Mobile game trends in 2023 - what innovations to expect this year?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the rapidly increasing mobile game community now consists of around 2.7M people from around the world. In 2022, the gaming industry's revenue from smart devices alone was about 87.8 billion euros. What mobile gaming trends are we likely to see in the newly the begun year of 2023?

"Smart device gaming can provide a story-driven and visually stunning experience that rivals other popular gaming platforms. We have seen extremely rapid growth in the mobile games market for several years in a row (25.6% in 2020, and 7.3% in 2021). Although the overall decline of the mobile game market was visible at the end of 2022 (-6.4 percent), the market should successfully recover and continue to grow in 2023, maintaining a long-term average annual growth of 7-8 percent. Mobile games remain the most profitable market segment, accounting for approximately 50% of total turnover.

Since the beginning of last year, the game industry has been undergoing changes and technological advancements. We kicked off the year with Microsoft's intention to acquire Activision Blizzard, a shaky but still expanding cloud gaming market. Furthermore, with the introduction of new artificial intelligence tools, disputes between significant game developers and app platforms continue. Changes and development are likely to accelerate in 2023, as game developers seek new ways to stand out and provide new experiences to players in the face of a temporary market contraction. That is why we asked game producers, specialists who create games in our studio, what the most prominent trends in the game industry they see for the upcoming year", - says Simonas Sturys , Nordcurrent's head of marketing, who interviewed four studio project managers and game producers.

1.?????Market competition among game creators will raise the game quality

"The long-term growth of the mobile game market encourages publishers to increase their investment. Of course, the largest companies offer the best investment opportunities. AAA-level game publishers like Electronic Arts, Activision, and Epic Games will compete for a larger slice of the market pie. These companies will not only significantly increase the already intense competition, but will also implement more expensive game development models. The industry standard will be unlimited open-world games with massive amounts of cutscenes, dialogue, and other content. Such games, of course, necessitate an increasing amount of memory and network resources, but it appears that technology will be able to meet the growing demands of players and developers. As a result, mobile games will become more appealing in terms of both content quality and quantity in the future", - says game producer Aleksandras Tvardauskas.

2.?????Changing Game Monetization Trends

Growing competition and the desire to retain players are forcing publishers to experiment with new monetization methods.

"In-app purchases of virtual objects, support, and functionality are an effective and dominant source of revenue for mobile games. However, we are seeing a growing trend in the market of "play now, pay later" taking the place of the latter. In the mobile gaming industry, subscription-based monetization is making a comeback.

In recent years, we've seen games that offer premium accounts, Battle Passes, or other types of subscriptions that provide special game upgrades, digital accessories, and other things for a limited time. The developers allow players to try the free version for a limited time to demonstrate the benefits of such paid subscriptions. Such a trend is becoming more common in games, so we are likely to see the true return of this monetization method in 2023," observes A. Tvardauskas.

He also mentions that, despite changing monetization methods, the amount spent on mobile games may fall by 5-10% compared to last year due to economic factors.

3.?????Advanced technologies will bring new experiences

According to game producer Artur Chvorostjanyj , technological change affects more than just the game industry.

"A lot of games will be built in part or entirely using AI tools like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, ChatGPT, and others." It is important to note that these technologies will have an impact on many industries other than gaming.

5G communication technology is also important, as it has the potential to modernize the mobile gaming industry. "Many gamers and developers wish for faster game downloads, fewer app lags or crashes, and a smooth experience," he says.

4.?????Interweaving of platforms

Games on smart devices account for roughly half of all industry revenue, trailing only consoles and PCs. Major PC gaming brands have made some very successful attempts to enter mobile platforms in the last year.

"It's likely that in 2023 we'll start to see more and more games that will be cross-platform. For example, a player can play on their powerful PC at home and continue the same game experience on their smartphone while traveling. Nothing will change; the game will continue at the same level, in the same environment, with no loss of achievements. This growing trend will remove the device limitation, games will become more seamless, and the product will be available to a wider audience. Also visible in the Mid-Core category is the expansion of larger PC platform franchises into the mobile gaming market. Apex Legends Mobile and Diablo Immortal were two fairly successful attempts last year. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more well-known names from PC games appear on the mobile game market this year." The studio's game producer, Lukas Garliauskas , shares his thoughts.

5.?????Top three game genres

"In recent years, puzzle, simulation, and arcade games have been popular. These categories are very likely to remain the most popular among players in 2023 as well. According to some estimates, the latter genres could account for up to 40% of all mobile game markets. Games that successfully combine multiple sub-genre categories and mechanics will be highly sought after.

In the puzzle subgenre category, a new type of merge-mechanic game, such as 2048, has emerged. It's a particularly appealing mechanic, and many mobile games have begun to incorporate combo mechanic mini-games into their game content. The sandbox subgenre, where creativity is emphasized (for example, Minecraft, Don't Starve: Pocket Edition, Roblox, and so on), received the most players in the simulation games category. "The genres of driving and breeding are also still popular," says game producer Tomas ?iuk??ius .

He also suggests that developers who want to make a hit in 2023 should experiment boldly by combining various game mechanics.