compared to other channels, lack of the ability to track and optimise ads, and lack of time and resources.

For offline marketing to be appealing, respondents said they would need a higher

available budget (49%), for there to be lower campaign costs (38%), and have more time and resources (32%).

OUTLOOK FOR 2018Despite some big challenges facing the mobile games industry, the raft of opportunities opening up in the market mean there’s an overwhelmingly positive outlook for the next 12 months. Almost 75 per cent of respondents had a positive or very positive outlook, while 15 per cent had a neutral one, and seven per cent weren’t sure.

You can find out more information about the hottest trends right now in the mobile games sector by reading this survey.

Don’t forget to visit PocketGamer.biz to keep up with the latest breaking news, reports and analysis of the global mobile sector. Be sure to also check out our new sites InfluencerUpdate.biz, all about the world of influencers, and BlockchainGamer.biz, about, you guessed it, blockchain technology’s impact on gaming.

Are our websites not enough? Keep an eye out for our Pocket Gamer Connects Conferences. They take place in San Francisco (May 14th and 15th, 2018), Helsinki (September 11th and 12th, 2018) and London (January 21st and 22nd, 2019). Here you’ll get to network with other industry professionals, learn from the experts, and discover how to take advantage of all the latest industry trends. Head to www.pgconnects.com for more details.


FOREWORD

FOREWORD by

It’s always an interesting conversation when talking to a mobile first games publisher or marketer about using offline channels to promote their game. People are often amazed that anyone would invest their hard-won marketing budget into channels widely deemed to be un-trackable, un-optimisable and old fashioned.

Partnering with Pocket Gamer for this industry survey has meant this issue can be explored further. And the results are striking! Yes, it’s clear there’s still scepticism about using TV to promote mobile games, with respondents preferring the tried and tested mobile channels.

Over two-thirds of the respondents said they didn’t have a good understanding of TV planning or buying. This is entirely understandable as their area of expertise is the

globally consistent world of mobile marketing, and the TV landscape and process differs substantially market to market.

Almost half of the respondents stated that they would be prepared to consider using TV to promote their mobile game if they could effectively track, analyse and optimise TV spend. Essentially what half of the respondents were implying was if TV could be run in a way more consistent with digital campaigns then they’d be more inclined to use it.

But things have moved forward significantly. Offline analytics and agility have now been combined in a way that complements and synchronises with mobile marketing rather than trying to replace it. This now solves the challenges and concerns that mobile companies have about the transparency of TV, making it easier for them to take the leap into the world of offline. It has meant that dozens of leading mobile publishers have now run successful and scalable international TV campaigns.

Of course, there will always be an element of branding that comes from TV. Gabe Leydon, CEO of Machine Zone famously said that ‘You are not a brand until you are on TV’. The major part of that interview revolved around the fact that Machine Zone see large improvements in their digital activity when they are live on TV.

This halo effect is one that now keeps TV as an integral part of marketing campaigns run by many mobile publishers.

And as you’ll know the mobile gaming industry is extremely competitive. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said it was the biggest threat in the industry. Competition combined with rising UA costs, rising development costs and ad fraud means it’s no longer enough to just focus on getting new players.

Mobile gaming companies need to get more players and then keep them playing for weeks…months… years.

This is also reflected in future KPI setting. Respondents said they were now considering KPI’s such as lifetime value, retention rate, re-engagement and churn rate. A stark contrast to recent times when the focus was all on CPI. TV can play a vital part in helping keep your mobile game at the forefront of your customers mind for longer.

It’s exciting times ahead… Game on!

“…there will always be an element of branding

that comes from TV”

Richard DowneyGlobal New Business Director


DEMOGRAPHICSYour company and how it works

TEAM SIZE RESPONSES

1 13.1%

2-5 21.3%

6-10 9.0%

11-30 16.4%

31-50 7.0%

51-100 7.8%

101-200 7.8%

201-999 8.2%

1000+ 9.4%


DEMOGRAPHICS

1How many

people work in your company/ organisation?

By far the biggest group in our survey had between just 2 and 5 team members – a clear sign that small indies are continuing to thrive in the mobile gaming sector. The number is down a little from our last survey, though, with companies in the 11-30 range instead growing since then. The number of one-person outfits has also grown from 9.4% to 13.11%, while the number of 1000+ size firms has dropped a few percent. A sign that lone gunmen and mid-range companies are where the market is in 2018?

