SocialPeta: Mobile Game and Mini-Game Marketing Trends in 2024
Capybaras; kittens, and cute mushrooms will take you to the top.
The report doesn’t cover the Q4’24.
Mobile Games
The average monthly number of advertisers in 2024 reached 63,500 companies, which is 31.6% higher than the previous year. However, throughout 2024, the share of new advertisers in the market decreased. On average, in 2024, their share was 8.2% (6% less than last year).
❗️This may indicate several reasons: the difficulty for new companies to enter the market and a decrease in the number of new mobile studios overall.
Since March 2024, advertisers have begun to increase the share of new advertising creatives. From June onwards, new creatives accounted for more than 55% of the total volume.
Leaders in the number of advertisers are casual games (27.2%), casino games (16.8%), and puzzles (12.3%). In terms of creative volume, casual games lead with 31.2%, followed by RPGs (12.3%) and puzzles (12.2%). Notably, the casual games segment stands out from others with a higher proportion of new creatives.
Mini-Game Trends
SocialPeta notes a trend in the launch of new Asian projects. They first appear in H5 format (WeChat Mini-Games; Douyin). After that, they are launched as full-fledged applications in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Then, the launch occurs in Japan and South Korea, followed by Southeast Asia. Finally, the game reaches international markets. For example, the acclaimed Legend of Mushroom followed this path. Capybara Go! experienced a shortened path (after China - directly worldwide).
Genres that launch well under this scenario are RPGs (or games with RPG elements). Most often, they are united by a simplified but cute visual style. They also feature chibi heroes - mushrooms, capybaras, and kittens.