According to Newzoo’s 2017 Global Games Market report, mobile gaming will generate $46.1 billion this year, with tablets accounting for nearly a quarter of this revenue. They predict that by 2020, mobile games will generate $64.9 billion in revenue, accounting for more than half of all the total games market.

With so much revenue at stake, we asked Newzoo to help us find out what types of mobile games players are looking for, and how they are finding it.

Favorite game genres

When asked which elements are most appealing in choosing a new game, 41% of global survey respondents said games that are easy to pick up and quickly play was an important factor. It came as no surprise then also to find out that Puzzle games were the favored genre. Interestingly, the second most desirable game trait was complexity. Congruent with this data, Strategy and Action/Adventure games were the 2^nd and 3^rd most popular genres. This data suggests that players are choosing games based on different modes: easier puzzle games when they need to kill some time or are looking for a slight distraction, and more complex strategy games when they are looking for a more involved playing session.

Fig 1. Favorite game elements

Fig 2. Favorite genres

Favorite source for discovery

We also wanted to find out how players were discovering new games. Twenty-nine percent of respondents cited word of mouth from friends and family as a common source for discovery. Having your new favorite game in your pocket makes it is easy to share with others. When recommendations from family and friends don’t suffice, players look to game review sites and their social networks for new content. When deciding on a UA strategy for your game, make sure you are keeping these top 3 sources in mind. What can you build into your game that will make players want to share with others?

Fig 3. Discovery sources

Amazon Appstore

Don’t have any apps or games on the Amazon Appstore? If you have an Android app or game, you may be able to publish it for free without needing to make any changes. Eighty-five percent of Android apps are already compatible with the Appstore platform and don’t require any additional development work. There is no cost to you to publish on the Appstore, and you can earn 70% commission on all monetization features that are embedded in your app.

App Testing Service (ATS) is our drag-and-drop testing tool that provides real-time test results to see if your Android apps and games are compatible with our Appstore. You can use the ATS tool without registering for an account. If you decide to publish, all you need to do is register for a free developer account and follow our app submission process.