1

2-5

6-10

11-30

31-50

51-100

101-200

201-999

1000+

TIME RESPONSES

12 months or less 7.0%

1-2 years 16.0%

3-5 years 29.1%

6-10 years 23.4%

Over 10 years 24.6%


DEMOGRAPHICS

2How long has your organisation been

operating?What’s interesting about this number is that in previous surveys the biggest group has usually been companies with 10 or more years of experience (almost 30% of respondents in 2017, for instance). However here, the dominant group is companies in the 3-5 year range. The number of brand new companies declined by over 3% since the last survey.

12 months or less

1-2 years

3-5 years6-10 years

Over 10 years

BUSINESS AREA RESPONSES

Developer 63.5%

Publisher 11.1%

Tools & Services 9.8%

Other (please specify) 5.7%

Consultant 5.3%

Media 2.9%

Investor/Incubator 0.8%

Academic 0.8%

Recruitment 0%


DEMOGRAPHICS

3What is the

primary area of your business?

This being primarily a survey of game developers, it should surprise nobody that the majority of respondents worked specifically in that field. 63.52% of people who entered the survey identified as developers, with the next biggest group being publishers. This is a slight shift from the last survey, where fewer than 60% were developers. Respondents who selected “other” included localisation experts, marketing professionals and hobbyists.

Developer

Publisher

Tools & Services

Other

Media

Academic

Investor/Incubator

Co

nsu

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REGION RESPONSES

Europe 33.2%

USA/Canada 33.2%

UK 9.8%

Nordics 5.7%

South/Latin America 4.5%

Asia 2.9%

China 2.1%

India 1.6%

Russia 1.6%

South East Asia 1.6%

South Korea 1.2%

Australia/NZ 0.8%

Japan 0.8%

Middle East 0.8%

Africa 0%


DEMOGRAPHICS

4In what region

are you primarily based?

Europe was on an exact par with North America (both 33.20%) this year – a big rise for our US and Canadian friends, there, as in the most recent previous survey conducted by PocketGamer.biz, only 23.1% of respondents were from those regions. There was also a big drop (from 15.9% to 9.84%) in the number of respondents from the UK, giving us a slight shift in the audience of PG.biz and this survey process since 2017.

Europe

USA/Canada

Australia/NZ

South Korea

Japan

Middle East

South East A

sia

Russia

IndiaChinaAsia

South/Latin America

Nordics

UK

PLATFORM RESPONSES

Android 91.4%

iOS 90.2%

PC Steam 22.5%

PC other delivery platform 22.1%

Living room console (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, etc)

13.9%

HTML5 13.1%

Mac 12.7%

Oculus Rift 10.7%

Android VR 9.4%

Portable or handheld console (Nintendo Switch etc)

8.6%

HTC Vive 8.2%

PS VR 8.2%

Other mobile smartphone OS 7.4%

Samsung Galaxy VR 7.0%


Google Daydream 4.9%

Microsoft HoloLens 3.3%

Smart TV 2.5%

Google Tango 1.6%

Tizen 0.8%


DEMOGRAPHICS

No surprises here. Android is once again the platform of choice for people answering this survey, with iOS a close but clear second. At one time iOS came top in surveys like this but the growing availability of cheaper Android phones around the world means that in 2017 and 2018 it dominates. The big increase over the years has been PC products on Steam, with more PocketGamer.biz readers developing for that format (up to 22.54% from 13.9%). Other PC platforms (down to 22.13% from 31.8%) have declined, though.

5 Which platforms are most important to your organisation? (Tick all that apply)

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PRODUCTS & BUDGETSLet’s talk numbers

GAMES RESPONSES

None 25.3%

1 23.5%

2 21.6%

3 11.7%

4 3.1%

5 2.5%

6 0.6%

7 0.6%

8 1.2%

9 0.0%

10+ 9.9%


PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

6How many

games have you released in the last 12 months?

Once again the number of respondents who haven’t released a game in the last 12 months has grown, this time to a quarter of developers. The stat highlights how developers are doubling down on live operations and focusing on a small portfolio of highly engaging games. This is proven further by most other respondents releasing between just 2 to 3 games a year.

None

12

3

4

5

6 7

8

10+

BUDGET RESPONSES

Less than $20,000 27.2%

$21k-50k 10.5%

$51k-100k 4.9%

$101k-200k 4.9%

$201k-300k 6.8%

$301-500k 4.9%

$501-1m 8.0%

$1m+ 13.6%

Not applicable 19.1%


7What is the average budget for mobile game dev in your

organisation?(per game)

PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

The number of developers releasing games with budgets under $20,000 rose to 27.16% since our last survey, an increase of nearly 4%. Nearly half of all those who responded said they had a budget of less than $200,000, though it should be noted 19.14% said this question was not applicable to them. The data could be evidence of the growth of ‘hyper-casual’ games and a focus on live ops.

