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Mobile gaming is expected to experience another successful year throughout 2020 and we may even see the amount of mobile gaming eclipse all other kinds of gaming. Indeed, the figure for revenue brought in by mobile gaming is already at around 50% and the rest of the year’s trends could see it surpass that to become the reigning method of gaming. So, what trends are we expecting to see continue to develop throughout 2020?
Greater Streaming
The widespread launch of 5G technology and the cloud amps up the amount of streaming that can be done when it comes to computational power in mobile gaming. Japan is already benefitting from its coverage for mobile players. With the faster technology, we would be able to stream more games on mobile formats and multiplayer games will be able to be played on such a wide scale. This is already seen, but it would be expected to really take off as 2020 picks up. Games will need fewer updates for players, but this could prove problematic for players who might be using old devices or not yet have the latest smartphone model.
Subscription Gaming
Apple launched their Apple Arcade in September 2019, which allowed players to pay a recurring fee to access a wide range of games with no in-app purchases – like a Spotify for mobile gaming. Indeed, Spotify has shown how listening to music has changed through using its app. The success of this could lead to other developers launching similar platforms and partnering with both indie developers and big-name developers like Apple did. Indeed, Google Stadia follows a similar format. Subscription services seem to be the new normal, so it makes sense there would be a version for one of the most popular kinds of gaming. Players’ choice of phone purchase may then be influenced in the future by what games might be available for it, just as choosing a console is now.
Console and Desktop Moving to Mobile
The E3 convention saw the launch of Call of Duty: Mobile, which is a huge jump for the well-known console franchise to appeal to mobile audiences. But, it’s not alone. Fortnite and Minecraft have taken advantage of the improved smartphone capabilities, while Pokémon Go is a successful handheld console franchise on the mobile. Desktop-based William Hill also offers their online casino offering as an app to be downloaded, which helps fans of online casino continue to play the slot games, video poker, and live casino games they enjoy on their mobiles. This shows the flexibility and range of games on offer when talking about mobile gaming and reflects the increase in demand to game on mobiles compared to consoles and desktop.
Inclusivity in Gaming
One of the takeaways of the latest gaming conferences is that the narratives and characters in gaming are to be more inclusive and diverse to represent the broad strokes of people who play them. EA’s Global Consumer Insights survey found that 56% of gamers found diversity and inclusivity important when it came to playing games and they established that games could make a difference and actually did matter to players. This inclusivity could range from shapes and sizes to skin colors, abilities and stories from different cultures. Inclusivity in gaming could also extend to the different kinds of game developers. There has been an increase in female game developers – around one in five being women. This figure is still low given how gaming audiences are often 50/50.
2020 is an exciting year for mobile gaming as everyone is fully on board with where the industry could go. These include provisions in place for faster streaming, widespread subscription services within gaming, and greater inclusivity in gaming content and the game developers, as well as a rise in console and desktop games moving to mobile.