An unexpected shift is taking place in the video game industry: a focus on smaller screens.
It seems like an odd transition as TVs get bigger and offer higher resolution than ever before. But mobile gaming is clearly gaining portability. At least that’s part of the recipe for why mobile gaming generated $93.2 billion in revenue in 2021.
Another part of this gargantuan success is a newer model that’s being heavily used in the mobile space. Named Free To Play or FTP, the games are free to download but provide players with numerous opportunities to purchase features that make the games more interesting and addicting, such as in-game currency, weapons, rare items, and more.
The FTP model has emerged as a money-making machine for the video game industry.
Activision Blizzards (ATVI) The first title made for mobile, the recently released Diablo Immortal, grossed $100 million in its first 60 days. That’s the kind of revenue no developer can ignore, especially considering it was the company’s most financially successful title since its inception in 1991.
With projections that the wireless sector will reach $338 billion by 2030, it’s easy to see why so many are looking into it.
Netflix (NFLX) has viewed it as a possible solution to his struggles. The streaming giant has been aggressively building its gaming presence, promising a mobile library of 50 games by the end of the year and dropping hints that it intends to move into cloud gaming as well.
Now Sony (SONY) made an announcement making it clear that it plans to push further into mobile as well.
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Sony teams up with Savage Games
Sony’s head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, said on PlayStation Blog on August 29 that the company would acquire Savage Game Studios, a young Berlin-based mobile developer, and merge it into its new PlayStation Studios Mobile division.
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Founded by Mikhail Katoff, Nadjim Adjir and Michael McManus, the studio has yet to produce any titles of its own. But its co-founders have worked on Clash of Clans and Angry Birds, both hugely successful mobile titles. Clash of Clans grossed $489 million in 2021 and Angry Birds grossed €286.2 million ($287.8 million).
Hulst provided some insight into why PlayStation made the move, listing successful titles on PlayStation 5 and PC, and explaining how the mobile effort would follow the same formula.
“Our mobile gaming efforts will be similarly additive, providing more ways for more people to engage with our content and striving to reach new audiences unfamiliar with PlayStation and our games,” he said.
“Savage Game Studios is joining a newly created PlayStation Studios Mobile Division that will operate independently of our console development and will focus on innovative on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP.”
Sony is planning a live-action format
Hulst also says that Savage is already working on “a new unannounced live service mobile action game.”
Sony has experimented with bringing some of its best-selling franchises to mobile in the past, including a 2018 spin-off of the historical adventure series God of War and a LittleBigPlanet runner called Run Sackboy! Run!”. in 2015.
While these are casual titles, the new game under development will follow the now popular live service format. These games are designed to keep players constantly engaged in ever-changing worlds with live events, tournaments and more, giving them a reason to keep playing – and spending money.
While these games require more resources to keep running, they also draw players in with the promise that they are free to play, often convincing them to spend more money in-game than if they were even going to pay a retail price for it.
Electronic Arts (EA) the publisher of the long-running “Madden” series, announced in November 2021 that it expects to generate 70% of its transactions via live services.
This is just one of many whose earnings are proving that live services and mobile are the natural way of gaming – which is great news for any gaming company looking to increase profits.
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