Mobile gaming is so popular that revenue and user base has already put other forms of gaming apps way behind. Mobile game apps have experienced maximum growth consecutively in recent years. According to the latest statistics, there were 2.69 billion mobile game players worldwide in 2020, which will be 3.25 billion by this year.
Top mobile game development tools are now offering drag-and-drop features to allow new developer aspirants to try their hands at building game apps. From Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to Mixed Reality (MR) to camera-focused games, we have seen many game trends in recent years for smartphone users. What are going to be the biggest mobile game development trends in 2023? Let’s examine.
Cloud Gaming for Smartphone Players
Cloud gaming for mobile gamers is growing at a staggering speed. Since the gaming experience is something that cannot be compromised for slower server response time, cloud-supported gaming actions are gaining popularity. Now that 5G internet connectivity has become a reality, we can experience more game apps to lean towards cloud gaming.
Thanks to cloud gaming, gamers are now relieved from the obligation of using a particular device to access the game features. They can enjoy a similar gameplay experience from many devices, irrespective of device features and functionalities. This device-agnostic characteristic of cloud gaming makes it a popular trend now and in the future.
Last but not least, with cloud gaming, there are no concerns about game updates. The players do not need to download or update any game feature or asset. All the things they want are updated and made available automatically through behind-the-scenes updates at their gameplay time.
Social Gaming
The huge popularity of social gaming has some scientific basis. According to researchers, social sharing and interactions in gameplay enhance the player’s retention and engagement with the game app. This is why this gaming trend will likely stay popular and dominant in 2023 and the years ahead.
Some key social gaming features likely to be common in most mobile games of the coming years include the following.
- Cooperative or Competitive Gaming: With this feature, players can compete with someone in their known circle in a game or collaborate as a team to defeat the opponent. Famous games like PUBG and Clan Wars use this gaming feature that made them popular.
- PvP Modes: Two players can decide to compete with each other in a game and can invite other players as opponents. This battle can be in real-time or delayed. This is another type of gaming experience that depends on the player’s social contacts.
- Social Game Currency: By inviting someone to play a game or making a social post on the game achievements, players can earn rewards and in-game currency or even win a new level of gameplay. This has become a common game feature to promote a gaming app through the player’s activities.
- Social Push Messages: A mobile game app can send a player push notification whenever any of his friends is playing or need help, or ask for a fresh game round. Many gaming apps use this feature to push the engagement of the players.
- Live Game Streaming: Live game session streaming of certain action games or sports-arena games has become extremely popular these days. Just by streaming the gameplay session to viewers all over the globe through social channels, gaming apps continue to amass huge sums of revenue.
The Continuing Popularity of eSports Games
eSports, the game niche where players compete with each other with fierce rivalry involving experience and professional gaming skills, remains at the heart of the gaming industry. In the years to come, there will be more popular eSport gaming apps such as Call of Duty, Fortnite, League of Legends, and similar ones.
These games have a huge fan following and can be watched live on media with players engaged in competitive battles. Some streaming platforms like Twitch allow people to watch game players playing such games in real time. It is said that during the pandemic, such games and their viewership were at an all-time high, and the ascending growth trend is continuing. eSports gaming apps and their media streaming market will continue to thrive and eventually break many records in the future.
Subscription Games
As of now, subscription as a monetization method is only popular for video streaming, education, and other apps that people regularly use for new content. Now subscription is also making their rounds into the mobile gaming arena. Subscription-based game apps can be popular in the time to come as such games are likely to have something other than game ads or other distracting attributes, such as in-game notifications.
The leading game console platforms are already into subscription-based gaming, including big names such as Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Apple Arcade, and others.
Additionally, the mobile gaming industry is gradually embracing this monetization method, with the involvement of both established players and innovative igaming software development company.
Now the same monetization method is slowly tiptoeing into the mobile gaming industry. Some variations of this model that we may experience in 2023 and years beyond include auto-renewable game subscriptions, one-time subscriptions, and umbrella subscriptions.
Casual Gaming Everywhere
All the mobile games people can play anywhere and everywhere belong to this category and are growing in popularity. Thanks to the proliferation of smartphone access in recent years, game playing has become casual fun for many people who were not considered a gaming audience traditionally.
Since casual gaming is a fun and pleasurable pastime for many, these games will continue to be popular in the coming years. There are already hundreds of tremendously popular casual games out there.
Last Words
You must have missed all the trending gaming technologies like AR, VR, etc. These gaming trends have been evergreened for many years and do not apply to 2023 or the years ahead. We grabbed your attention on game development trends that have just started gaining traction in recent months.
