What Drives Engagement in the $116 Billion Mobile Gaming industry?

Huynh NguyenAugust 25, 2022

What Drives Engagement in the $116 Billion Mobile Gaming industry? — A heavy emotional game on a smartphone performed by a caucasian guy at a computer and in a gaming chair.

In 2021, mobile gaming revenues rose to $116 billion – an increase of over 15 percent. Because most mobile games are free to download and play, how the industry manages to make such returns is an increasingly intriguing topic. Experts say the secret is engagement – getting players to play for longer and keep coming back for more. But how exactly do game developers do this?

Maintaining Player Interest

Game developers need to keep players interested and willing to spend money. Three researchers – Christopher S. Tang, Yifan Jiao, and Jingqi Wang – studied the activity of over 15,000 gamers over three years to understand how developers do this. Some of their findings are as follows:

New players are more likely to make in-game purchases and spend more. Consequently, developers target new players with more suggestions on items they can purchase.
Playing with other people makes online games more attractive to players. As such, developers offer players incentives for social activities like joining a clan and recruiting friends.
Players enjoy novelty in mobile games. In response, game designers frequently create and recommend new virtual items, avatars, characters, and rules to promote in-game purchases.

In-Game Advertisements and Playing Partners

Mobile games are relatively simpler and cheaper to develop than PC and Console games, which explains why they bring in over half of the revenue in this sector. But, as we have mentioned, these games are often free to download and play. Developers make their money here through advertising and selling virtual items like avatars, characters, weapons, and tools.

These virtual items are intended to improve gameplay and experience. Players see more advertisements the more they play, which is why optimum player engagement is crucial here. One strategy developers use is incentivizing social playing. According to data collected by the researchers, players are more likely to stick to a game if it has social aspects.

Being able to play with other participants, either through random matches or friend invitations, increases player engagement. This then increases the effectiveness of in-game advertisements and boosts in-app purchases. In fact, statistics from the study show that joining a clan increases a player’s playtime by 4 percent and in-game purchases by 3 percent.

Win-Loss Rates and Novelty

Performance directly impacts player engagement in mobile gaming. However, the effect is mixed. A player that gets a high score this week might be encouraged to play more frequently and for longer the following week. But, if their winning streak persists, they might find the game unchallenging and play less the following week. A player who gets low weekly scores might be too discouraged to play. The key here is to ensure players do not find the games too frustrating or too easy.

Another factor that impacts player engagement is novelty. Players are more likely to play a game for longer and more frequently if some aspects are constantly changing. According to data collected by Tang, Jiao, and Wang, getting a new character increases a player’s playtime by 33 percent the following week. Developers can take advantage of this by frequently changing or upgrading characters, avatars, tools, gameplay rules, goals, landscapes, and more.

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Why Does Player Engagement Change Over Time?

Although these strategies impact player engagement, they are not an exact science. Engagement tends to change over time. The study forwarded several possible explanations for these changes:

Social Network Effect: This is the impact of playing with others on player engagement.
The Novelty Effect: This is the effect of new experiences on player interest.
Performance Effect: How are future spending and play time affected by win and loss rates?
Satiation and Discounting Effect: This is the relation between frequency and length of play and engagement.

According to the study’s authors, these factors influence player engagement differently. For example, players who have played a given game for a long time may begin to lose interest and play for shorter periods and less frequently. Developers, in this case, can use the novelty effect to increase the player’s interest, i.e., by enticing them with new features, avatars, etc.

Conclusion

When COVID-19 struck, millions of people suddenly had a lot of free time and not much to do. One report shows that two-thirds of surveyed consumers increased their gameplay. This could explain the meteoric rise in revenue within the online gaming industry. But, this is only part of the equation. Developers have, over the years, devised multiple strategies to increase player engagement and promote in-game purchases. As a player, you can learn more about how to use these and more strategies to your advantage through Gamble Online. Visit the website today for tips and guides on how to enjoy online gaming safely and legally in Australia.