When we hear the word "gamer," we usually think of a Razer headphone-clad, RGB-ridden, maybe slightly nerdy-looking person, clattering away at a flashing keyboard in front of two or three monitors. Rarely do we think of someone tapping away at Clash of Clans on their smartphone while riding the subway.
Yet according to a new report by global gaming analytics firm NewZoo(via Android Police), 2021 market analyses show that mobile games are turning the entire gaming industry head over heels. In fact, last year alone, mobile gaming raked in more earnings worldwide than dedicated console and PC games combined.
To put it in numbers, the mobile gaming industry currently owns 52% of the market, and the total revenue it brought in throughout 2021 was no less than $90 million. What's more, mobile gaming is also the fastest-growing industry, and is only expected to keep growing, as smartphone ownership continues increasing around the world.
Mobile Gaming Market Share Chart 1
The rise of the universal Android operating system paved the way for this revolution, as it has allowed developers across the world to create games for hundreds of different phones from hundreds of different manufacturers—all working under the same operating system.
And while Microsoft and Sony laid low when it came to big-game development during the whole pandemic lockdown, smaller-scale mobile developers have had their hands full creating entertainment for an ever-growing audience.
Surprisingly, the Chinese market brought in by far the biggest share of the total revenue, generating more than $30 billion over the past year. The United States, for comparison, raked in $15 billion, while Japan made just under $14 billion.
Mobile Gaming Market Share Chart 2
China has plenty of its own gaming software companies that contributed to its massive share, including miHoYo—developer of the viral Genshin Impact—and Tencent, which created Call of Duty, PUBG, and other popular titles. The revenue generated by Chinese gaming companies amounted to $18 million.
As per the NewZoo report, a surprising selection of emerging markets contributed to this figure, marking a significant shift in the worldwide gaming industry. Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East have been noted as the fastest growing sectors. And although they account for less than 10% of the entire gaming market revenue, their growth trajectory is likely to continue unchecked over the next several years.
Mobile game streaming and TikTok have proved revolutionary—and the 'metaverse' could prove even more so
Facebook's whole "metaverse" project—along with Apple set to be one of its biggest competitors in VR development—is expected to fuel major growth in the gaming industry in the future, with VR gaming becoming a primary hub of social interaction.
At present, mobile game streaming has become a dominating category of its own on Twitch, with phones like Lenovo's webcam-equipped Legion Phone Duel 2 creating technology specially catering to mobile streamers.
Surprisingly, TikTok has also become a hub for mobile gamers, publishers, and developers alike to create and share gaming content, further growing the close-knit online community of mobile gamers and content creators. According to NewZoo, global viewership hours for TikTok’s top 100 most popular gaming topics grew by 533% between 2020 and 2021.
Mobile Gaming Couple Illustration
The pandemic over the past couple of years has undoubtedly worked in favor of the gaming industry as a whole. With people all around the world confined indoors for months at a time, they have had limited means of entertainment to pass the time.
And while not everybody has a PlayStation or powerful gaming PC, most people nowadays own some kind of smartphone. Over 6 billion people, that is, according to Statista. And this number is expected to exceed 7 billion by 2024, forecasting unprecedented growth for the mobile gaming industry in the coming years.
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