It has been quite a while since we have seen these kinds of numbers, but the launch of Crash Bandicoot: On the Run has given the mobile gaming scene a much-needed boost. The game comes from King, one of the leading interactive gaming publishers, under an exclusive license from Activision, its sister company. As you are probably aware, this is the same game publisher behind the Candy Crash Saga franchise, which happens to be one of the most popular games ever made, so they know how to launch a game with great fanfare.
Crash Bandicoot: On the Run by the Numbers
Originally released as a console game, the mobile version of the game was released across the globe on March 25, 2021, and in just 24 hours, it managed to garner over 9.1 million downloads across Google Play and iOS. According to App Annie that monitors and tracks the performance of mobile apps, these downloads came in just the eight top markets, namely USA, Brazil, France, Russia, Italy, Germany, Mexico and Spain. As is always the case, the USA had the lion’s share of the downloads, with 2.6 million, sending the game at the top spot overall by downloads.
Fastest Casual Runner Game to Reach 21 million Downloads
After four days on release, Crash Bandicoot: On the Run surpassed the 20 million downloads milestone in record time for a casual runner game. Just to put things in perspective, this feat was achieved 5 times faster than Temple Run 2, 7 times faster than Talking Tom Gold Run and 31 times faster than Subway Surfers. The latter was released back in 2012, but it ranked number 3 by global game downloads in 2020, showing that there is a great appetite for runner games amongst casual players. Other popular games that pale in comparison, at least in terms of downloads in record time, include Minion Rush, Spider Man Unlimited and Sonic Dash. Overall, though, it was recently revealed that Gameloft’s Minion Rush had topped the 1 billion downloads mark across Android, iOS and other devices. This is the first time a mobile game based on a film property achieved that mark.
Blue Skies Ahead
The mobile gaming scene is currently the most popular one, with consumer spending set to exceed $120 billion in 2021, which happens to be 1.5 times the rest of the gaming industry. That is why so many video game producers have turned their attention to the mobile scene. Pokémon GO (100 million downloads in 19 days), Call of Duty: Mobile (100 million downloads in 20 days) and PUBG Mobile (100 million downloads in 100 days) are bright examples that console games can be turned into successful mobile games.
Other casual games that are making a splash in the UK include board, pool, and dart games, but the most popular one is that of online bingo. A representative from bingofind.com, a comparison website that reviews such websites, had this to say: “We have noticed that loads of new bingo sites that we get to review are perfecting their mobile offerings so they can keep up with the increased demand for playing bingo and even slot games on the go from mobile devices.” As of this writing, you can find over 300 applications through Google Play Store that allow you to play bingo for virtual or real money.
Conclusion
Just as long as mobile games continue to offer the same value for entertainment as their desktop or console counterparts, then we should expect to see even more industries vying for a share of players’ spending. You can expect to see new characters and other social features introduced into the new versions so they can enhance the overall player engagement and gaming experience.
This is a paid guest post.