Pocket Gamer.Biz Mobile Games Developer Survey

MOBILE GAMES DEVELOPER TRENDS SURVEY Spring 2018

The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey IN ASSOCIATION WITH FOREWORD INTRODUCTION 2018 In Mobile Games

While it’s always been a massive success for and Google’s ARCore and now Google Maps. King for years, in 2017 the title has actually Indeed, with titles like Next Games’ The been performing as well as it ever has in many Walking Dead: Our World, Ludia’s Jurassic markets thanks to a renewed focus on serving World Alive and Niantic’s Harry Potter: Wizards up live events and regular fresh content. Unite on the horizon for 2018, it’s no surprise It’s a sign that the industry is moving away that 43 per cent of survey respondents think AR Craig Chapple from just the headline-grabbing high download is the hottest trend right now. Senior Editor, PocketGamer.biz numbers, and really doubling down on Real-time competitive multiplayer games (as engagement and retention – thus leading to show by those hit titles from Asia we Now that spring is here, the year is already monetisation and a growing sector by revenue. shaping up to be another hugely exciting one mentioned earlier) was also seen by 41 per cent It’s arguably an effective way to combat what’s of respondents as a big industry trend. in the ever-growing mobile games industry. long been a cited as a major challenge in our According to a new report by market data trend surveys: rising user acquisition costs. Other notable trends developers cited were influencer marketing (35%), people watching firm App Annie and intelligence company IDC, But that’s just what we’ve noticed – what do mobile games spending was one-third higher games on platforms such as Twitch (32%) and developers think are the biggest opportunities the growth of emerging markets like Brazil, than the combined total of console, PC/Mac in the mobile games market right now? and handheld in 2017. Russia, India and China (31%). To learn more about the challenges and It’s a staggering statistic that shows the opportunities in the sector, we surveyed 250 THE THREATS sector has outgrown other platforms in a industry professionals for our Mobile Games It’s not all sunshine and rainbows (though relatively short amount of time. And it’s Developer Trends Survey in association with things do look good). There are major showing no signs of slowing. The Specialist Works, and asked them about challenges that developers are facing. Recent smash hits like Lineage 2: Revolution, what excites them most in the space, and the The biggest threat developers cited is the Lineage M and Arena of Valor (Honor of Kings) key challenges that lie ahead. sheer amount of competition and number of have taken the headlines for generating releases (66%). While Apple and Google are THE OPPORTUNITIES hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. taking strides to increase discoverability on their But perhaps one of the most interesting trends There are a plethora of other key trends marketplaces, the thousands of releases each is the growing sophistication of live operations. taking place though, making it a hugely day can make it tough to stand out, particularly Take Candy Crush Saga as an example. exciting time for mobile. There’s of course with developers on small marketing budgets. augmented reality, powered by Apple’s ARKit

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

Rising user acquisition costs was also a available budget (49%), for there to be lower major concern (59%) – perhaps campaign costs (38%), and have more time compounding the problems mentioned and resources (32%). above. Then to complete the trifecta here – rising costs (46%) was also seen as a key OUTLOOK FOR 2018 problem for developers. Despite some big challenges facing the mobile games industry, the raft of OFFLINE MARKETING opportunities opening up in the market mean Especially for this survey, we asked about TV there’s an overwhelmingly positive outlook advertising and the opportunities for for the next 12 months. Almost 75 per cent of developers there and whether it’s seen as a respondents had a positive or very positive good avenue for marketing in the face of outlook, while 15 per cent had a neutral one, rising costs on other channels. and seven per cent weren’t sure. Offline channels such as TV, radio, outdoor You can find out more information about advertising, cinema and printed were rarely the hottest trends right now in the mobile used, with between two per cent and four games sector by reading this survey. per cent of our respondents doing so on a Don’t forget to visit PocketGamer.biz to regularly basis. Many also said they were keep up with the latest breaking news, unlikely to do so in future. reports and analysis of the global mobile CONTENTS Understanding of offline marketing sector. Be sure to also check out our channels however was reported as low to new sites InfluencerUpdate.biz, all Foreword by The Specialist Works p4 reasonable. Just 17 per cent had a good about the world of influencers, and understanding of planning, 14 per cent had a BlockchainGamer.biz, about, you guessed it, Demographics p5 good understanding of buying, and 13 per blockchain technology’s impact on gaming. Products & Budgets p11 cent a good understanding of the potential Are our websites not enough? Keep an eye results that can be achieved. out for our Pocket Gamer Connects The Mobile Game Industry p19 The most common reason for not using Conferences. They take place in San offline channels was the lack of budget, Francisco (May 14th and 15th, 2018), Helsinki The Future Of The Mobile Games Industry p25 while other major factors included prohibitive (September 11th and 12th, 2018) and London costs compared to other channels, lack of (January 21st and 22nd, 2019). Here you’ll get Offline Media Channels p29 the ability to track and optimise ads, and lack to network with other industry professionals, of time and resources. learn from the experts, and discover how to Industry Events p35 take advantage of all the latest industry For offline marketing to be appealing, PocketGamer.biz contacts p37 respondents said they would need a higher trends. Head to www.pgconnects.com for more details.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 3 FOREWORD

