Gaming
Angry Birds 2 Flies onto AppGallery
Latest big name to list on the Huawei Apps Platform
Huawei, the leading global technology company, has announced the launch of Angry Birds 2, the hugely popular game from developer Rovio, on the rapidly expanding AppGallery. This is the latest move onto the platform from a major mobile gaming company, indicating the growing influence of AppGallery as a means to reach large international audiences.
“We are developing partnerships with some of the world’s leading game developers and as they reap the dividends of exposure to our vast user base, confidence amongst other studios and developers is growing,” said Derek Yu, President of Huawei CEE & Nordic and Canada at Huawei Consumer Business Group. “This of course benefits our customers who are increasingly gaining access to the exciting, inspiring games that feature at the top of their gaming wish-lists.”
Angry Birds is widely acknowledged as the game that established mobile as a viable gaming platform. However it is Angry Birds 2 that drove the popularity of the brand, challenging users to build the ultimate flock to defeat their enemies, the pigs, and save the eggs. Gamers will be able to train their skills on Angry Birds 2 by mastering the slingshot, which will accelerate them up the leader-board, increase their scoring power by recruiting birds with feathers and competing in new events to collect seasonal hats.
This is the first Rovio game to be listed on AppGallery, however the movie based on the game is already available on Huawei Video¹, the company’s platform for video content. As well as playing the game, users will also be able to customise their phones using Huawei Themes to display Angry Birds 2 branding, while customers with Huawei smartwatches and bands will be able to download Angry Birds 2 watch faces.
As part of its commitment to developers’ commercial success, Huawei will also support the launch of Angry Birds 2 with 50% cash back on the first in-game transaction, and 20% on other transactions in Europe² between 1st and 14th July.
“We are very excited that Angry Birds 2 will now be available to millions more gamers around the world through our partnership with AppGallery” says Miikka Lindgren, VP of Business Development at Rovio. “Rovio’s mission is to create joy, and we are always happy when our games and the joy we create reach new audiences. I hope lots of new players get into some serious pig popping fun with our Angry Birds and their porky enemies, using all the fantastic gameplay options that we are putting at their disposal.”
Huawei provides comprehensive support for app integrations
Huawei has always worked closely with app publishers throughout the technical process of bringing games onto AppGallery. It forms part of Huawei’s commitment to all developers in empowering them to quickly realise the massive business benefits and enhanced user reach of an app store that is now the third largest in the world.
As one of the world’s fastest-growing app marketplaces, AppGallery strives to partner with leading brands and gaming developers, like Rovio, whose titles attract the biggest global audiences. This is allowing the platform to list a constant stream of exciting, challenging and entertaining content, connecting users with the games they most want to play and developers with a new and previously untapped customer-base.
The gaming category is at the forefront of apps expansion on AppGallery with over 500% more games now available on the platform compared to a year ago. The company has also created a separate tab dedicated to gaming on AppGallery’s home page, which was launched along with the new-look app store design earlier this year. The feature allows users to easily find games and content specific to their interests quickly and easily.
As part of its ecosystem development, Huawei is working closely with over 4 million registered developers to constantly bring new content to the platform, with over 134,000 applications now integrated with HMS, Huawei’s proprietary mobile services platform.
Angry Birds 2 is now available to download from AppGallery worldwide at https://appgallery.huawei.com/#/app/C104391333
For more information please visit https://consumer.huawei.com/en/mobileservices/appgallery/.
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Gaming
FANDOM EXPLORES THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF GAMING & SELF-EXPRESSION IN 2024 INSIDE GAMING REPORT
Study Provides New Insights Into How Brands Can Authentically Engage With Gamers to Help Them Express Their Best Selves Off-Screen.
KEY FINDINGS
Gaming has exploded over the past decade, becoming one of the most dynamic and expansive industries across the globe. Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform, dives into the heart of the gaming community to uncover the evolving motivations behind why people game in its 4th annual Inside Gaming report. The 2024 Inside Gaming report – a proprietary study coupled with Fandom’s first-party data from its 350 million monthly unique visitors, 45 million pages of content and 250k fan-powered wikis – captures a notable shift: gaming is increasingly seen as a means for personal expression, exploring one’s identity and providing empowerment and confidence in one’s real life.
Dominant Gaming Motivations
- While stress relief remains the top reason people turn to games, a striking 46% of gamers list creation, imagination, and self-expression as their main motivations for gaming, up 10% from last year.
Influence on Gaming Habits
- People who are gaming for self-expression, creation & imagination are 30% more likely to increase their gaming time, feeling more drawn to the gaming world than ever before.
Games Driving Self-Expression
- 60% of gamers claim that self-expression through gameplay is more important to them than ever before. Titles like Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox lead in enabling personal expression through extensive customization options, open-world exploration, and other game updates
Exploring Gamer Identity
- The report also highlights a significant gap between players’ in-game identities versus their real-life personas, with 80% of respondents feeling their gaming identity differs from their real-life identity.
- However, half of respondents claim they’d prefer to be more like their in-game personality IRL and 72% would feel more favorably towards brands that help them achieve this.
- This is especially true of 18-34 year olds, multicultural (specifically African American & Hispanic) audiences as well as women and non-binary audiences.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MARKETERS
Emphasize Self-Expression:
- Self-expression is a key driver for gaming engagement. In fact, 32% of gamers want their physical appearance to be more like their in-game appearance.
