App store conflict is an opportunity to reshape mobile gaming discovery | Opinion

2024 hasn’t exactly gotten off to the best start for the gaming industry. Mass layoffs looming at major publishers like Epic and Riot Games, and developing and delivering breakthrough games is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive. Although mobile growth prospects are much more optimistic than they have been in recent years, Data.ai predicts up to 4% year-on-year growth – Epic and Google legal proceedings and Apple’s response to the Digital Markets Act This promising growth has cast a shadow over the future of the mobile gaming industry.

The overall atmosphere is one of disbelief and dissent, to say the least.Epic CEO Tim Sweeney He called Apple’s DMA support “hot garbage.” Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, He criticized the changes as “very troublesome”. For app developers, it will be difficult to “really seriously enjoy what we’re doing here.” Spotify CEO Daniel Ek echoed this sentiment. Calling the proposed changes a “travesty” Long Spotify blog.

Things weren’t always like this. I’ve been working in the gaming industry for over 25 years and remember when carriers like Vodafone and T-Mobile were still the gatekeepers for mobile apps.They fear their role will be reduced to a bit pipe, and they hope that will happen. A partner that adds value Instead, carriers began forcing stronger and stricter technology integrations on apps, much to the dismay of developers.

Everything changed with the launch of the iPhone in 2007 and the App Store a year later in 2008. Within the next five years, Apple and Google’s platforms completely stole the carriers’ business and created a whole new kind of mobile gaming market. Thanks to the flexible payment services and possibilities offered by Apple and Google, the business model for mobile game creation has changed, resulting in significant growth in free-to-play games in 2012.

Looking back, it’s clear that hit games like Angry Birds and Candy Crush wouldn’t have succeeded without the app store business model.

“It is clear that the industry is evolving and once again needs another revolution.”

But things have changed a lot since the launch of the App Store. Mobile His gaming pioneers focused on things like: make a game So, with heavy reliance on Apple and Google’s platforms for reach, today’s developers invest huge amounts of money in their marketing, and the featured role is non-existent. Still the price remains the same.

The current app store ecosystem, increased competition among developers, and increased pressure on profits are making it difficult for both established studios to scale and expand. A new game that will be a breakthrough.

Apple and Google have been responsible for driving the most significant growth in commercial gaming history, but it’s clear that the industry has evolved and is once again in need of another revolution.

Looking around, no one seems to have a clear vision of what this is going to look like. I just have a firm belief that somewhere along the way, things went wrong. I’m less interested in finding the culprit or finding out the time of death, and more interested in exploring what the app stores and platforms for a new kind of mobile his game will be like. What will it take to move the industry forward again?

It is clear that the focus should not be on maximizing walled garden margins, but on adding value to consumers and allowing new entrants into the ecosystem. By fully utilizing the Growth potential in emerging markets It also means moving beyond the current credit card-centric model and introducing more diverse and flexible payment methods, as in Africa and Central Asia.

The mobile gaming industry is still less than 20 years old and lacks many benchmarks, so it often draws inspiration from more established entertainment categories like movies and television instead.

“The focus should be on adding value to consumers and allowing new players to enter the ecosystem, not maximizing walled garden margins.”

There, the recipe for competition and discovery is clear, and content is king. Netflix, Disney, and HBO aren’t just competing on volume. We compete with carefully selected storefronts, a clear content strategy, and exclusive content that surpasses traditional Hollywood productions in both budget and critical acclaim.

Instead of the current duopoly model, will the future of mobile gaming also be a marketplace customized for specific audiences, supporting discovery through content tailored to consumers’ distinct needs? At best, the species model allows consumers to easily choose the genre of entertainment that suits them best, such as mystery, romance, drama, or comedy, while eliminating artificial and unnecessary boundaries between games, movies, and television. That’s about as much as you can find.

Another interesting game of musical chairs is who will be responsible for building and hosting these new storefronts. Will there be someone new to challenge Apple and Google? Epic is already pushing for: Open your own third-party app store, which could open the floodgates to a slew of other developers on iOS in Europe. Or will streaming services like Netflix start integrating mobile games into their existing applications rather than driving subscribers to external storefronts?

Given the EU’s success in creating a legal environment that welcomes competition, this could pave the way for a new wave of start-ups. Whatever these new models are and whoever operates them, future app stores will need to focus on privacy, diverse payment opportunities, and content and discovery.

By all standards, the mobile gaming industry is still young and has untapped potential for growth. However, this is only possible if we actively promote it. If there is ever a turning point in our industry, it is when mobile game developers and platform owners come together and work together towards a better model. This model, like the defining moment in mobile gaming history in the 2010s, truly supports the growth of players, platform owners, developers, and the industry.