FOREWORD by

globally consistent world of mobile marketing, This halo effect is one that now keeps TV as an and the TV landscape and process differs integral part of marketing campaigns run by substantially market to market. many mobile publishers. Almost half of the respondents stated that And as you’ll know the mobile gaming they would be prepared to consider using TV to industry is extremely competitive. Sixty-six per promote their mobile game if they could cent of respondents said it was the biggest effectively track, analyse and optimise TV threat in the industry. Competition combined spend. Essentially what half of the respondents with rising UA costs, rising development costs Richard Downey were implying was if TV could be run in a way and ad fraud means it’s no longer enough to Global New Business Director more consistent with digital campaigns then just focus on getting new players. they’d be more inclined to use it. It’s always an interesting conversation when But things have moved forward significantly. “…there will always be talking to a mobile first games publisher or Offline analytics and agility have now been marketer about using offline channels to combined in a way that complements and an element of branding promote their game. People are often amazed synchronises with mobile marketing rather than that anyone would invest their hard-won trying to replace it. This now solves the that comes from TV” marketing budget into channels widely challenges and concerns that mobile companies deemed to be un-trackable, un-optimisable have about the transparency of TV, making it Mobile gaming companies need to get more and old fashioned. easier for them to take the leap into the world players and then keep them playing for weeks… Partnering with Pocket Gamer for this of offline. It has meant that dozens of leading months… years. industry survey has meant this issue can be mobile publishers have now run successful and This is also reflected in future KPI setting. explored further. And the results are striking! scalable international TV campaigns. Respondents said they were now considering Yes, it’s clear there’s still scepticism about using Of course, there will always be an element of KPI’s such as lifetime value, retention rate, TV to promote mobile games, with respondents branding that comes from TV. Gabe Leydon, re-engagement and churn rate. A stark contrast preferring the tried and tested mobile channels. CEO of Machine Zone famously said that ‘You to recent times when the focus was all on CPI. Over two-thirds of the respondents said they are not a brand until you are on TV’. The major TV can play a vital part in helping keep your didn’t have a good understanding of TV part of that interview revolved around the fact mobile game at the forefront of your customers planning or buying. This is entirely that Machine Zone see large improvements in mind for longer. understandable as their area of expertise is the their digital activity when they are live on TV. It’s exciting times ahead… Game on!

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 4 DEMOGRAPHICS Your company and how it works

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 5 DEMOGRAPHICS

TEAM SIZE RESPONSES 1 1000+ 1 13.1%

2-5 21.3%

201-999 6-10 9.0%

11-30 16.4%

101-200 1 31-50 7.0% 2-5 How many 51-100 7.8% people work in 101-200 7.8% 51-100 your company/ organisation? 201-999 8.2%

1000+ 9.4% 31-50 6-10 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 11-30 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?

