Hybrid Gaming: Gambling Industry Opportunities

The mobile gaming industry has seen tremendous growth over the past 18 months, but there are signs that player engagement is declining from the dizzying heights it reached in earlier stages of the pandemic. Compared to the first half of 2020, mobile game downloads and time spent on mobile devices slowed for the same period in 2021.1 To reverse the trend, developers must take advantage of new growth opportunities and find ways to create better mobile games that capture the hearts and minds of all players.

One opportunity in the game market is hybrid genre games. Blending game design elements and experiences from different genres, hybrid games appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers. Last year, the category grew nearly 2X year-over-year in Asian markets. Subgenres within the category, such as 4X March Battle and Match-3 Meta (M3 Meta), continue to gain ground, with 42% growth in consumer spending year over year.2

To help developers capitalize on the opportunities of gaming subgenres, we’ve partnered with mobile data and analytics organization App Annie to study over 2,000 games developed by global publishers and uncover key gaming insights from 2021 in our Mobile Gaming Industry Report.

We found that the top 10 profitable game subgenres from last year, including Strategy, Match and RPG, continue to earn the most revenue, but subgenres such as Hypercasual have jumped into top download positions.3 This indicates a possible shift in player preferences and an opportunity to unlock growth across all game subgenres.

To identify areas of growth that developers can capitalize on, we developed a scoring model of subgenre opportunities based on the number of games, growth in consumer spending, and total time spent on games.

The model consists of three categories of subgenres in the mobile gaming market:

Score leaders. These subgenres have fewer titles with higher average rankings. Games in this category have seen significant growth in consumer spending and have larger than average user bases. Moderate means. These subgenres are more densely populated with average ranked games. Growth in consumer spending and user bases has been modest or below average compared to other leading subgenres. Highly competitive. Some of these subgenres have high total consumer spending, but they have also seen below-average growth rates in consumer spending, and shrinking user bases compared to lower-ranked titles.

For each game subgenre category in our model, we identified opportunities for growth and innovation for mobile games.

Score Leaders: Building Communities to Improve Engagement

The Score Leaders category, which includes subgenres such as Luck Battle (for example, “Coin Master”), Merge-Saga (for example, “Merge Dragons”), and Creative Sandbox (for example, “Roblox”), engages players with social and multiplayer features, such as player-versus-player (PvP) interactions and leaderboards. These community-building features provide varied gameplay, keeping players engaged for the long haul.

Take the leading Luck Battle slot game “Coin Master” as an example. Players not only spin to win coins and build Viking towns in this chance-based game, but also use their winnings to gain PvP advantages, such as fighting other towns to progress and stay in the game. The added social dimension of in-game and out-of-game connections with other players and online friends, awarding players with extra bonuses, keeps them coming back for more. While developers may have to spend more initial resources to add these social and multiplayer features, the investment can help them increase player engagement and retention.

Moderate Middle: Explore meta concepts to attract new audiences

Subgenres in the Moderate Middle category, such as M3-Meta (for example, “Project Makeover”), Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (for example, “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang”) and Build-Battle (for example, “Clash of Clans”), offer players rich and innovative meta concepts to pique their interest and encourage exploration.

But there’s no need for developers to reinvent the wheel here. Games that do well in this subgenre offer new meta variations on tried-and-true formulas, as seen in popular games like “Bejeweled Blitz” and “Candy Crush.”

One example is the popular Match-3 hybrid game “Project Makeover.” The engaging, chapter-based narratives borrow from popular TV shows like “Project Runway” and “America’s Next Top Model” to appeal to its predominantly female and mature core group of Match-3 players.

Zack Zhao, CEO of Magic Tavern, which publishes “Project Makeover”, says: “From our user behavior analysis, we learned that players prefer dramatic storylines and that TV show themes have never been designed into the game, so we decided to try it in ‘Project Makeover’.”

To attract meta-game fans in the US and Europe, where the demographic skews female and adult, “Project Makeover” incorporated fashion-themed meta elements such as decoration, makeup and styling into the game. This winning combination helped the game rank third in our report’s list of top five games by overseas consumer spending for the first half of 2021.

Highly Competitive: Get creative with game optimization

Subgenres in the highly competitive category, including Idol Training (for example, “Uma Musume Pretty Derby”), Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (for example, “Lineage M”) and Team Battle (for example, “Fate/Grand Order”), can boost growth rates and player engagement through creative and continuous game optimization.

Idol Training simulation games in particular have introduced innovative concepts and game mechanics that keep players engaged as they train and level up Japanese anime-inspired idols through a variety of game activities.

One such training simulation game is “Uma Musume: Pretty Derby.” Its strong storytelling and character development potential motivate players to take care of horse racing teams and have them compete in a derby. The game is further optimized for continuous, engaged gameplay and monetization by allowing players to acquire characters to improve their teams. Through in-app purchases based on the Gacha game mechanic used in Japanese toy vending machines, players can acquire random characters to help them build their teams.

Even if the overall growth in mobile games slows in 2022, there are still opportunities for games to achieve victories in game markets and genres, and hybridization is the key to success. By leveraging the strengths of game subgenres, developers can come up with the next game that attracts a diverse player base, has strong player engagement, and uses creative monetization strategies.