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november 16, 2023

Marketing

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According to Data.ai market analysis, iOS and Android users spent a staggering $33.9 billion on mobile apps and games in the first quarter of 2023. Manipulative design, aggressive marketing, misleading algorithms that incentivize players to spend more time and money in apps (lootboxes, random rewards, etc.) — somehow the mobile gaming industry continues to take over the market and is still far from its peak.

In our new article we’ll not only take comments from a Google expert, but also take an in-depth look at the top 5 trends for marketers in the gaming industry in 2023.

In 2023, revenue from top mobile games exceeds $100 million per month, with Asia and the U.S. accounting for the bulk of spending.

General Trends in the Mobile Gaming Sector

Today, creating a game on a ready-made framework and publishing it is not a big deal. But the real quest begins when you need to effectively stand out from thousands of other applications and attract new users.

According to Google account manager Marios Anastasiou, there are three barriers that prevent developers from promoting their product:

Are there Challenges to Promoting Mobile Games in 2023?

Google is actively following the mobile gaming industry, leveraging several key trends for developers to succeed: improved monetization models, augmented reality AR, AI technologies, mobile video streaming, etc.

Trend #1 — The Rise of Subscription-Based Monetization

This monetization model has really caught on. Take a look at the two major stores with their a la carte subscriptions: Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass. The subscription gaming market is expected to grow 12.8% between 2023 and 2030 to reach $24.1 billion.

AdSkill experts know more than just how to make money from subscriptions! The team will help you increase your income for any of the types of monetization: in-game purchases, regular advertising or a mixed model.

Trend #2 — Testing & Automated Execution of Games

For a positive game experience, it’s important for the developer to test the game to fix bugs. During the soft launch phase, it is necessary to show the project to a small market, test its performance, and adjust the marketing strategy and content delivery.

Testing continues until the goal is achieved: getting the coveted marketing and product metrics. KPIs are different at different stages of a game project's development, but experienced analysts and producers navigate the game's potential at each stage of testing.

Trend #3 — Promotional Videos

Videos allow potential users to visualize the process itself. Successful examples in the App Store and Google Play are Roblox, Candy Crush Saga, etc.

According to Tapjoy, mobile game users are more likely to pay attention to advertising in games (41%) than on the web (17%), and on trend are:

• Video ads — demonstrates gameplay, tells a story;
• Playable ads — try-before-you-buy method minimizes bounce rates;
• Rewarded video ads — users view ads for in-game rewards.

Trend #4 — Cross-promotion to Increase Reach

Cross-promotion noticeably increases the number of installs. It is easy to promote a new game in another app or game.

• Social media. Creation of publications, videos that demonstrate the game to subscribers, marketers, application developers and investors.
• Email marketing. Sending potential players advertisements of other games and offers of incentives (in-game items, discounts, bonuses).
• Cross-promotion networks. Effective for game promotion, advertising exchange with other developers.

This is one of the key factors for increasing audience reach and one of the strengths of the AdSkill team. The company's experts maximize the use of available channels, paying attention to advertising inside stores and in third-party applications.

Trend #5 — AI Adoption

AI is organically entering the Android and iOS app development industry. It helps to stand out among competitors through AI technologies and augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) games.

The usefulness of AI stands out both in the application of the technology in the games themselves (scenario or character development) and for analyzing user experience, collecting analytics.

In games, AI is used to:

• Improving gameplay to create a more immersive experience
• Adaptability to game style to provide a personalized experience
• Optimize performance across devices
• Help monetize apps through microtransactions, advertising, and partner collaboration

Also, the smart technologies will help analyze user experience and collect analytics. AI improves interaction with users, offers them contextual help and support, and tailors content and services to their needs.

A rather interesting «chip» for marketers in 2023 is Google's BARD artificial intelligence. This is a powerful tool for analytics and optimization of advertising campaigns, because:

1. Improves advertising effectiveness. Based on machine learning, it identifies the most effective strategies, attractive ad types, and channels;
2. Optimizes monetization. BARD offers recommendations on in-game ad placement, optimizing purchase prices to increase in-game revenues;
3. Predicts user behavior. BARD helps you better understand your audience, their preferences and needs, creating personalized and targeted advertising campaigns;
4. Analyzes competitors. The tool offers marketers to make more informed decisions to develop better marketing strategies.

AdSkill actively uses BARD in its practice, creating topnotch projects and effective strategies for them. AI technologies help generate attractive ad types and find the best channels for mobile games.

How Not to Miss a Single Trend?

Google's account manager sees the future of the Mobile Games sector as prosperous and sustainable. He believes that it’s necessary to be prepared for economic changes, aligning strategies each time and diversifying monetization models both in the form of purchase and advertising. It also expects global gaming revenues to grow from $92 billion to $103 billion by 2025.

The AdSkill team is picking up on this wave and offers many strategies to move companies forward in this area, including providing agency accounts, expertise, and Google&AdSkill synergies. We can help you with launching marketing campaigns, scaling budgets and determining success rates of media sources. Write to our manager and conquer the gamer community with new offers!