The mobile game boom during COVID: people are playing more

Interesting things are happening for mobile game studios and publishers. Since people are in quarantine, they have more time for mobile games. In addition, these games are a good way to distract attention from the current situation. As a result of this, some mobile games are climbing and getting better rankings in the app stores. It seems conditions are very favorable for the game industry.

Here we read some of the views of leaders of this industry on the impact of the coronavirus on the boom in mobile games.

Mobile game downloads are growing

Parchisi Star, a mobile game from Gameberry Labs, saw a significant boost in downloads. We asked Pradeep Gupta, Product Lead at Gameberry Labs, to tell us more about it: "Staying all day at home makes people anxious and the news is mostly a source of stress and anxiety. Everyone wants to feel safe and connected and is looking for an escape from everyday worries. In these hard times, our game Parchisi Star helps them take their mind off these issues. People play with their friends and family. After the game spread in Spain, we saw download traffic quadruple and also time spent in the game. The game reached first place for both Android and iOS. We did not expect such conditions, but we are working day and night to keep this same spirit in Spain and to give people the social connection they need to get out of the current situation."

The impact of COVID on app store optimization

Together we read an interesting statement from Dave Bell, one of the co-founders and senior executives of Gummicube, on the impact of COVID on app store optimization: "Since the start of the outbreak, we have seen growth in downloads in various app categories, including mobile games. Among games, the growth in impressions and installs of some titles reached 10 percent and some even 60 percent!

Because users are at home and downloading more games, in a cycle, the increase in download figures has a positive effect on the app stores' algorithm. When a user clicks on an app while searching, Apple and Google are informed that this app is relevant to that keyword. This causes the algorithm to raise this app's ranking when that keyword is searched. As a result, the app is seen more and leads to more downloads.

Free apps are more successful at holding their ranking than paid apps, only because users generally click on and install free titles.

What is even more fascinating is that many developers have made their games free in this period to promote their titles and put them in the hands of users who are imprisoned at home. Free apps are more successful at holding their ranking than paid apps, only because users generally click on and install free titles. As a result, these games achieve more clicks and a higher ranking than paid games."

Game development can help mental health in these hard times

Now we read some of the views of Bela Ikotic, one of the senior executives of Mobile Games Entertainment, on the coronavirus and mobile games:

"Given Croatia's uncertain economic situation, I hope that in this global turmoil we as a studio can still cover our costs and also plan for the future. A few years ago we did not want to work only in Croatia, but decided to compete in a global market and not be affected by domestic and local conditions. It is hard to predict how the global mobile market will be, especially when it comes to user acquisition and advertising costs. But as it appears, now is the time to earn as much profit as possible so that we can overcome future conditions. When health is the first priority, making games at home is easy for us especially because we are used to working from home.

With 3 children, a dog and a cat, I work mostly at night, and I distract myself from what is happening outside the home. And yes, I play a lot too. 😊"

Mobile game search has increased because of social distancing

Samuel Franklin of Games Finder has an interesting view on the game genres whose download figures have gone up.

"We have seen an unexpected increase in visits to our recommended game lists, to the point that our website statistics doubled in the past month. From this, we realize that in the current conditions there is very high demand for video games.

Especially in mobile games, we saw that visits to management game pages grew by 857 percent, followed by puzzle games by 590 percent and social games by 368 percent. Meanwhile, casual game statistics have not changed significantly in this period, which indicates that consumers, at a time when they are practicing social distancing, are looking for an interactive and challenging game.

My prediction is that this trend will continue in the future; at the same time, there is also a possibility that current top titles will lose their popularity, because people are always looking for new games. Now that people are all at home and using the internet, it can be expected that in-game ads will come into use more powerfully than before, especially in free games that offer various rewards in exchange for watching video ads."

People's free time is spent on mobile games

The director of Game Gavel, Matthew Lyons, has views on the coronavirus and its impact on mobile games.

"The game development and gaming industry is an industry that is transformed in light of social changes and offers activities that entertain users and, through technology, foster their creativity. With the conditions of the coronavirus outbreak, there is a significant growth in interest in gaming and virtual reality because people spend a great deal of free time at home and in quarantine. Video games are an easy way to pass time and 'keep busy', instead of sitting idle.

With the advance of mobile phones that can now do almost everything a computer does, playing games has become much easier and more accessible. All this free time has led more users to try the various platforms available for different games, and the use of sources and services has increased. With an unpredictable future, it is expected that around the world the game industry will be met with greater uptake."

 

People who are at home use games not only for entertainment, but as a virtual network to connect with one another.

Because live sports are shut down, users turn to virtual sports

We read further remarks on the coronavirus and mobile games from SuperDraft founder Steve Wang:

"With sporting events across the country postponed, we decided to replace this temporary gap with attractive entertainment. Sport can bring people together and be a way to step away from the conditions the world is trying to control.

Given the uncertainty about the effects of COVID-19 and the wise decisions of sports organizations to halt operations until further notice, we hope our free Legends games will give a little calm to those who are suffering from this crisis.

We expected our Legends series to be well received among SuperDraft fans, and now the results are even beyond our imagination. Loyal players are introducing us to their friends, and people are thanking us directly and online for filling this existing void caused by the shutdown of live sports.

People in the quarantine period have turned to virtual sports.

We have about 4000 to 4500 entries each night, which is almost 1000 more than when we had live NBA games. Our younger players really enjoy being able to choose among the greatest NBA players of all time, such as the great 1986 Celtics, 1996 Bulls and 1988 Pistons teams.

We are proud to be the only daily virtual sports company that every day comes up with a new solution to counter the shutdown of the sports world as a result of the coronavirus outbreak."

Platforms for selling in-game mobile items have had the greatest growth among markets in the gaming industry

Platforms for selling in-game items have also grown in recent months. We read the views of Vlad Panchenko, CEO and founder of DMarket, on this:

"The volume of transactions on DMarket, which is one of the platforms for selling in-game products, increased seventy percent from February to March 2020 compared with December 2019.

We had many users from the United States, China, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Germany. With more than 65 percent growth over the past 30 days, many mobile users used this platform. Following this, we are turning to up-to-date methods to attract mobile users. People who are at home use games not only for entertainment, but as a virtual network to connect with one another. In my view, the coronavirus could cause the amount of time people spend daily on games, especially mobile games, to increase by 20 percent.

A time will come when the majority of people leave real life for the gaming world, and this forced quarantine only speeds up that event. I would not be surprised if in the next few months we hear that some real-world businesses such as dating agencies or virtual bars have entered these games."

The coronavirus and mobile games

If you work in the gaming industry, you have really been lucky. Not only do you have the chance to work from home and keep creating, you even have better advantages than other businesses because people are still occupied with mobile games.