Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

Merge Puzzle: Gossip Harbor One of the most common places to encounter storytelling elements on mobile is within the puzzle genre, and while this might sound unconventional, it’s all relatively seamless in practice. Gossip Harbor (source: GameRefinery platform). Despite the dark setting of the story, dialogue is peppered with humor.

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Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 260

Game Analytics

DECEMBER 28, 2022

Think of this as a hyper-casual Beyblade game with a merge mechanic mixed in the middle. What we liked about Spinner Merge is how they came about the idea of bringing in the merge mechanic. Cart Crash is an incredibly satisfying game that relies much more on timing than any other mechanic. Spinner Merge by Sunday.GG.

Mobile Gaming 98

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 98

Game Refinery

APRIL 6, 2023

With increased competition from IDFA regulation changes and new games consistently entering the market, two of the biggest challenges facing publishers and mobile game studios are acquiring new players (UA) and keeping those players in your game (player retention).

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Mechanics Mobile Mobile Puzzle 236

Game Refinery

JANUARY 5, 2023

They say imitation is a form of flattery, and there’s no shortage of mobile games that share a striking similarity with other popular titles in the PC, console and mobile markets. Why isn’t there a mobile version of Fall Guys? That said, there are arguments for and against releasing a mobile version of Fall Guys.

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Mobile Mobile Mechanics Feature 130

Game Refinery

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Following the high-level trend of hybridization across mobile , more and more casual games have started introducing competitive elements into their live event strategies. With that in mind, are mobile game studios missing out on an important opportunity here to boost engagement?

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Puzzle Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile 130

PreMortem.Games

JULY 4, 2023

A larger drop can be identified if we compare Q2 2023 to Q2 2022. Released back in 2022, the game takes its inspiration from the widely popular Piano Tiles series by Umoni Games. The gameplay uses a simple time-sensitive touch mechanic where a user needs to activate 2D tiles to match the beat of various music tracks being played.

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Tile Racing Pixel Games 252

Game Refinery

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Competition is fierce in the mobile game market, but even more so for developers of casual and hyper-casual games. So, what can mobile game developers do to increase the chances of their games performing well? The game mechanics are simple: players trade fidget toys and aim to get the best trade. Satisfying to Watch.

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Build Mechanics Mobile Gaming Puzzle 130

Game Refinery

JUNE 23, 2022

The onboarding period is the delicate phase where the player’s relationship to the monetization mechanics of the game is often decided – for better or worse. Let’s find out what kind of interesting monetization features aimed specifically at new players can be found in top mobile games from East to West!

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Mechanics Mobile Mobile Point and Click 130

Game Refinery

SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

Mobile game developers are constantly looking for new ways to bring in new players and keep existing players engaged with their games. One of the most successful ways of doing this is by introducing meta elements – gameplay elements and mechanics from other game genres – into your game. and feel a sense of accomplishment.

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Mobile Gaming Mechanics Mobile Mobile 130

Game Refinery

OCTOBER 27, 2022

The social gaming trend is taking mobile games by storm and so the quest to innovate social elements intensifies. Most notably, casual mobile games, which make use of this feature, have the most straightforward implementation of the Friend Invitation system. Lock exclusive rewards behind the friend retention mechanic.

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Mobile Gaming Feature Mobile Mobile 130

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 17, 2023

State of the Mobile Games Market The Western mobile games market , which we broadly analyze by removing the Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean markets from the numbers, saw overall installs climb by 14% to 47.5B Noticeably, Tencent’s PUBG Mobile and Garena’s Free Fire were both down 37%.

Mobile Gaming 52

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Sandbox 52

PreMortem.Games

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

2023 turned out to be no less challenging for the mobile market than the year before. User spending went down by around 3.5%, following the decline trend of 2022. Idle Tycoon : a developing genre with good potential and risk/reward ratio that seemed rather promising in 2022. Top image: Merge Mansion.

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Data Mechanics Games Development 104

Logic Simplified

NOVEMBER 26, 2024

Subway Surfers was the most popular game for three consecutive years, with 218 million downloads in 2023, 304 million in 2022, and 191 million in 2021. Core Mechanics of an Endless Runner Game Game mechanics make a video game engaging and challenging for players. Get in touch for 20-mins of free consultation.