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Not applicable

$1m+

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$51k-100k

$21k-50k

PLATFORM RESPONSES

Virtual Reality 72.3%

Augmented Reality 68.1%

Mixed Reality 21.3%


PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

Augmented reality’s popularity continues to rise thanks to technologies like Apple’s ARKit, Google’s ARCore and new Google Maps API. The percentage of developers working on AR projects grew significantly from our autumn 2017 survey, up 16% to 68%. Interestingly, despite its growing pains, virtual reality rose to 72.34%. Yet this apparent growth is worth considering in wider context – 80% of our respondents skipped this question entirely suggesting developer attentions are largely elsewhere right now.

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8 Do you develop/publish for any of these platforms? (Tick all that apply)

BUDGET RESPONSES

Less than $30,000 36.94%

$30k-50k 9.55%

$51k-100k 3.18%

$101k-300k 5.10%

$301-500k 3.18%

$501-1m 7.01%

More than $1m 11.46%

Not applicable 23.57%

9What is your average

budget for promoting your product(s) for the

next 12 months?(per product)

Less than $30,000

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PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

Marketing budgets are continuing to decrease, with nearly 50% of respondents stating they had an average budget of up to $100,000 to promote each game in their portfolio over the last 12 months. The number spending more than $1 million dipped to 11.46%, though this particular survey saw a slight increase in those spending between $500,000 to $1 million (7.01%).

PROFIT RESPONSES

Non-profit organisation 2.5%

0-5% 12.4%

6-10% 5.6%

11-15% 4.3%

16-20% 6.2%

21-30% 4.9%

31-50% 3.1%

51-75% 2.5%

76-100% 0.6%

101-200% 0.6%

Over 200% 1.2%

Prefer not to disclose 56.2%


PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

It’s difficult to make comparisons to previous reports on this question – most respondents are keeping tight-lipped right now on their profit margins. In fact, over half (56.17%) preferred not to disclose how profitable their company was. As a result, it appears profitability has generally fallen since our last report, but this would not paint a fair or perhaps realistic indication of market trends.

0-5%

Prefer not to disclose

11-15%

16-20%

21-30%

31-50%

76-100%

Non-profit organisation

10In this current

year, what’s your organisation’s profit margin

expected to be?

6-10%

51-75%

Over 200%

101-200%

PROFIT RESPONSES

More than last year 43.2%

Not known 34.0%

About the same 15.4%

Less than last year 7.4%


11Is this margin more or less

than last year?

PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

More developers were open to discussing if their profit margins were more or less than last year in this question compared to its predecessor. Interestingly, comparing the answers to the last survey’s, more respondents said they expected a better profitability margin than last year (43.21%). Just 7.41% expect their margins to be less than the previous year, suggesting there’s generally good growth all round.

More than last year

Less than last year

About the same

Not known

GAMER RESPONSES

Casual 72.8%

Midcore/Core 56.2%

Hardcore 17.9%

Children 15.4%

Competitive / eSports 14.2%



PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

Casual and midcore/core games remain the most popular types of games for developers on mobile. Perhaps thanks to the rise of hyper-casual games, however, there’s a great percentage of respondents reporting to primarily focus on casual titles (72.84%). Many of the rest of the stats are largely similar to our last report from autumn 2017, with midcore’s popularity falling by 6% to 56.17%.

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12 What type of gamer are you primarily developing or publishing for? (Please tick all that apply)


THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRYBusiness trends and market outlook

TRENDS RESPONSES


Real-time competitive multiplayer games 41.4%

Growth of influencer marketing 34.6%

People watching games (on Twitch or other video platform)

32.5%

Growth of emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China, etc)

31.4%

Increase in free-to-play titles 30.9%


Location-based games 26.2%

Better monetisation methods 25.1%

The rise of YouTube/online influencers 24.6%

Rewarded ad videos 24.1%

Interactive/playable ads 24.1%

Growth of Asian markets 23.6%

Growth of smartphone volumes 19.9%

Western market Asian investment increase 19.9%

Messenger/browser gaming 18.9%

Increase in paid game prices 9.4%

Growth of new consoles 7.9%

Access to new types of funding 6.8%

Competition from new console/platform 6.3%



THE MOBILE GAME INDUSTRY

AR remains top right now, largely thanks to Google’s ARCore and Apple’s ARKit launches – with Apple also dedicating part of its store to AR apps & games. Other hot trends remain consistent with our autumn survey: real-time competitive multiplayer gaming – particularly as esports gets more popular, the growth of influencer marketing and people watching games on platforms like Twitch. Messenger/browser gaming grew slightly to 18.85% – definitely a trend to watch for our next survey.

