Industry experts gathered at the Mobile Gaming Summit to discuss the future of mobile gaming and upcoming trends. The discussion centered around trends that will shape mobile gaming’s future, including the rise of cloud gaming, social gaming, and the importance of personalization in gaming experiences. The experts also discussed the evolution of monetizing strategies in mobile gaming, including the shift to a free-to-play model with microtransactions and the potential for ads in the gaming environment. Finally, emerging technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality were discussed as having a significant impact on mobile gaming.
Industry Experts Discuss The Future of Mobile Gaming and Upcoming Trends
On the 27th of June 2021, a group of industry experts gathered at the Mobile Gaming Summit to discuss the future of mobile gaming and upcoming trends. The summit hosted highly distinguished professionals in the gaming industry, including game developers, designers, publishers, and marketers. The event offered a considerable platform for attendees to share their insights on the industry’s direction and expectations.
Trends that will Shape Mobile Gaming’s Future
The session began with a discussion about the trends shaping the mobile gaming industry’s future. One of the most promising trends is cloud gaming. As Alvin Tan, Senior Vice President of Chu Studios, put it, cloud gaming has the potential to eliminate the need for extensive hardware requirements and offer players greater flexibility in terms of game access. With the availability of cloud services, mobile games will be able to deliver high-quality graphics and rich gameplay experiences on any device.
Other significant trends include the rise of social gaming and the increasing importance of player’s retention. Experts agree that mobile games that embrace social features and community engagement will dominate the future of gaming. According to Matthew Lee, Founder of Hypernova Gaming, social games create more engagement and lead to longer retention of players. Additionally, the future of mobile gaming will also see the importance of personalization in gaming experiences.
The Evolution of Monetizing Strategies
The panelists also discussed the evolution of monetizing strategies in mobile gaming. The industry has witnessed a shift from traditional pay-to-play game models to a free-to-play model augmented by microtransactions. The current state of microtransactions has received some criticism, but the experts believe that done correctly, they can be an effective monetizing strategy. Several well-executed examples include offering players in-game content, customization options, and events to encourage spending.
The monetization strategies will also see the rise of advertisements in gaming. As mobile gaming continues to grow, more developers and publishers are turning to ads to monetize their games. According to Chandra Muthukrishnan, Chief Executive Officer of Flare Games, ads in the gaming environment need to be done tastefully to avoid affecting the user experience.
Impact of Emerging Technologies on Mobile Gaming
Finally, the experts discussed the impact of emerging technologies on mobile gaming. Two of the most promising technologies are augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
AR technology is slowly penetrating the mobile gaming industry. It is a technology that allows game developers to create an immersive gaming experience by combining the real and virtual worlds. According to Jay Kim, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development at Nexon, AR technology presents new opportunities to engage gamers with branded content and innovative games that leverage the user’s environment.
On the other hand, VR technology is still a novelty in the mobile industry, but it presents vast opportunities for mobile gamers. VR immerses users into a virtual world, and when combined with mobile technology, can offer an extremely mobile experience. Experts believe that VR technology will change the way people approach gaming on mobile devices, providing a unique gaming experience beyond what’s possible today.
Conclusion
The discussion at the Mobile Gaming Summit revealed a lot of interesting insights and trends that will shape the future of mobile gaming. It is clear that the industry is evolving, and that a mobile gaming experience will go way beyond what we currently know. With the rise of new technologies, the expansion of social gaming, and the evolution of monetization strategies, mobile gaming is expected to reach new heights in the future.