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 6 DEMOGRAPHICS

12 months or less

Over 10 years 1-2 years TIME RESPONSES

12 months or less 7.0%

1-2 years 16.0%

2 3-5 years 29.1% How long has your 6-10 years 23.4% organisation been Over 10 years 24.6% 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, 6-10 years 3-5 years 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.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 7 DEMOGRAPHICS Investor/Incubator Academic

Consultant BUSINESS AREA RESPONSES

Media Developer 63.5%

Publisher 11.1%

Other Tools & Services 9.8%

Other (please specify) 5.7%

Consultant 5.3% Tools & Services 3 Media 2.9%

What is the Investor/Incubator 0.8% primary area of your business? Academic 0.8% Developer Publisher Recruitment 0%

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.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 8 Japan DEMOGRAPHICS Australia/NZ Middle East South Korea REGION RESPONSES

South East Asia Russia Europe 33.2% India

China USA/Canada 33.2%

Asia UK 9.8% Nordics 5.7%

South/Latin America South/Latin America 4.5% Asia 2.9% Europe China 2.1%

Nordics India 1.6% Russia 1.6% 4 South East Asia 1.6% South Korea 1.2% In what region are you primarily Australia/NZ 0.8% Japan 0.8% UK based? Middle East 0.8% Africa 0%

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, USA/Canada 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.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 9 DEMOGRAPHICS

Which platforms are most important to your PLATFORM RESPONSES 5 organisation? (Tick all that apply) Android 91.4% iOS 90.2% PC Steam 22.5%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 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% Other (please specify) 6.2% Google Daydream 4.9% Microsoft HoloLens 3.3% Smart TV 2.5% Google Tango 1.6% Tizen 0.8%

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 iOS Mac came top in surveys like this but the growing PS VR Other Tizen HTML5 Android availability of cheaper Android phones around the PC Steam HTC Vive Smart TV Oculus RiftAndroid VR world means that in 2017 and 2018 it dominates. Other mobile Google Tango The big increase over the years has been PC smartphone OS products on Steam, with more PocketGamer.biz Google Daydream Microsoft HoloLens Living room console Samsung Galaxy VR readers developing for that format (up to 22.54% from 13.9%). Other PC platforms (down to 22.13%

PC other delivery platform from 31.8%) have declined, though. Portable/handheld console

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 10 PRODUCTS & BUDGETS Let’s talk numbers

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 11 PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

8 7 GAMES RESPONSES 6 None 25.3% 10+ 1 23.5%

5 None 2 21.6%

4 3 11.7%

4 3.1%

6 5 2.5% 3 How many 6 0.6% games have you released in the 7 0.6% last 12 months? 8 1.2%

9 0.0% 1 2 10+ 9.9%

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.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 12 PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

BUDGET RESPONSES Not applicable Less than $20,000 27.2%

Less than $21k-50k 10.5% $20,000 $51k-100k 4.9% 7 $101k-200k 4.9% $201k-300k 6.8%

What is the average $301-500k 4.9% $1m+ budget for mobile game dev in your $501-1m 8.0% organisation? $1m+ 13.6% (per game) $21k-50k Not applicable 19.1%

The number of developers releasing games with budgets under $20,000 rose to 27.16% since our $51k-100k last survey, an increase of nearly 4%. Nearly half $501k-1m of all those who responded said they had a $101k-200k 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 $301k-500k of the growth of ‘hyper-casual’ games and a focus on live ops. $201k-300k

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 13 PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

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

100% 100% 100% PLATFORM RESPONSES

Virtual Reality 72.3%

Augmented Reality 68.1%

Mixed Reality 21.3%

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.

Virtual Reality Mixed Reality

Augmented Reality

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 14 PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

BUDGET RESPONSES

Less than $30,000 36.94%

Not applicable $30k-50k 9.55%

$51k-100k 3.18%

Less than $101k-300k 5.10% $30,000

9 $301-500k 3.18%

What is your average $501-1m 7.01% budget for promoting your product(s) for the More than $1m 11.46% More than $1m next 12 months? Not applicable 23.57% (per product)

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 $30k-50k to 11.46%, though this particular survey saw a $501k-1m $51k-100k slight increase in those spending between $500,000 to $1 million (7.01%).