13 Looking back at 2017 so far, what were the key trends for the mobile games industry? (Please tick all that apply)

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REGION LESS IMPORTANT

VERY IMPORTANT

USA/Canada 7 777

China 34 691

Asia 28 687

Europe 15 591

Japan 48 540

UK 41 520

South Korea 51 508

South East Asia 78 375

Nordics 107 354

Australia/NZ 84 294

India 142 281

Russia 120 258

South/Latin America 152 252

Middle East 209 172

Africa 466 47



The order of the top 7 and bottom 4 may mirror the results of our 2017 survey, but it’s interesting to note that a higher proportion of respondents considered Asia’s markets as ‘less important’ this time around – perhaps a reflection of the complexities typically attributed to those territories. Conversely, India, South America and the Middle East gained modest interest this time around.

14 In your opinion, rate these regions in terms of importance in the global mobile games industry

All data calculated using a points system based on votes cast

USA/Canada

China

Asia

Europe

Japan

UK

South Korea

South East Asia

Nordics

Australia/NZ

India

Russia

South/Latin America

Middle East

Africa

VERY IMPORTANTLESS IMPORTANT

FORECAST RESPONSES

Positive 44.5%

Very Positive 30.4%

Neutral 14.7%

Difficult to say 6.8%

Negative 2.6%

Very Negative 0.5%




15In your opinion, what is the outlook for the global mobile games development sector

over the next 12 months?

Outlook for the mobile games industry over the next 12 months is extremely positive – even bigger than already upbeat expectations in our autumn 2017 survey. Nearly three quarters of respondents have a positive to very positive outlook for the next year, while just over 3% had a negative or very negative one. Given all the exciting developments in mobile right now – from influencer marketing and instant games to blockchain, MMOs and AR – it’s little surprise to see such positivity.

Very Positive

Positive

Difficult to say

Neutral

Neg

ative

Other

Very Negative

TRENDS RESPONSES

Competition (amount of releases)

66.5%

Rising UA costs 59.2%

Rising marketing costs 46.1%

Rising development costs 29.3%

Ad fraud (fake views, clicks, in-app activity or installs)

28.3%

Amount of free content 21.5%

Piracy 17.3%

Declining consumer interest 15.7%

Political uncertainty & unrest 12%

OS fragmentation 11%

Price deflation 10.5%

Competition from other platforms 6.8%


Apple's withdrawal of 32-bit support 4.2%



The sheer amount of competition developers face on the market in terms of game releases was once again the largest concern amongst developers. The percentage of respondents with such concerns was lower however this year at 66.49%, compared to 73.1% in autumn 2017. Other key concerns were also the same as previous surveys: rising UA costs, marketing costs and development budgets.Ap

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16 What do you think are the biggest threats to the global mobile games business at the moment? (Tick all that apply)

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Influencer marketing is one of the hottest trends in the games industry right now, and it’s rising on mobile too, so we asked developers a number of questions to gauge opinion on the effectiveness of promotions through these social media stars.

While its importance as part of the marketing toolbox is broadly accepted, there remains considerable confusion regarding long-term effectiveness and actual value (primarily driven from the difficulty in tracking the success of this type of campaign), as well as resentment over the core process of reaching out to the influencers themselves.

Influencer marketing is now the most important way of marketing our product to gamers

WEIGHTEDAVERAGE

Influencers are a modest part of our marketing strategy alongside other forms of outreach

Influencer marketing is a fad and not part of our long term strategy

Nobody is sure of the long term significance of influencer marketing

We are unsure how much to pay for influencer marketing campaigns

We have engaged the services of expert marketing agencies to help us with influencer campaigns

It is impossible to launch a mobile game these days without thinking of the esports and streaming potential

Reaching potential influencers online is a confusing and time-consuming process

It is hard to measure the success of an influencer marketing campaign

Engaging organically with YouTubers and streamers has saved me money in old-school PR and marketing costs

Online video influencers are more important to the success of our games than traditional games journalists

