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Gaming is in the mainstream and it’s here to stay

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By Tobias Knutsson, CEO, Adverty

It’s taken a lot to finally rub out marketers’ lingering belief that gaming is a thing for kids, a niche media channel, a flash in the pan. The pandemic did some of the final lifting, but in a gaming business that is booming on all sides, absorbing women, older people, obsessive Esports fans, cloud gamers, monthly subscribers – you name it – the numbers are now unignorable: an estimated audience of somewhere between 2.5bn and 3bn+, with a global value of $162.32bn last year. If that’s not mainstream, what is?

Nike, Coca-Cola, Redbull, even Gucci and L’Oréal have all waded into the gaming space, and smaller brands with more modest budgets are beginning to follow. So gaming is having a moment that started some time ago and promises to last – what should its exponents do to maximise it and build strong, sustainable connections with brands?

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Hold their hands

Brands that are new to gaming often lack in-house expertise and even background knowledge. As with social media, gaming needs dedicated experts on the client side, and inevitably brands will recruit their own, but until that part of the puzzle falls into place, it is incumbent on publishers and ad tech providers to explain the protocols, the opportunities and the rules of thumb in clear and accessible terms. (In brief: respect the space, add value, but don’t get in the way.)

Bring gaming ads in line with other media

Convincing marketers is one thing, but the gaming advertising business needs to give those executives the tools to win the argument with the finance people. That means the gaming world needs to work hard to standardise its metrics, its formats, its sizes, in order to bring itself into line with the wider ad industry. Gaming is a complex environment for brands, who will ultimately only invest in what they understand. So the emergence of formats that stand direct comparison with those of other media – such as  Adverty’s own In-Play branding ads and In-Menu performance ads – combined with robust metrics, strengthen gaming’s pitch for brand dollars.

Never generalise

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The gaming audience is indescribably varied and ranges far beyond the young, male stereotype. More than 50% of mobile gamers are older than 34 [source: Mediakix] and 51% are women [source: MoPub]. So the question isn’t any longer about which brands could benefit from targeting ‘a gaming audience’, but exactly how to target your brand’s precise audience through gaming.

Make it worthwhile for users

The predominance of mobile games – which last year claimed $120 billion of consumer spend against home and handheld consoles’ $43 billion [source: App Annie] – indicates a need for strong mobile-friendly advertising models. A weight of research points to the fact that  free-to-play gamers understand the value exchange and are comfortable with the presence of advertisers, but tolerance turns to genuine enthusiasm when brands add value to gaming. In-game rewards such as hints and power-ups work well in exchange for watching ads and dovetail nicely with in-game purchases. Further research points to the effectiveness of in-game branding advertising as a driver of positive sentiment.

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The mobile gaming market is growing and attracting new companies. GAMIVO is the latest example

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Usually, consoles and PCs come to mind when discussing the gaming industry. The mobile sector is often treated as a child of a lesser god, even though it generates almost as much revenue as console and PC combined. Some companies can see this potential. For instance, the e-commerce platform GAMIVO has recently entered the mobile market, allowing players to buy in-game items cheaper.

Back on course

The entire video game industry has evolved incredibly, but the most spectacular has been the growth of the mobile sector. It expanded from 36.9 million dollars in 2016 to 93.2 billion in 2021. Unfortunately, the gaming market suffered from a decline that stemmed from the overoptimism of the pandemic era. As a result, the mobile gaming industry revenues dropped to 92.2 billion in 2022 and to 90.5 billion in 2023. Recent information has indicated this was a necessary correction rather than a long-term trend.

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The latest Newzoo report, issued in August 2024, shows that the industry is on the right track again. According to analysts, the mobile sector will generate revenues of $92.6 billion, representing +3.0% growth year-on-year. It’s nearly half of the entire gaming industry.

Billions of players

Revenues are crucial, but they only show part of the story. To fully understand the size and potential of mobile gaming, it’s necessary to consider the number of players, which constantly grew even when revenues dropped. Newzoo estimates that it will reach 2.8 billion in 2024. It means that almost twice as many people play on mobile devices than on PCs and consoles combined. Currently, every third person on Earth plays on mobile devices, and there’s still space for further growth.

“There are emerging markets where smartphones and mobile networks can expand, providing new potential players. Furthermore, this type of entertainment has a low entry barrier because most popular games are free and don’t require high-end devices,” explains Mateusz Śmieżewski, the CEO at GAMIVO.