$301k-500k

$101k-300k

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 15 Non-profit organisation PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

PROFIT RESPONSES

Non-profit organisation 2.5%

0-5% 12.4% 0-5% 6-10% 5.6%

11-15% 4.3% 6-10% 16-20% 6.2%

10 21-30% 4.9% 11-15% 31-50% 3.1% Prefer not In this current to disclose year, what’s your 51-75% 2.5%

organisation’s 16-20% 76-100% 0.6% profit margin expected to be? 101-200% 0.6%

Over 200% 1.2%

21-30% Prefer not to disclose 56.2%

It’s difficult to make comparisons to previous Over 200% 31-50% reports on this question – most respondents are 51-75% 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 76-100% 101-200% since our last report, but this would not paint a fair or perhaps realistic indication of market trends.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 16 PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

Less than last year

PROFIT RESPONSES

About the same More than last year 43.2% More than last year Not known 34.0%

11 About the same 15.4% Is this margin Less than last year 7.4% more or less More developers were open to discussing if their than last year? 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. Not known

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 17 PRODUCTS & BUDGETS

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

GAMER RESPONSES 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Casual 72.8%

Midcore/Core 56.2%

Hardcore 17.9%

Children 15.4%

Competitive / eSports 14.2%

Other (please specify) 7.4%

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%.

Casual Midcore Children Hardcore

Competitive / eSports Other (please specify)

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 18 THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRY Business trends and market outlook

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 19 THE MOBILE GAME INDUSTRY

Looking back at 2017 so far, what were the key TRENDS RESPONSES Augmented Reality 42.9% 13 trends for the mobile games industry? (Please tick all that apply) Real-time competitive multiplayer games 41.4% Growth of influencer marketing 34.6% People watching games 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% (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% Virtual Reality 26.2% 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% Other (please specify) 4.2%

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 marketing survey: real-time competitive multiplayer gaming Virtual Reality – particularly as esports gets more popular, the

online influencers growth of influencer marketing and people Augmented Realitymultiplayer games in western markets Rewarded ad videos consoles/platforms Growth of influencer The rise of YouTube/ Real-time competitive Other (please specify) watching games on platforms like Twitch. Location-based games Competition from new People watching games Interactive/playable ads Growth of Asian markets Growth of new consoles Messenger/browser gaming grew slightly to 18.85%

Increase in free-to-play titles Increase in AsianMessenger/browser investmentIncrease gamingin paid game prices – definitely a trend to watch for our next survey. Growth of emerging markets Better monetisation methods Access to new types of funding Growth of smartphone volumes

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 20 THE MOBILE GAME INDUSTRY All data calculated using a points system based on votes cast

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

USA/Canada 7 777 LESS IMPORTANT VERY IMPORTANT China 34 691 Asia 28 687 USA/Canada Europe 15 591 China Japan 48 540

Asia UK 41 520

Europe South Korea 51 508

Japan South East Asia 78 375 Nordics 107 354 UK Australia/NZ 84 294 South Korea India 142 281 South East Asia Russia 120 258

Nordics South/Latin America 152 252

Australia/NZ Middle East 209 172

India Africa 466 47

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

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 21 Very Negative THE MOBILE GAME INDUSTRY Other

Negative

FORECAST RESPONSES Difficult to say Positive 44.5%

Very Positive 30.4%

Neutral 14.7% Neutral 15 Difficult to say 6.8% Positive Negative 2.6% In your opinion, what is the outlook for the Very Negative 0.5% global mobile games development sector Other (please specify) 0.5%

over the next Outlook for the mobile games industry over the 12 months? 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 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.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 22 THE MOBILE GAME INDUSTRY

What do you think are the biggest threats to the global TRENDS RESPONSES 16 (Tick all that apply) Competition 66.5% mobile games business at the moment? (amount of releases) Rising UA costs 59.2%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% Rising marketing costs 46.1% Rising development costs 29.3%

