Newzoo, a market research company, said in its latest report on the gaming industry that 2.4 billion smartphone users played mobile games across genres in 2019. In 2020-2021, due to the isolation caused by the coronavirus outbreak, people are looking for new ways to entertain themselves. The number of active users of smartphone gaming is on the rise.
The question arises, what genres of mobile games are popular? Yes, everyone has heard of Angry Birds, Wartank and Candy Crush, but there’s also Arena of Valor, which is insanely popular in China, and other games. It’ s important for current and future game developers to envision the path of travel. So let’s talk about this year’s most popular mobile game genres that are unlikely to leave their positions in 2021.
Candy Crush mobile game
The most popular genres of mobile games
The top 5 genres of mobile games are spread between:
- MOBA;
- MMORPG;
- Battle Royale;
- card games;
- puzzles.
This list is based on the number of people who have downloaded the game and how much money is spent in games of each genre. Aside from these, there are a couple other popular genres of mobile games that are worth mentioning, although they don’t come close to the aforementioned options in terms of player numbers or revenue generation:
- races;
- RPG;
- FPS;
- sport.
Some Battle Royale for cell phones are technically first-person shooters. But there’s a difference between the BR and FPS genre, even if the games use similar mechanics. Don’t worry, you’ll soon understand what makes genres unique and learn the main characteristics of the most popular mobile game genres. By the end of this article, it will be easier to identify new releases or market trends.
Genres of mobile games that you can play with friends
Popular mobile game genres 2020: trends
Market research shows that back in 2019, gaming apps were in third place, overtaken by social media and shopping. This trend will continue in the future. Smartphone users aged between 18 and 20 years old play a lot of games, to be sure of this we should look at the popularity of Fortnite and PUBG Mobile.
Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, Minecraft, Pokémon Go, Arena Valor, Candy Crush and Clash of Clans are considered the most popular mobile games. China holds its position as the largest market for gaming apps, focusing on MMORPGs and hyper casual.
The popular mobile game Pokemon Go
Hyper Casual games require no input from the user, and the simplified game mechanics are only a plus. They focus on minimalistic but crisp visuals, cartoonish art style, and rudimentary progression systems. The difference between these and casual games is the number of purchases made through the app. Casual expects to generate ¾ of its revenue through in-app purchases, while Hyper Casual earns through the use of video, banner and interstitial advertising. Examples of the latter are Dodgeball Duel, Terrarium, and Hole.io.
Read more about trending mobile game genres
Multiplayer Battle Arenas
MOBAs are a mixture of RTS and action games. In multiplayer battle arenas, the player controls a single character – a “hero” or “champion” from an available roster, picking up a unique set of skills and abilities. It could be a mage, warrior, knight, or a member of another “profession”. The mobile version of the genre is different from the PC version (DOTA 2 or League of Legends), because it doesn’t display the same depth of mechanics and strategy. Mobile devices are limited in processing power, display size, and input options.
The most popular MOBAs for smartphones and tablets were Mobile Legends, Vainglory and Arena of Valor. These three games copy the insanely popular MOBA League of Legends for PC in one way or another. LoL, which in turn is copied from Warcraft III. The genre can be traced further back to Aeon of Strife.
Mobile Legends is a game from the MOBA genre
Teams with 3 or 5 players face each other in a battle for resources, facilities and map control. The player needs to have fast fingers, a keen mind and a lot of patience to play MOBA.
By 2016, the genre was breaking popularity records, but Battle Royale came along and took some of the glory for itself. MOBAs aren’t as popular now as they used to be, especially among mainstream audiences and casual game enthusiasts. But they still have a firm grip on the popular genres of mobile games and will not leave them in 2020.
Most MOBA game developers don’t keep player counts, at least not publicly. But even after the emergence of the battle royal genre, Arena of Valor had 200 million unique players in 2017, and 80 million logged into the game daily. That is, it was the most popular game in the entire world. It was created by Chinese tech giant Tencent, which owns a large stake in gaming companies, including RIOT, the creator of LoL.
Battle Royale
At the end of 2019, PUBG mobile, a creation of China’s Tencent, broke records by garnering 400 million players, with a daily average of 50 million. A good indicator of how widespread the Battle Royale genre of mobile games has become. It’s the most popular genre of 2020, but among the 50 million, there are players using not only cell phones, but PCs and consoles as well. The genre itself gained prominence in 2017 with the release of Player Unknowns Battlegrounds for PC.
The essence of the Battle Royale genre is that the user fights against 99% of players on a huge map with resources, among them:
- weapons;
- armor;
- ammunition.
Resources are scattered in different places, and the player must collect them to fend off enemies. The main goal of the mobile game battle royal is to stay alive. The idea is partly taken from the dystopian Japanese movie “Battle Royale”, released in 2000 (in Ukraine another dystopia with a similar plot – “The Hunger Games” – is better known).
The game seems simple, but the giant maps, abundance of weapon and armor combinations noticeably distinguish the genre, especially when compared to traditional FPS like Battlefield or Call of Duty. The player has access to a huge playground with limitless tactical possibilities. You can only stay on top by properly allocating resources.