17 Considering INFLUENCER MARKETING, please let us know how much you agree with the following statements

5.9%

2.2%

13.4% 41.9% 27.4% 12.4% 4.8%

13.4% 33.3%

3.7% 17.7% 34.8% 38.5%

20.1% 37%

17.2% 33.9% 26.3%

11.3% 55.4%

15.6% 39.8% 30.1% 11.3%

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15.1% 31.7%

13.4% 30.1% 39.8% 14%

39.8% 12.4%1.1%

20.4% 2.2%

21.7% 2.7%18.5%

28% 43% 15.1%11.3%2.7%

5.4%

46.2% 4.8%

17.6% 36.2% 34.6% 5.9%

STRONGLY

DISAGREE

DISAGREE

INDIF

FERENT

AGREESTRO

NGLY

AGREE


THE FUTURE OF THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRY

What lies ahead?

TRENDS RESPONSES

New monetisation methods 44.7%

Growth of emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India, China, etc)

40.8%


Realtime competitive multiplayer games 35.2%

Growth of Asian markets 33%

People watching games (on Twitch or other video platform)

29.1%

Access to new types of funding 26.8%

Growth of smartphone volumes 26.8%

Growth of influencer marketing 24.0%

Mixed Reality 24.0%

Increase in Asian investment in Western markets 23.5%

Messenger/browser gaming 21.2%

Interactive/playable ads 20.7%

Increase in free-to-play titles 19.6%

The rise of YouTube/online influencers 19%

Rewarded ad videos 17.3%

Location-based games 16.2%


New consoles/platforms 8.4%

Increase in paid game prices 6.7%

Other (please specify) 0%



18 Where are the key opportunities for the mobile games industry in 2018? (Please tick all that apply)

New

mon

etis

atio

n m

etho

ds

Gro

wth

of

influ

ence

r mar

ketin

g

Rew

arde

d ad

vid

eos

Gro

wth

of e

mer

ging

mar

kets

Mix

ed R

ealit

y

Loca

tion-

base

d ga

mes

Augm

ente

d Re

ality

Virt

ual R

ealit

y

Real

time

com

petit

ive

mul

tipla

yer g

ames

Incr

ease

in A

sian

inve

stm

ent

in W

este

rn m

arke

ts

New

con

sole

s/pl

atfo

rms

Gro

wth

of A

sian

mar

kets

Mes

seng

er/b

row

ser g

amin

g

Incr

ease

in p

aid

gam

e pr

ices

Peop

le w

atch

ing

gam

es

Inte

ract

ive/

play

able

ads

Acce

ss to

new

type

s of

fund

ing

Gro

wth

of

smar

tpho

ne v

olum

es

Incr

ease

in fr

ee-t

o-pl

ay ti

tles

Oth

er

The

rise

of Y

ouTu

be/

onlin

e in

fluen

cers

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

Perhaps owing to the increasing popularity, and lucrative nature of, advertising in mobile games – including rewarded and playable ads – new monetisation models were seen as the biggest key opportunity. It’s not just ads, though. Niantic has successfully partnered with businesses for sponsored Pokémon GO locations, while Glu Mobile’s Design Home, as well as using IAPs, has a number of brand partnerships. AR and the growth of emerging markets (India, China) were also seen as big opportunities.

OPPORTUNITY RESPONSES

USA/Canada 87.2%

Europe 62.0%

UK 54.8%

China 48.6%

Asia 40.8%

Japan 33.5%

South Korea 33.5%

Australia/NZ 31.8%

Nordics 28.5%

South/Latin America 25.1%

Russia 24.6%

Southeast Asia 22.4%

India 15.6%

Middle East 10.6%

Africa 5%



The USA and Canada remain the most important markets for our survey respondents, with 87.15% citing it as a key region for them over the next 12 months. Europe and the UK remain the second and third most sought after markets, though the percentage for each dropped to 62% and 54.75% respectively. China and Asia also remain popular regions for developers to crack into – though doing so successfully remains a challenge.