Ad fraud 28.3% (fake views, clicks, in-app activity or installs) 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%

Other (please specify) 4.7%

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 Piracy percentage of respondents with such concerns was Ad fraud lower however this year at 66.49%, compared to Competition Price deflation 73.1% in autumn 2017. Other key concerns were Rising UA costs other platforms also the same as previous surveys: rising UA costs, OS fragmentation Competition from of 32-bit support Apple’s withdrawal marketing costs and development budgets. Other (please specify) Rising marketing costs Amount of free content Rising development costs

Declining consumerPolitical interest uncertainty & unrest

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 23 THE MOBILE GAME INDUSTRY

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

WEIGHTED AVERAGE STRONGLY STRONGLY DISAGREE DISAGREE INDIFFERENT AGREE AGREE Influencer marketing is Influencer marketing is now the most important way 5.9% 17.6% 36.2% 34.6% 5.9% of marketing our product to gamers one of the hottest trends in the games industry right now, and it’s rising Influencers are a modest part of our marketing 2.2% 13.4% 33.3% 46.2% 4.8% strategy alongside other forms of outreach on mobile too, so we asked developers a number of questions to Influencer marketing is a fad and not 13.4% 41.9% 27.4% 12.4% 4.8% part of our long term strategy gauge opinion on the effectiveness of promotions through Nobody is sure of the long term 3.7% 17.7% 34.8% 38.5% 5.4% significance of influencer marketing these social media stars. While its importance as part of the marketing We are unsure how much to pay for 2.7% 11.3% 28% 43% 15.1% influencer marketing campaigns toolbox is broadly accepted, there remains

We have engaged the services of expert marketing 20.1% 18.5% 37% 21.7% 2.7% considerable confusion agencies to help us with influencer campaigns regarding long-term effectiveness and actual

It is impossible to launch a mobile game these days 17.2% 33.9% 26.3% 20.4% 2.2% value (primarily driven without thinking of the esports and streaming potential from the difficulty in tracking the success of

Reaching potential influencers online is a 1.1% 15.1% 31.7% 39.8% 12.4% this type of campaign), as confusing and time-consuming process well as resentment over the core process of It is hard to measure the success of an 2.7% 13.4% 30.1% 39.8% 14% reaching out to the influencer marketing campaign influencers themselves.

Engaging organically with YouTubers and streamers has 7.0% 11.3% 55.4% 23.7% 2.7% saved me money in old-school PR and marketing costs

Online video influencers are more important to the 3.2% 15.6% 39.8% 30.1% 11.3% success of our games than traditional games journalists

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 24 THE FUTURE OF THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRY What lies ahead?

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 25 THE FUTURE OF THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRY

Where are the key opportunities for the mobile TRENDS RESPONSES 18 games industry in 2018? (Please tick all that apply) New monetisation methods 44.7% Growth of emerging markets (Brazil, Russia, India, China, etc) 40.8% Augmented Reality 39.1%

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 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 23.5% in Western markets 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% Virtual Reality 14.5% New consoles/platforms 8.4% Increase in paid game prices 6.7% Other (please specify) 0%

Perhaps owing to the increasing popularity, and

lucrative nature of, advertising in mobile games –

Other including rewarded and playable ads – new

methods monetisation models were seen as the biggest key Growth of Growth of opportunity. It’s not just ads, though. Niantic has Mixed Reality Virtual Reality Access to new successfully partnered with businesses for sponsored types of funding online influencers New monetisation Augmented Realitymultiplayer games Pokémon GO locations, while Glu Mobile’s Design in Western markets Rewarded ad videos influencer marketing The rise of YouTube/ Realtime competitive smartphone volumes Location-based games Home, as well as using IAPs, has a number of brand People watching games Interactive/playable ads Growth of Asian markets New consoles/platforms partnerships. AR and the growth of emerging markets Increase in AsianMessenger/browser investment gamingIncrease in free-to-play titles Increase in paid game prices Growth of emerging markets (India, China) were also seen as big opportunities.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 26 THE FUTURE OF THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRY

Which markets will be important to you over the OPPORTUNITY RESPONSES 19 next 12 months? (Tick all that apply) USA/Canada 87.2%

Europe 62.0% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 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%

UK The USA and Canada remain the most important Asia India China Japan Russia Africa markets for our survey respondents, with 87.15% Europe Nordics citing it as a key region for them over the next 12 Middle East USA/Canada South Korea Australia/NZ months. Europe and the UK remain the second and South East Asia third most sought after markets, though the

South/Latin America 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.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 27 IMPORTANCE IMPORTANCE IMPORTANCE PRIORITY MEDIUM MEDIUM

SPRING •2018SPRING App store promotion LOW LOW HIGH HIGH 2 0

Social media the next 12 months?the 12 next How do you plan to grow your audience over Paid user acquisition The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Developer PocketThe Games Survey Gamer.biz Mobile

PR activity

In-game advertising

Interactive/playable ads

(Let us know how important each is) is) each important how know (Let us

Traditional marketing

display advertisingTraditional

Influencer marketing

Video advertising priority marketing channel. a as area this see over 17%) (just developers fewer rise, costs acquisition user paid as Meanwhile, report. last our over 8% from of increase –an of respondents 27% by nearly priority highest the as seen now is media social audiences, key building still for while however, time This developers. for priority biggest the as seen was promotion store survey, app trends autumn previous our In Video advertising Influencer marketing Traditional display advertising Traditional marketing Interactive/playable ads In-game advertising PR activity Paid user acquisition Social media storeApp promotion PRIORITY in association with association in THE FUTURE OF THE MOBILE GAMES INDUSTRY OFTHE GAMES FUTURE MOBILE

44.8% 28.9% 18.0 59.3 41.9% 14.0% 16.3% 19.9 27.3% 5.8% % % % LOW IMPORTANCE 34.9 42.4 32.2 40.1 24.9 23.4 29.7 27.0 27.9 22 % % % % % % % % % % MED. IMPORTANCE 42.8 20.9 36.3 28.5 20.7 32.6 29.7 31.8 35.1 9.9 % % % % % % % % % % HIGH IMPORTANCE 26.3 26.6 12.8 12.9 13.4 17.3 2.9 2.3 9.3 7.5 % % % % % % % % % % PRIORITY 28 Is OFFLINE MEDIA CHANNELS Is traditional marketing still relevant?

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 29 USE OCCASIONALLY USE REGULARLY SPRING •2018SPRING IN FUTURE UNLIKELY MAY USE MAY 2 TO USE TO N/A 1

media advertising programme? What do part offline channels play in your TV The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Developer PocketThe Games Survey Gamer.biz Mobile Radio

Cinema

Outdoor

Printed

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

4.0% 4.0% 2.0% 3.4% 4.7% 2.7% USE REGULARLY 10.7 9.4 6.7 3.3 2.7 12.0 % % % %

% USE OCCASIONALLY 13.4 11.4 8.7 6.7 9.5 13.3 % % % % % MAY USE IN FUTURE OFFLINE MEDIA CHANNELS 46.3 53.4 41.6 47.0 57.3 44.0 % % % % UNLIKELY TO USE % 40.3 30.7 25.5 31.1 27.5 26.7 % % % % N/A % 30 OFFLINE MEDIA CHANNELS

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

N/A GOOD UNDERSTANDING REASONABLE UNDERSTANDING LOW UNDERSTANDING LOW UNDERSTANDING N/A UNDERSTANDING Planning 17.3% 32% 34% 16.7%

Buying 14% 29.3% 40.7% 16%

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

REASONABLE UNDERSTANDING 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% GOOD knew the potential results that can be achieved through these UNDERSTANDING channels. The benefits are just not clear enough for developers right now, it seems.