One hobby, different habits

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GAMIVO is an example of a company that has recently joined the party to get a piece of the mobile pie. “We examined the mobile market for a very long time, trying to find a suitable place for us. It’s essential to understand that mobile gaming and mobile gamers differ from their PC or console counterparts. You can’t do the same things you do with PC and consoles and hope to replicate your success,” said Mateusz Śmieżewski.

Studies confirm this observation. Average PC and console players spend about 2.1 hours a day in virtual worlds. It’s half an hour more than mobile gamers. However, things get interesting when we take a look at playtime per week, which is the same for mobile and console (5.4 hours) and slightly longer for PC (5.7 hours). Moreover, typical PC and console owners play 2.6 and 2.7 days a week, respectively, while mobile players play 3.4 days per week.

Those statistics prove that PC and console players are more dedicated, spending more time in games’ worlds once they enter them. However, mobile gamers prefer shorter but more frequent sessions. They play while commuting or have a short amount of free time.

“Mobile players are more willing to uninstall games and give another title a chance. Hence, the gameplay has to be captivating and designed to provide quick but intense sessions.

Furthermore, even though the average weekly playtime is identical to PC players, many mobile players don’t think of themselves as gamers,” clarifies Mateusz Śmieżewski.

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Another major difference regards the way in which revenue is generated. PC and console games traditionally represent the premium model, where players buy the game. Most popular mobile releases are free and generate revenue with microtransactions. Almost all titles allow players to spend their real money on virtual coins, crystals, and other items that can be used to unlock additional content or reduce cooldowns.

Entering the mobile market

Those contrasts and nuances scare most companies from the mobile market. Let’s see how GAMIVO has coped with this.

“We decided to launch a new product category dedicated to mobile gamers. Our model allows them to top up in-game accounts cheaply. As a result, they can save up to 30% on buying virtual items, upgrades, and other content. The GAMIVO offer includes the most popular mobile titles, such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile, and still extends,” describes Mateusz Śmieżewski.

“We dedicated a lot of time to research and analyses. Also, the development process required a lot of work to provide GAMIVO customers with safe transactions and a user-friendly environment. The first reactions are very positive, confirming our belief that our decision was right and there is still more space in the mobile game market,” concludes the GAMIVO CEO.

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Arizona Department of Gaming Reports $43.9 Million in Tribal Gaming Contributions for the First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2025

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The Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG) announced today $43,926,346 in tribal gaming contributions to the Arizona Benefits Fund for the first quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. This amount represents an
approximate 3.6 percent increase when compared to the same quarter of FY 2024.

The Arizona Benefits Fund receives 88 percent of tribal gaming contributions, providing significant dollars to support instructional improvement in schools, trauma and emergency care, tourism, and wildlife conservation throughout the state.

FY 2025 Qtr 1 Total: Tribal Gaming Contributions to the Arizona Benefits Fund.

“We are pleased to report yet another increase in the first quarter of the FY 2025, reflecting steady growth in the state’s tribal gaming industry,’ said Jackie Johnson, Director of ADG. “This growth highlights the continued strengtht
of the partnership between the state and our Arizona tribal partners. Notably, cumulative tribal contributions to the Instructional Improvement Fund have now surpassed $1 billion, demonstrating the significant and ongoing impact of tribal gaming on education and communities across Arizona.

Per the Arizona Tribal-State Gaming Compact, Tribes with casinos also contribute a percentage of their Class gross gaming revenue to cities, towns, and counties. Currently, there are 25 Class Il casinos in Arizona, which ADG
regulates in partnership with Arizona tribes. Since FY 2004, approximately $2.3 billion in cumulative contributions
have been received by the state and its cities, towns, and counties.

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SPGA Announces Social Sweeps Game Sector Video Briefing

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The Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA) has released a video briefing designed to provide insight and information on the social sweeps gaming model. This briefing is designed to address the growing attention and interest in how the social casino with sweepstakes prizing functions and why millions of players across America enjoy this safe and legal form of entertainment.
This inaugural SPGA briefing features insights from Matt Kaufman, Managing Director, Digital & Interactive Gaming at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, and Jon Kaplowitz, CEO and Co-Founder of Clubs Poker. The discussion is moderated by prominent sports betting industry founder and investor Chris Grove.
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