- Brands that align with this motivation can enhance their connection with gamers. For example, this represents an opportunity for fashion & beauty brands to explore dedicated product extensions for gamers looking to explore this self-expression.
Create Brand Safe Spaces:
- 64% believe that gaming communities are vital safe spaces where they can truly be themselves, presenting opportunities for brands to foster and cater to these communities.
Align with Gamers’ IRL Aspirations
- Many gamers wish to integrate their gaming and real-life personas. Brands that help facilitate this integration can achieve deeper consumer relationships.
- The study found that 48% of gamers want their IRL skills to be as strong as their gaming skills, opening up an opportunity for brands to explore how they can create ways to provide gamers with products that enhance IRL skills and provide a sense of accomplishment & achievement they get while playing.
“From character customization to cosplay and content creation, video games have empowered gamers to explore, express and enhance their identity – nearly two thirds of gamers claim it’s easier to be themselves with a controller in their hands,” said Stephanie Fried, CMO of Fandom. “With the growing significance of gaming as a means for self-expression and personal evolution, it’s crucial for brands to connect to these motivators to help players bring their gaming personas to life in the real world.”
For an interview with a Fandom executive to discuss the study in more detail, please contact Rachelle Savoia at [email protected].
Methodology:
Fandom surveyed 5,000 entertainment and gaming fans globally to understand the ever changing entertainment landscape. The insights from the study were joined with proprietary insights from Fandom’s first-party platform data of over 350MM users, 45MM content pages across 250K wikis.
Gaming
Flexion Enters into Partnership with Jam City
Flexion, the games marketing company, has partnered with Jam City, a leading mobile entertainment company behind some of the world’s highest-grossing and most enduring mobile games, to bring a selection of the publisher’s best-in-class games to the Alternative App Stores: Amazon Appstore, Huawei App Gallery, Aptoide, ONE store, Samsung Galaxy Store, DT Hub and Xiaomi GetApps.
“We are always looking for new opportunities to build our network of global players, and Flexion is a proven partner that will help introduce our award-winning titles to new audiences in the alternative stores,” Curtis Barnes, Senior Director of Publishing Operations for Jam City, said.
“We’re all about helping developers like Jam City reach the full potential of their games. We’re delighted they have chosen us to add revenue and audiences for their games on the alternative app stores,” Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion, said.
The post Flexion Enters into Partnership with Jam City appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Gaming
Mobile Games Index: Analysis of 95M Game Interactions Reveals Shifting Engagement Trends, Available Now
The anticipated fourth edition of the annual Mobile Games Index, powered by adjoe and Statista, is now available.
The latest report offers a clear look into the current state of the mobile gaming sector, analyzing the past 12 months of the first-party data from 95 million app interactions across 27 million users. The MGI 2024 reveals what people choose to play on their mobile devices, filling the gap in industry knowledge and enabling game developers and user acquisition specialists to benchmark their products and ultimately target the right audiences with the right content.
Moving forward, it is up to the industry decision-makers to analyze the findings and promptly adapt to the newly-emerged engagement trends from MGI 2024, effectively engaging desired audiences.
A Peek at Shifting Engagement Trends to Capitalize on
Based on predictions from Statista, the overarching trend in the market is its robust growth with a forecasted expansion from $166.1 billion in 2024 to $227 billion by 2028.
Remarkably, Card games are expected to grow the most dramatically at 13.8% a year, nearly doubling their global revenue by 2028. Judging from the engagement charts of MGI 2024, the main driver of growth in this category is Solitaire games. The audience is showing a clear preference for Solitaire – these games hold 7 out of 10 positions in the top list of card games worldwide by time spent with titles from MobilityWare, Gimica, Scopely, and Playvalve, among others.
What allows the market to show revenue growth is the positive changes in global daily time spent. After the dip in engagement highlighted by the last year’s Index, adjoe confirms that average daily sessions have rebounded to 21.5 minutes from 17.3 minutes reported last year, marking a 22% increase.
The most engaged demographic of mobile gamers globally is the 40-49 age group, which has experienced a remarkable 33% increase in daily gaming time, now at 23 minutes daily. The strategies targeted at older demographics over the past 12 months can be deemed successful. However, this has led to a loss of focus on engaging Gen-Z, which has shown only modest growth in time spent.
The MGI also reveals that women are outpacing men in daily gaming time across most genres – as reported for the 4th edition in a row. This consistent and high performance makes the female audience a continuously safer bet when it comes to user targeting.
Another continued trend is the dominance of top publishers such as Supercell, Garena, King, and Playrix, while there’s still space to occupy for smaller publishers. For instance, ForgeGames tops the engagement charts with their game Special Forces Group 2 – capturing over 43 minutes of average daily engagement.
The insights continue in the MGI 2024, going granular to segment and visualize global mobile game engagement data from adjoe by genre, region, and demographic. At the same time, Statista’s extensive market research provides a macro-view of the current and future industry, offering figures for global downloads and revenues with forecasts extending to 2028.
Mobile Games Index 2024 Is Available in Open Access
The MGI 2024 goes deep below the surface of market data and creates a comprehensive snapshot of the mobile gaming industry today. Inside are
For developers and marketers, this report is the green light to benchmark performance against industry leaders and align their products with the rising expectations of mobile gamers. This comprehensive tool is now available for free to inform decision-making and help optimize strategies for short- and long-term actions.
The post Mobile Games Index: Analysis of 95M Game Interactions Reveals Shifting Engagement Trends, Available Now appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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