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Mechanics Games Concepts Feature 40

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 13, 2022

An essential data platform for all mobile gaming studios. As people were locked down and real-life casinos shut down, casino games on mobile made bank. Casino on Mobile Trends, Demographics, Audience, and IPs. The drop of downloads will most likely lead to declining revenue in 2022. Access all previous predictions here.

Games 52

Games Mobile Mobile Puzzle 52

Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

The Academy Award for Best Picture is essentially the same product whether viewed in the theaters or on a mobile device, but the Game of the Year award is evaluated quite differently for mobile games than it is for PC and console titles. Additionally, the lines between “mobile devices” and consoles are increasingly blurring.

Mobile 59

Mobile Mobile Mobile Gaming Games 59

Game Analytics

DECEMBER 5, 2022

This time, we’ll look at the top games that use storytelling as a core mechanic and show you that you don’t need sparkling design and intense gameplay to create a hit. Available on mobile, console and PC. Available on mobile devices, Apple watch and PC. Available on mobile devices only. Published in 2022.

Horror 109

Horror Games Mobile Mobile 109

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 31, 2022

An essential data platform for all mobile gaming studios. Well, one of the biggest trends in mid-core games is growing your business on mobile and beyond. In 2021 the Mid-core category continued to dominate on the revenue side, bringing 45% of all In-App Purchase (IAP) revenues in mobile markets (excluding China, Japan, and Korea).

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Cross platform Platformer Puzzle Mobile 52

PreMortem.Games

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

I’ll start by defining these two types of innovation: Content innovation periods are characterized by a focus on developing new types of games, expanding game portfolios, and pushing the boundaries of gameplay mechanics and storytelling. This period saw the rise of social gaming, mobile gaming, and digital distribution platforms.

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Entertainment Content Console Mobile 104

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

The Vietnamese developer WolfFun breathed new life into its top-down MOBA Heroes Strike by relaunching it with blockchain-based play-to-earn mechanics. JB: The mobile games industry is extremely competitive because of its low entry barrier, huge customer size, and short development cycles.

Mobile Gaming 52

Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Games 52

PreMortem.Games

NOVEMBER 17, 2023

I left gamedev entirely for five years, because I was burned out from working on yet another F2P mobile casino game or whatever soulless product would feed my family.” I do sometimes have ‘flashes’ -or dreams- of cool ideas like a gameplay mechanic, other times a whole story or environment. And also: find better tools!

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Dev Playtesting Art Games 160

Game Daily

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

Avalon has found investment backing from the likes of Bitkraft, Delphi Ventures, and Mechanism Capital raising $13 million in a round announced earlier this year. ”The drop that began to take shape in H2 2022 continued and even accelerated in 2023. “In

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Racing Content Fantasy Platformer 98

Game Refinery

OCTOBER 11, 2022

Tower of Fantasy was launched in the global markets in August 2022, luring players to the game with its “Genshin with an MMO experience” headlines. So, does it live up to the promise? Tower of Fantasy is a new MMORPG developed by Hotta Studio and published by Perfect World and Level Infinite. appeared first on GameRefinery.

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Fantasy Co-op Open World Feature 130

Deconstructor of Fun

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023

On December 12th, 2022, Brawl Stars removed its loot boxes, replacing it with a ‘direct purchase’ system for acquiring content. This calculation excludes December 2022, which boosted revenue due to the winter holidays). This move shocked many within the industry and generated polarized opinions among experts.

Content 72

Content Mechanics Dev Data 72

Game Analytics

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

With their short cycles and simple gameplay, crafting a hyper-casual title means you can learn important skills across game design and monetisation, which you’ll need for success in the mobile games industry. A list of 14 of the best hyper-casual mechanics to use for your game. Top 10 Hyper-casual Game Ad Networks in 2022.

Prototyping 68

Prototyping Games Mobile Mobile 68

Deconstructor of Fun

APRIL 4, 2023

We dive into decline of hypercasual games and hybridcasual, an attempt by mobile game developers to adapt to the new normal in the industry. It’s again taking a super simple addictive core game but actually pairing it with a simplified progression mechanic and some amount of live operations. Missed a previous newsletter?

Mechanics 52

Mechanics Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile 52

Deconstructor of Fun

APRIL 2, 2022

Gaming expert speakers talked about the hottest topics in the gaming industry from 2022 predictions to rising game categories, from blockchain & NFT gaming to launch strategies. Mobile games market predictions in 2022 Michail Katkoff, Savage Game Studios, and Deconstructor of Fun.