Buying Planning that can

be achieved

Potential results

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 31 OFFLINE MEDIA CHANNELS

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

HIGHEST LOWEST RANKED RANKED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Perhaps most obviously, the biggest reason for developers not utilising Lack of budget 42.8% 11.8% 7.9% 5.9% 6.6% 9.2% 7.9% 7.9% offline media channels in their marketing is the lack of a budget to do so. Costs are prohibitive compared Combined this with a to other channels 11.2% 36.2% 8.6% 15.1% 11.2% 7.2% 5.9% 4.6% perception that costs are prohibitive compared to other platforms, and the perceived lack of ability Lack of time/resource 5.9% 12.5% 28.9% 11.2% 13.2% 13.8% 9.2% 5.3% to track and optimise ads, and developers are not always too keen to test the waters here away Lack of inhouse expertise 3.3% 3.9% 13.2% 27% 16.4% 11.8% 13.2% 11.2% from the tried and tested online channels.

Ability to track and optimise 13.8% 11.2% 11.2% 15.8% 29.6% 11.2% 5.9% 1.3%

Ability to achieve comparable cost/ 8.6% 13.2% 13.2% 6.6% 11.2% 31.6% 11.2% 4.6% KPI results as digital channels

Ability to target specific audiences 5.9% 7.2% 13.8% 11.2% 7.9% 11.2% 34.2% 8.6%

8.6% 3.3% 3.9% 12.5% Don’t want to use an external agency 56.6% 3.9% 7.2% 3.9%

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 32 OFFLINE MEDIA CHANNELS Other

If a competitor used them

None REGION RESPONSES

Internal or external skill sets Higher available budget 49.3%

Ability to track, analyse and optimise 47.4% When existing channels became ineffective Lower campaign costs 38.2% Achieve comparable performance to digital 38.2%

If others were achieving Higher available budget impressive results Ability to accurately segment and target 35.5%

If we could test risk-free 35.5% Ability to track, 24 More time and resource 32.2% analyse and optimise For brand building For brand building or different products 30.9% or different products Under what If others were achieving 19.7% circumstances might you impressive results When existing channels became consider using offline 17.1% ineffective channels that you Lower campaign costs Internal or external skill sets 16.5% haven’t tried before None – unlikely to use offline media 9.9% (Please tick all that apply) More time and If a competitor used them 7.2% resource performanceAchieve to comparable digital Other (please specify) 2%

segment and target and segment Ability to accurately Ability 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

If we could test the key concern in this area. Developers also said risk-free 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.

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 33 SECONDARY KPI SECONDARY SPRING •2018SPRING PRIME KPI PRIME IN FUTURE UNLIKELY MAY USE MAY 2 TO USE TO N/A

Top line revenue 5

Number of users they change in future? What are your KPIs and how might Cost per install (CPI)

The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Developer PocketThe Games Survey Gamer.biz Mobile Re-engagement

Brand Awareness

Downloads

Daily Active UsersChurn (DAU) Rate

Monthly Active Users (MAU)

Daily Sessions per DAU

(Stickiness Retention DAU/MAU) Rate Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

Lifetime Value (LTV) more, and the number of daily sessions per daily active user. active daily per sessions of daily number the and more, engagement metrics, ensuring your players are coming back for re- are important quickly. Also products your recognise can consumers –that awareness brand was respondents survey by our noted KPI important most The success. to measure publishing and development games of mobile part important an is on success game’s your to judge indicators key the performance out Working Lifetime Value Lifetime Cost Per Acquisition DAU/MAU) (Stickiness Rate Retention DAUDaily per Sessions Users Active Monthly Users Active Daily Rate Churn Downloads Awareness Brand Re-engagement install per Cost of users Number Top revenue line KPI (LTV)

(CPI) (DAU) in association with association in (CPA) (MAU)

44.5 30.6 22.8 25.9 32.9 55.4 33.6 39.5 36.7 13.8 21.5 52.7 47.7 PRIME KPI YOUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 28.8 20.3 36.6 23.5 35.9 34.7 41.6 32.7 14.9 31.3 27.2 27.4 34 SECONDARY KPI 26.9 22.9 10.9 14.4 16.3 19.3 19.7 8.8 8.8 8.8 6.8 9.4 6.7 MAY USE IN FUTURE 6.2 3.4 3.5 4.7 1.4 1.4 2.7 6.1 4.1 7.6 2 2 2 UNLIKELY TO USE 18.4 14.8 18.5 16.2 15.9 19.2 16.1 17.4 17.6 17.7 17.7 17.7 20 N/A 34 INDUSTRY EVENTS Where the business happens