19 Which markets will be important to you over the next 12 months? (Tick all that apply)

Indi

a

Afric

a

Mid

dle

East

Sout

h Ea

st A

sia

Russ

ia

Sout

h/La

tin A

mer

ica

Nor

dics

Aust

ralia

/NZ

Sout

h Ko

rea

Japa

n

Asia

Chi

naUK

Euro

pe

USA

/Can

ada

100% 100%100% 100% 100% 100%100%100%100%100%100%100%100%100%100%

LOW

IM

PO

RTA

NC

E

ME

D. I

MP

OR

TAN

CE

HIG

H I

MP

OR

TAN

CE

PR

IOR

ITY

PRIORITY

App store promotion 14.0% 23.4% 36.3% 26.3%

Social media 5.8% 24.9% 42.8% 26.6%

Paid user acquisition 28.9% 22% 31.8% 17.3%

PR activity 16.3% 42.4% 28.5% 12.8%

In-game advertising 27.3% 29.7% 29.7% 13.4%

Interactive/playable ads 44.8% 27.0% 20.7% 7.5%

Traditional marketing 41.9% 34.9% 20.9% 2.3%

Traditional display advertising 59.3% 27.9% 9.9% 2.9%

Influencer marketing 18.0% 40.1% 32.6% 9.3%

Video advertising 19.9% 32.2% 35.1% 12.9%



20 How do you plan to grow your audience over the next 12 months? (Let us know how important each is)

Vide

o ad

vert

ising

Influ

ence

r mar

ketin

g

Trad

ition

al

disp

lay

adve

rtisi

ng

Trad

ition

al m

arke

ting

Inte

ract

ive/

play

able

ads

In-g

ame

adve

rtisi

ng

PR a

ctiv

ity

Paid

use

r acq

uisit

ion

Soci

al m

edia

App

stor

e pr

omot

ion

LOW IMPORTANCE

MEDIUM IMPORTANCE

HIGH IMPORTANCE

PRIORITY

In our previous autumn trends survey, app store promotion was seen as the biggest priority for developers. This time however, while still key for building audiences, social media is now seen as the highest priority by nearly 27% of respondents – an increase of over 8% from our last report. Meanwhile, as paid user acquisition costs rise, fewer developers (just over 17%) see this area as a priority marketing channel.


Is

OFFLINE MEDIA CHANNELSIs traditional marketing still relevant?

USE

OC

CA

SIO

NA

LLY

USE

REG

UL

AR

LY

MA

Y U

SE I

N F

UT

UR

E

UN

LIK

ELY

TO

USE

N/A

USE

TV 4.0% 12.0 13.3 44.0 26.7

Radio 2.0% 3.3% 6.7% 57.3% 30.7%

Cinema 3.4% 2.7% 9.5% 53.4% 31.1%

Outdoor 4.0% 10.7% 11.4% 46.3% 27.5%

Printed 4.7% 9.4% 13.4% 47.0% 25.5%

Matrix 2.7% 6.7% 8.7% 41.6% 40.3%


OFFLINE MEDIA CHANNELS

21 What part do offline channels play in your media advertising programme?

Mat

rix

Prin

ted

Out

door

Cin

ema

Radi

oTV

USE REGULARLY

USE OCCASIONALLY

MAY USE IN FUTURE

UNLIKELY TO USE

N/A

In the world of mobile gaming, many developers may not consider, or indeed be able to afford, the notion of offline advertising. Particularly as UA through platforms such as Facebook and Google Ads is seen for many as the go-to marketing method. Indeed, only a fraction of our survey respondents (below 5%) said they regularly use TV, radio, cinema outdoor and printed channels. Between 40% to more than half of respondents for each question said they were unlikely to use these channels.


RE

ASO

NA

BLE

U

ND

ER

STA

ND

ING

GO

OD

U

ND

ER

STA

ND

ING

LOW

U

ND

ER

STA

ND

ING

N/A

UNDERSTANDING

Planning 17.3% 32% 34% 16.7%

Buying 14% 29.3% 40.7% 16%

Potential results that can be achieved 12.8% 36.9% 34.2% 16.1%

Many developers are unlikely to use offline marketing channels like TV, cinema, print and radio (see Q21) – but this could largely come from a lack of understanding of these platforms and the benefits they could bring. Only 17% of respondents said they had a good understanding of the planning process, while just 13% knew the potential results that can be achieved through these channels. The benefits are just not clear enough for developers right now, it seems.


22 How would you describe your understanding of offline marketing channels?

Pote

ntia

l res

ults

th

at c

an

be a

chie

ved

Buyi

ng

Plan

ning

GOOD UNDERSTANDING

REASONABLE UNDERSTANDING

LOW UNDERSTANDING

N/A



Perhaps most obviously, the biggest reason for developers not utilising offline media channels in their marketing is the lack of a budget to do so. Combined this with a perception that costs are prohibitive compared to other platforms, and the perceived lack of ability to track and optimise ads, and developers are not always too keen to test the waters here away from the tried and tested online channels.