A popular mobile game in the battle royal genre is Fortnite. The creators of this game managed to interest users not only with its artistic style and clear images, but also with a system that allows you to create towers, barriers, defense walls and other objects right on the battlefield.
Fortnite is a mobile game from the battle royal genre
Well-known streamers on Twitch stream at least one battle royale game, which attracts new players. Predominantly kids and teens ages 8-14, though adults run around in Fortnite as well. Games of the genre are completely free, and their creators make money through in-game advertising, just like in MOBAs.
MMORPG
One of the oldest game genres. MMORPG stands roughly for massively multiplayer online role-playing game. In general, it is an online role-playing game in which the player pumps up the hero and gains new powers in battles with non-player characters or other real players. Over time, MMORPGs have evolved, the definition has changed, and the genre itself has come to life and is no longer limited to Warcraft.
MMORPGs have huge worlds that are divided into zones, making them similar to other fantasy worlds like in Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. It’s here:
- dungeons;
- dragons;
- knights;
- demons;
- gods;
- just scary monsters.
Every minute in such mobile games are played by thousands of players who kill bosses, collect gear and perform other quests. In MOBA users are divided into teams of five people, in Battle Royale play up to 100 people, while MMORPG is radically different, because here no one is not a rival to anyone.
Adventure Quest is a mobile game in the MMORPG genre
The genre of MMORPG games for mobile devices was less popular than for PC, because not every phone could pull such games, but with the development of smartphones, it is coming back. Some of the most popular mobile MMORPGs include Dungeon Hunter 5, Arcane Legends, and Adventure Quest.
Digital card games
Also known as TCGs or card swapping games. The player has to fight with their deck against the opponent’s deck. The cards are divided by power levels. Earn top level cards while playing or by spending real money to unlock a new deck.
The most popular representative of this genre is the game Hearthstone, which has gathered about 100 million players on PC, iOS and Android platforms. This number of users was at the beginning of 2019, now we can’t say anything about the future of the digital card game genre. However, so far it’s in the top 5, although it’s not spreading like a coronavirus or Battle Royale games.
Among the popular games of this genre for mobile devices we will highlight:
- Elder Scrolls: Legends;
- Hearthstone;
- HEX: Shards of Fate;
- Eternal;
- Shadowverse.
Hearthstone is a mobile game in the genre of digital card games
The main advantage of digital card games is their duration, as even a MOBA match can drag on for half an hour. Here, the player chooses the cards himself, puts them in the desired order, and the game will do the rest. The process utilizes a lot of mechanics that are based on luck, which keeps gamers wanting to keep playing, feeding their excitement.
Games of this genre are completely free. However, gamers often pay extra for a premium deck or to quickly unlock a new deck, but it’s only an option you don’t have to choose. The ability to work your own way up by becoming a deck master was not taken away by anyone.
Puzzles
More than half of smartphone users have at least one puzzle game on their devices, especially women. Tetris, Angry Birds, variations on the three-in-a-row theme – these mobile games are even on the smartphones of users who don’t consider themselves gamers. People from different age and social groups love puzzles. The goal of puzzles is clear, but it is not easy to achieve, you have to use logic and wit to win. In addition, this genre of mobile games is not as traumatizing to fingers as shooters or races, because playing puzzles you just need to periodically drive on the screen.
Puzzle games are considered a sub-genre of casual games, reach a wide audience, hold a strong position and generate the most revenue in the mobile gaming market. The most popular puzzles are considered to be:
- Cut the rope;
- The Room;
- Roll the ball;
- Love Poly;
- Rusty Lake.
Love Polly is a popular game of the puzzle genre
Western audiences prefer the Hyper casual, Action, Arcade and puzzle genre. Whereas Asian gamers are more into Battle Royale and MMORPGs.
A couple more popular genres of mobile games
Apart from the above mentioned most popular genres are also worth mentioning:
- Sims. These simulators create their own virtual world. At first there was only Sim City, but the genre gained huge popularity thanks to a variety of Farms, which appeared 10 years ago and migrated to smartphones at the first opportunity.
- Battles. The classics like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter don’t lose ground. This genre of games has moved to mobile devices and they can be enjoyed not only by oldfags who have been playing them since the beginning, but also by new generations of gamers.
- Casino. The mobile gaming industry is growing, and with it, the popularity of online casinos is growing. Slots, blackjack, roulette, poker, twenty-first all can be played without leaving the house or risking a coronavirus.
- Soccer. Asphalt 9: Legends, Real Racing, F1 Mobile Racing, Rush Rally and many other races will amaze gamers with their realism and design.
- Athletic. Sports games have occupied consoles for a long time, but a few years ago even John Madden and NBA2K were developed for mobile platforms and they immediately conquered the market.
F1 Mobile Racing for mobile racing games
In 2020-21, many AAA game publishers plan to launch smartphone games based on PC franchises. Game companies and investors are taking mobile games seriously, which is evident in the quality of the graphics, which are constantly growing and in some places even approaching console level of detail.
Order in KATASIS the development and promotion of mobile games of popular genres. We provide quality services at the best price and know all about the trends in the world of gaming.
