Rise of Mobile Gaming: A Revolution in Digital Entertainment

The mobile gaming industry has seen astronomical growth over the past decade. Once considered a niche market centered around casual games like Angry Birds, mobile gaming today has grown into a $100 billion industry that is fast rivaling, and by some metrics surpassing, the traditional gaming industry centered around PCs and consoles.

Behind the phenomenal success of mobile gaming at Unibet Nederland is a perfect storm of technological, social and economic factors that have allowed it to prosper:

Rapid Smartphone Adoption Driving an Explosion in Potential Gamers

The ubiquity of smartphones has put a powerful gaming device in the hands of billions worldwide. There are currently over 3.2 billion smartphone users globally, and that figure is expected to grow to 3.8 billion by 2021, representing over 46% of the world’s population. With processing power and graphics capabilities improving with every new phone release, these devices have become incredibly capable gaming machines. The result is an unprecedented number of people who have access to mobile games and app stores wherever they go.

New Genres and Gameplay Innovation

The unique attributes of mobile devices have allowed developers to design novel new genres of games tailored specifically to smartphones and tablets. From augmented reality games like Pokémon GO that overlay digital elements onto the physical world, to hyper-casual games like Flappy Bird that take seconds to play but keep users hooked for hours, mobile gaming has given rise to new styles of play and engagement models that never could have existed previously. Other innovations leverage the in-built sensors, touch interfaces, cameras and geo-location capabilities of mobiles to create fresh interactive experiences.

Free-to-Play and the Democratization of Gaming

The free-to-play business model, with games that are free to download but generate revenue from optional in-app purchases, has been instrumental to the growth of mobile gaming. By eliminating financial barriers to entry, free-to-play games have introduced gaming to demographics like women and older adults who traditionally have not been viewed as gamers. These games are now some of the most lucrative and widely played; for instance, Puzzle & Dragons has grossed over $7 billion globally, while Candy Crush Saga at one point was earning almost $1 million daily just from the United States market.

Social Competition Drives Engagement

In contrast to traditional solitary gaming experiences, mobile games have made social competition and cooperation fundamental parts of gameplay. Features like leaderboards, multiplayer battles, guild systems and messaging allow users to compete against friends or join communities within their favorite games. The ability to recognize players’ real-life social connections has also resulted in viral growth for many titles. This social dimension transforms mobile gaming into a dynamic social activity and has been key to games like Clash of Clans amassing huge dedicated player bases.

Cloud Streaming and 5G Will Unlock Console-Quality Games

While mobile hardware has improved markedly, it still does not match dedicated gaming PCs and consoles in raw processing power and graphics capabilities. However, two emerging technologies promise to narrow this gap significantly in the coming years. Cloud-based game streaming allows mobile devices to act as thin clients, with the heavy computational work of rendering graphics done on remote servers and transmitted over the internet. And 5G cellular networks provide the high bandwidth and low latency required for crisp real-time streaming.

With tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Verizon preparing competing cloud gaming services, mobile users soon will be able to access visually stunning, console-quality games without any download or hardware constraints. For instance, using xCloud, games from Xbox One can already be streamed to Android devices. As cloud gaming matures and 5G coverage widens, the quality gap between platforms will shrink dramatically.

Mobile Gaming Revenue and Market Share

As mobile gaming has exploded, it has rapidly begun overtaking other platforms both in market share and revenue:

Platform	2020 Revenue	% of Total Gaming Revenue
Mobile Gaming	$86.3 billion	49%
Console Gaming	$45.5 billion	26%
PC Gaming	$36.7 billion	21%

(Source: NewZoo 2020 Global Games Market Report)

Mobile gaming revenue also makes up the majority share of total app store revenue, at 72.3% as of 2020. And in terms of market share by active players, mobile gaming dominates with 45% compared to PC gaming’s 35% and console gaming’s 20%.

The Future is Bright for Mobile Gaming Innovation

Far from just a passing fad, mobile gaming has established itself as the undisputed leader of the rapidly evolving gaming industry. Buoyed by continual hardware advancements, maturing game streaming technology, worldwide 5G rollout and massive untapped markets like India and Africa, the mobile gaming revolution shows no signs of slowing down. If the last decade of unpredictable growth has shown anything, it is that the limits of innovative gameplay experiences, business models and user engagement tactics on mobile are still undefined. The next generation of mobile games promises to take the world by storm just as Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga did in years prior.