Lack of budget

Costs are prohibitive compared to other channels

Lack of time/resource

Lack of inhouse expertise

Ability to track and optimise

Ability to achieve comparable cost/ KPI results as digital channels

Ability to target specific audiences

Don’t want to use an external agency

23 Rank in order, the reasons for not using offline media channels (or the obstacles to using them more than you do today)

42.8%

11.2% 36.2%

5.9% 7.2% 13.8% 11.2% 7.9% 11.2% 34.2% 8.6%

8.6%

3.9%

3.3%

7.2%

3.9%

3.9%

12.5% 56.6%

8.6% 13.2% 13.2% 6.6% 11.2% 31.6% 11.2% 4.6%

13.8% 11.2% 11.2% 15.8% 29.6% 11.2% 5.9% 1.3%

3.3% 3.9% 13.2% 27% 16.4% 11.8% 13.2% 11.2%

5.9% 12.5% 28.9% 11.2% 13.2% 13.8% 9.2% 5.3%

8.6% 15.1% 11.2% 7.2% 5.9% 4.6%

11.8% 7.9% 5.9% 6.6% 9.2% 7.9% 7.9%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

HIGHEST RANKED

LOWEST RANKED

REGION RESPONSES

Higher available budget 49.3%

Ability to track, analyse and optimise 47.4%

Lower campaign costs 38.2%

Achieve comparable performance to digital 38.2%

Ability to accurately segment and target 35.5%

If we could test risk-free 35.5%

More time and resource 32.2%

For brand building or different products 30.9%

If others were achieving impressive results 19.7%

When existing channels became ineffective 17.1%

Internal or external skill sets 16.5%

None – unlikely to use offline media 9.9%

If a competitor used them 7.2%

Other (please specify) 2%



For developers to get onboard with marketing on offline channels, most said they would need a higher available budget. Clearly much like the responses in Q23, apparently prohibitive costs are the key concern in this area. Developers also said that lower campaign costs, as well as making more time and resources available for such marketing projects, could be the conditions that tempt them to take a punt.

24Under what

circumstances might you consider using offline

channels that you haven’t tried before

(Please tick all that apply)

Hig

her a

vaila

ble

budg

et

Other

Ability to track,

analyse and optimise

Lower campaign costs

Achieve comparable

performance to digital

Ab

ility to accu

ratelyseg

men

t and

target

If w

e co

uld

test

risk-

free

More time and

resource

For brand building or different products

If others were achieving

impressive results

When existing channels

became ineffective

Internal or external

skill sets

No

ne

If a com

petito

r used

them

SEC

ON

DA

RY

KP

I

PR

IME

KP

I

MA

Y U

SE I

N F

UT

UR

E

UN

LIK

ELY

TO

USE

N/A

KPI

Top line revenue 47.7 23.5 9.4 4.7 14.8

Number of users 33.6 41.6 6.7 2 16.1

Cost per install (CPI) 30.6 27.2 19.7 4.1 18.4

Re-engagement 21.5 34.7 22.9 3.5 17.4

Brand Awareness 13.8 35.9 26.9 7.6 15.9

Downloads 39.5 31.3 8.8 2.7 17.7

Churn Rate 22.8 36.6 19.3 1.4 20

Daily Active Users (DAU) 44.5 28.8 6.8 1.4 18.5

Monthly Active Users (MAU) 36.7 32.7 10.9 2 17.7

Daily Sessions per DAU 25.9 34 16.3 6.1 17.7

Retention Rate (Stickiness DAU/MAU)

52.7 20.3 8.8 2 16.2

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) 32.9 27.4 14.4 6.2 19.2

Lifetime Value (LTV) 55.4 14.9 8.8 3.4 17.6


YOUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

25 What are your KPIs and how might they change in future?

Cos

t Per

Acq

uisit

ion

(CPA

)

Dai

ly S

essio

ns p

er D

AU

Dai

ly A

ctiv

e U

sers

(D

AU)

Dow

nloa

ds

Re-e

ngag

emen

t

Top

line

reve

nue

Num

ber o

f use

rsC

ost p

er in

stal

l (C

PI)

Bran

d Aw

aren

ess

Chu

rn R

ate

Ret

entio

n Ra

te

(Stic

kine

ss D

AU/M

AU)

Mon

thly

Act

ive

Use

rs (M

AU)

Life

time

Valu

e (L

TV)

PRIME KPI

SECONDARY KPI

MAY USE IN FUTURE

UNLIKELY TO USE

N/A

Working out the key performance indicators to judge your game’s success on is an important part of mobile games development and publishing to measure success. The most important KPI noted by our survey respondents was brand awareness – that consumers can recognise your products quickly. Also important are re-engagement metrics, ensuring your players are coming back for more, and the number of daily sessions per daily active user.


