An unexpected shift in the videogame industry is taking place: a focus on smaller screens.
It seems an odd transition when TVs are bigger and offer higher definition than ever before. But mobile gaming clearly wins in portability. Or at least, that's part of the recipe behind why mobile gaming drummed up $93.2 billion of revenue in 2021.
Another piece of that titanic success is a newer model heavily used in the mobile space. Called Free To Play, or FTP, the games are free to download but offer players plentiful opportunities to purchase features that make the games more interesting and engaging, like in-game currency, weapons, rare items, and more.
The FTP model has turned out to be a money-printing machine for the videogame industry.
Activision Blizzard's (ATVI) first made-for-mobile title, the recently released "Diablo Immortal," pulled in $100 million in its first 60 days. That's the kind of revenue that no developer can ignore, especially considering it was the company's most financially successful title since it was founded in 1991.
With the mobile sector forecast to reach $338 billion by 2030, it's easy to see why so many are seeking a way into it.
Netflix (NFLX) has looked to it as a potential solution for its struggles. The streaming giant has been aggressively constructing its gaming presence, promising a mobile library of 50 games by year end and dropping hints that it intends to enter the cloud gaming space as well.
Now Sony (SONY) has made an announcement that makes clear that it plans to push further into mobile, too.
Sony/TS
Sony Teams Up With Savage Games
Sony's head of PlayStation Studios, Hermen Hulst, on Aug. 29 said via the PlayStation Blog that the company would acquire Savage Game Studios, a young Berlin mobile developer, compounding it into its new PlayStation Studios Mobile division.
Founded by Michail Katoff, Nadjim Adjir, and Michael McManus, the studio has not produced its own titles yet. But its cofounders have worked on "Clash of Clans" and "Angry Birds," both enormously successful mobile titles. "Clash of Clans" took in $489 million and "Angry Birds" 286.2 million euros (US$287.8 million) in 2021..
Hulst gave some insight about why PlayStation made the move, listing out successful titles on PlayStation 5 and PC and explaining how mobile efforts would follow the same formula.
"Our mobile-gaming efforts will be similarly additive, providing more ways for more people to engage with our content, and striving to reach new audiences unfamiliar with PlayStation and our games," he said.
"Savage Game Studios is joining a newly created PlayStation Studios Mobile Division, which will operate independently from our console development and focus on innovative, on-the-go experiences based on new and existing PlayStation IP."
Sony Plans a Live-Action Format
Hulst also says Savage is already working on "a new unannounced mobile live service action game."
Sony has already experimented with bringing some of its bestselling franchises to mobile in the past, including a spinoff from the historical adventure series "God of War" in 2018 and a "LittleBigPlanet" runner called "Run Sackboy! Run!" in 2015.
While these are casual titles, the new game in development will follow the now-popular live service format. These games are designed to keep players consistently engaged in ever-changing worlds populated with live events, tournaments, and more, giving them a reason to continue playing -- and spending money.
While these games require more resources to keep running, they also draw players in with the promise of being free to play, often persuading them to spend more money in-game than they would if they paid a retail price for it in the first place.
Electronic Arts (EA), the publisher behind the long-running "Madden" series, in November 2021 said it expected to generate 70% of its transactions via live services.
That's just one of many whose earnings are proving that live service and mobile are where gaming is naturally moving to -- which is great news for any gaming company looking to increase its profits.
