When gamers first discovered the world of esports they were usually tied down to a PC or a console. How times have changed! Thanks to the technology in our smartphones today there is no need for the usual set up we have become accustomed to when attending events or watching Twitch streams. Now you are free to take your experience on the go. Newzoo reports that the mobile gaming industry actually accounts for 51% of the total global gaming market as of 2018. That is a number you can’t argue with.
The biggest country to see a boost in mobile gaming is in China. It’s actually where the popularity of on the go gaming got its start and now countries all around the world are taking notice. Before competitive gaming took advantage of the benefits of mobile gaming it was often thought of as a tool people merely used to pass the time. It was not taken seriously.
This past April Immortals launched a mobile division. This is exclusively led by Jeff “SuiGenris” Chau, an industry veteran. International esports organization KSV went through a major rebrand, becoming Gen.G. With 20 years of experience solely in mobile gaming, CEO Kevin Chou and COO Kent Wakeford founded Kabam, the company behind Marvel: Contest of Champions. Now they are bringing their years of experience to China’s Clash Royale League which will defiantly help boom the growing mobile market in China. It will also mean a boost here in North America and other countries around the world.
Mobile on the rise
A recent 2017 financial report from Tencent shows that there was 48% increase in revenue since the first quarter, from just games, ads and cloud services. That total was $73.53 billion! This shows that 46% of that total revenue came from just online games such as Arena of Valor (aka Honor of Kings in China). Critical Force from Finland also saw a huge boost to the popularity of its MOBA and shooter style games for mobile and tables. Critical Ops, their number one esports shooter title, has an impressive 38 million downloads! It’s also worth mentioning that they have one million daily active users mostly from China.
Critical Force is helping to establish themselves and their esports fanbase right from the get-go and it seems to be working. We will also see their own league established in time with regional tournaments and, of course, cold hard cash. It only makes sense why mobile gaming has taken off and made such a name for itself.
With almost everyone having access to a smartphone these days, people don’t want to be tied down to a PC or console anymore. They want to take their gaming with them as they go about their daily lives. It’s also a good way to engage with others in the community and a great time-killer. Fair to say that pretty soon we will see more and more big titles available in mobile formats and even possible cross compatibility with your console so you can continue right where you left off. This trend will only continue to rise and it’s a win for both developers and gamers alike.
Published: Jun 5, 2018 05:23 pm