INDUSTRY EVENTSWhere the business happens

EVENT RELATIVE SCORE

GDC 5.0

Game Connection Europe 4.7

Casual Connect USA 4.6

Game Connection America 4.6

PGC London 4.5

Gamescom 4.5

PGC San Francisco 4.4

GDC Europe 4.3

ChinaJoy 4.3

PGC Helsinki 4.2

G-STAR 4.2

E3 4.1

Casual Connect Europe 4.1

Nordic Game 4.0

MGF London 3.9

Slush 3.9

GameStart Asia 3.9

DevGamm Moscow 3.8

Casual Connect Asia 3.8

Casual Connect Tel Aviv 3.8

White Nights Moscow 3.7

White Nights St Petersburg 3.7

Develop 3.7

Casual Connect Kyiv 3.7

CES 3.7

Slush Play 3.7

Apps World London 3.5


INDUSTRY EVENTS

Industry events offer numerous potential benefits to attendees. In terms of the all-important perceived value, GDC continues its now-usual reign at the top of the list, but it’s interesting to see a rise in the ranking of some US-based events – a possible reflection of this survey’s higher proportion of respondents from that region.

26 How would you rate the following events for value for money?

GD

C

PGC

Hel

sinki

Cas

ual C

onne

ct A

sia

Gam

e C

onne

ctio

n Eu

rope

G-S

TAR

Cas

ual C

onne

ct T

el A

viv

Cas

ual C

onne

ct U

SA E3

Whi

te N

ight

s M

osco

w

Gam

e C

onne

ctio

n Am

eric

a

Cas

ual C

onne

ct E

urop

e

Whi

te N

ight

s St

Pet

ersb

urg

PGC

Lon

don

Nor

dic

Gam

e

Dev

elop

Gam

esco

m

MG

F Lo

ndon

Cas

ual C

onne

ct K

yiv

PGC

San

Fra

ncisc

o

Slus

h

CES

GD

C E

urop

e

Gam

eSta

rt A

sia

Apps

Wor

ld L

ondo

n

Slus

h Pl

ay

Chi

naJo

y

Dev

Gam

m M

osco

w

GOOD

EXCELLENT

OK

NEEDS TO IMPROVE

POOR

VERY POOR

All data calculated using a points system based on votes cast

MOBILE GAMES DEVELOPER TRENDS SURVEY

Contacts

www.PocketGamer.biz

WebsitePocketGamer.biz is the leading b2b website serving international mobile and handheld games professionals. It’s all about the industry, including the processes, technology and deals that drive the business that makes games happen. You’ll find daily news, interviews, analytical features and more. We also serve the VR/AR/MR industries with TheVirtualReport.biz, the PC games development community with PCGamesInsider.biz, and the influencer marketing scene with InfluencerUpdate.biz, while our newest launch is BlockchainGamer.biz.

EventsCome to one of our international mobile games conferences and meet the biggest names in the business! We run PG Connects events in key cities such as London, San Francisco and Helsinki – they’re the live version of PocketGamer.biz, featuring talks, workshops and networking. Visit www.pgconnects.com for more information. We also organise XR Connects for VR/AR/MR professionals, PC Connects for those working in PC gaming, and new for 2018 is Blockchain Gamer Connects, showcasing the impact of blockchain tech on games.

ConsultancyWorking on a new game? The Global App Promoter is Steel Media’s full service agency offering a range of options for reaching an audience through our multiple channels. Alongside traditional marketing and advertising options, we offer an exclusive Preferred Partner coverage programme on our leading consumer websites, as well as consultancy services to help you give your game the best start possible. Visit globalapppromoter.com to see our range of services.

EDITORIAL

Craig ChappleSenior Editor, PocketGamer.bizEmail: [email protected]: craig.chapple

ADVERTISING

Lisa BissetVP of Business Development (Global)Email: [email protected]: lambisset

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ENDLESS NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES& 80+ EXPERT TALKS OVER 2 DAYS

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mobile games developer trends survey · time responses 12 months or less 7.0% 1-2 years 16.0% 3-5...

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