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 35 INDUSTRY EVENTS All data calculated using a points system based on votes cast RELATIVE How would you rate the following events for EVENT SCORE 26 GDC 5.0 value for money? Game Connection Europe 4.7 Casual Connect USA 4.6 Game Connection America 4.6 PGC London 4.5 Gamescom 4.5 EXCELLENT PGC San Francisco 4.4 GDC Europe 4.3 ChinaJoy 4.3 GOOD PGC Helsinki 4.2 G-STAR 4.2 E3 4.1 Casual Connect Europe 4.1 OK Nordic Game 4.0 MGF London 3.9 Slush 3.9 NEEDS TO GameStart Asia 3.9 IMPROVE DevGamm Moscow 3.8 Casual Connect Asia 3.8 Casual Connect Tel Aviv 3.8 POOR White Nights Moscow 3.7 White Nights St Petersburg 3.7 Develop 3.7 VERY Casual Connect Kyiv 3.7 POOR CES 3.7 Slush Play 3.7 Apps World London 3.5 E3 CES GDC Slush G-STAR Industry events offer numerous potential benefits Develop ChinaJoy Slush Play to attendees. In terms of the all-important Gamescom GDC Europe PGC London PGC Helsinki Nordic GameMGF London perceived value, GDC continues its now-usual GameStart Asia reign at the top of the list, but it’s interesting to PGC San Francisco DevGamm Moscow Apps World London see a rise in the ranking of some US-based events Casual Connect USA Casual Connect Asia Casual Connect Kyiv White Nights Moscow – a possible reflection of this survey’s higher Casual Connect Europe Casual Connect Tel Aviv proportion of respondents from that region. Game Connection Europe White Nights St Petersburg Game Connection America

SPRING • 2018 The Pocket Gamer.biz Mobile Games Developer Trends Survey in association with 36 MOBILE GAMES IN ASSOCIATION WITH DEVELOPER TRENDS SURVEY www.PocketGamer.biz

Contacts

EDITORIAL Craig Chapple Senior Editor, PocketGamer.biz Email: [email protected] Website Events Consultancy Skype: craig.chapple PocketGamer.biz is the leading Come to one of our international Working on a new game? The b2b website serving international mobile games conferences and Global App Promoter is Steel ADVERTISING mobile and handheld games meet the biggest names in the Media’s full service agency offering professionals. It’s all about the business! We run PG Connects a range of options for reaching an industry, including the processes, events in key cities such as audience through our multiple Lisa Bisset technology and deals that drive London, San Francisco and channels. Alongside traditional VP of Business Development (Global) the business that makes games Helsinki – they’re the live version marketing and advertising options, Email: [email protected] happen. You’ll find daily news, of PocketGamer.biz, featuring we offer an exclusive Preferred interviews, analytical features and talks, workshops and networking. Partner coverage programme on Skype: lambisset more. We also serve the VR/AR/MR Visit www.pgconnects.com for our leading consumer websites, as industries with TheVirtualReport. more information. We also well as consultancy services to biz, the PC games development organise XR Connects for VR/AR/ help you give your game the best community with PCGamesInsider. MR professionals, PC Connects for start possible. Visit biz, and the influencer marketing those working in PC gaming, and globalapppromoter.com to see scene with InfluencerUpdate.biz, new for 2018 is Blockchain Gamer our range of services. while our newest launch is Connects, showcasing the impact BlockchainGamer.biz. of blockchain tech on games. BONUS! 1 TICKET. 2 EVENTS. NEW MAY FOR 2018! 14-15 2018 ENDLESS NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES & 80+ EXPERT TALKS OVER 2 DAYS

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