Let’s take a theoretical look at developing and monetizing new mobile game apps in 2015. For the sake of this article, let’s say your goal is to create a mobile game that is going to be profitable via various monetizing techniques. What game you make will matter entirely on what kind of revenue you can bring in as this is your end goal.
We’ll be explaining a few interesting trends to follow that could help you make some fast cash this year from mobile game apps.
Localization Focus: The Best Countries
Before we think about the game we’re going to create, let’s first look at who we’re going to make the game for. The app stores in different countries are constantly fluctuating. Sometimes there are more opportunities in one country, but give it a few months and you’ll find more luck somewhere else.
As it stands in 2015, there are a few countries that are worth investing special focus on, and we’d go as far as to say that your localization efforts for these countries should be doubled.
The best regions to tap into are the regions seeing the most growth. Some already situated regions such as USA or Europe have a lot of potential for mobile game revenue, but there’s a lot of competition, making it hard to earn without fighting against competitors.
According to Chartboost’s latest report, the three countries seeing the most year on year growth in 2015 are Iran at 897%, Malaysia at 668% growth and Iraq at 604%. These numbers are absolutely insane and certainly worth tapping into.
Here’s a look at the top ten countries for year on year growth.
- Iran – 897%
- Malaysia – 668%
- Iraq – 604%
- Peru – 417%
- Colombia – 405%
- India – 394%
- Ukraine – 232%
- Egypt – 221%
- Argentina – 196%
- Philippines – 156%
Taking a Look at the Most Popular Game Categories
Of course, it’s important to focus on the situated regions such as Europe, UK, North America and Japan, but there are bounds of untold potential in the above countries thanks to their immense growth.
So let’s say we focus on localizing in a number of the above countries after developing the game in your native language. Now it’s time to find a decent category to work with. Interestingly, the interest for categories is drastically different per region. However, the top five game categories are seen below, alongside their top three performing regions.
- Action – 54% share in India, 34% Brazil, 25% Russia,
- Adventure – 19% share in UK, 17% Australia, 12% South Korea
- Casual – 19% share in Brazil, 18% Germany, 17% Russia
- Puzzle – 41% share in China, 23% UK, 17% Germany
- Simulation – 21% share in Germany, 19% South Korea, 19% Russia
If you are considering localizing your content in any of the above regions, these categories may be best suited. Alternatively, you could pick out a category and focus on the regions that it’s most popular in.
Worldwide CPIs
Developing a game in a popular region isn’t all it’s going to take. You’re going to need to think carefully about your budget to ensure you’re pulling a decent net revenue. We’re going to be taking a look at the worldwide CPI cost for the most developed regions when it comes to their mobile industry and the app store.
If you’re looking at saving some pennies on bringing in new users, you may want to choose your main region as one of the cheaper options on the list below.
Average CPI January 2015:
- South Africa – $0.97
- Brazil – $1.16
- Great Britain – $1.80
- Russia – $2.02
- USA – $2.10
- Japan – $2.42
- Canada – $2.48
- Australia – $2.78
South Africa may be the cheapest option on the list but it may not be the best choice for you. Both Brazil and Great Britain have a low CPI currently despite hosting developed app stores. USA and Russia are around average levels, whilst Japan, Canada and Australia are on the high end. With that being said, we know there’s a lot of potential for revenue in Japan, and the same can be said for Australia and even Canada.
Hopefully this information has given you a little insight into some marketing and monetization trends for mobile game apps in 2015.