Mobile 52

Mobile Mobile Balance Mobile Gaming 52

Deconstructor of Fun

AUGUST 21, 2022

But despite what may look like a pivotal battle, in reality, these players are a minority within a huge gaming population that is dominated by a single gaming platform - mobile. In 2022, it’s undebatable that the main gaming platform chosen by most people in the world is their smartphone.

Mobile 52

Mobile Mobile Console Platformer 52

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 23, 2023

Fastforward to September of 2022 and the game, Marvel Snap, is finally out globally after a considerable amount of time in soft launch. The Beginning Let me walk you through the beginning of the game to illustrate just how well done it is, while also explaining the game’s simple mechanics. What’s the best way to describe Marvel Snap?

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Feature Mechanics Tile Mobile 95

Game Errors

APRIL 5, 2023

Take a look at the most popular video games of 2022: Among Us, Apex Legends, CS: GO, and Destiny 2. Graphics and resolutions are impeccable while game mechanics and communication channels are seamless. It doesn’t matter what device you choose: Mobile, console and PC all support advanced multiplayer games in 2022.

Esports 52

Esports Games Internet Technology 52

Logic Simplified

JULY 24, 2024

billion in 2022 and is projected to hit around USD 345.9 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 33.09% during the forecast period 2022 to 2030. It is one of the most upcoming technologies of the times whose mechanism depends on collecting relevant data and understanding the physics of the system that will be replicated.

Technology 47

Technology Communications AI Mechanics 47

Game Errors

JUNE 6, 2023

Gameplay Mechanics Although both of these titles have many similarities, some key differences have made them unique from each other. This characteristic has created many more contrasts, particularly in the shooting, movement, and overall game mechanics. The movement mechanics in Fortnite is very basic.

Data 52

Data Esports Cross platform Content 52

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Supercell CEO’s annual blog post is a personal, inspirational, and sincere communication method from the top brass of a major mobile games company. compared to 2022) while EBITDA reached to a hefty €580m (down 8.2% compared to 2022). As a result, Supercell has fallen from the top-10 mobile publishers’ list.

Mobile 59

Mobile Mobile Communications Mobile Gaming 59

Deconstructor of Fun

FEBRUARY 12, 2024

Guest post by Kenneth Landen , Director of Product at Hit Factor Executive Summary In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile gaming, Supercell's Brawl Stars has undergone a remarkable resurgence, transforming challenges into triumphs. The highest they have been since the start of 2022, at roughly 150% greater than 2023’s baseline install rate.

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Mechanics Content Feature Mobile 59

Deconstructor of Fun

AUGUST 19, 2024

Written by Jesper Gustavsson , Director of Product at SYBO Games and a games industry veteran with 10 years of experience in building and operating mobile games as a product manager. Since its release in 2022, Gossip Harbor has enjoyed remarkably stable and close to linear growth, which is especially impressive in a post ATT-world.

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Balance Mechanics Games Build 98

Deconstructor of Fun

MAY 18, 2023

If you liked this analysis, you’ll love: Why Rovio is Such a Juicy Catch #1 What is the rationale and Strategic interest behind Sega Sammy’s desire to acquire Rovio Entertainment Firstly, Rovio is an earnings-generating mobile gaming company with studios in Europe and Canada. 2022 net profits: Sega: 337.4M USD Rovio: 24.9M

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Mobile Gaming Mobile Mobile Advertising 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 21, 2021

This makes the genre second largest on mobile in (outside key Asian markets) after Puzzle games. While today's Game of War is little more than a profitable legacy title, the game was pivotal to growing the 4X sub-genre to what it is today - a $5B sub-genre on mobile in the Western markets. Then Yu-Gi-Oh came along.

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Mobile Mobile Cross platform Puzzle 52

Deconstructor of Fun

JANUARY 25, 2021

Despite being the smallest category by revenue share on mobile, 2020 was a very good year for Sports & Racing as it breached the billion-dollar mark , with combined revenue of $1.2B In other words, as the franchises like NBA postponed their season and lost viewership, so did the NBA mobile game. compared to $827M in 2019.

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Racing Games UX Mobile 52