Despite the enormous strides developers have made in creating vast online experiences that have helped make the internet a vital part of our lives, the world continues to turn, and companies are eager to get ahead and find the next billion-dollar ideas.
Over the last decade, they have pivoted from online experiences to mobile apps, and the success of the mobile gaming industry really is a testament to how developers are not only able to move smoothly with the times but come up with fresh ideas that help to bring the masses over to an entirely new platform.
Early Promise
Playing mobile games is hardly a new revelation in the gaming world, but it’s a form of gaming that is now integral for those game developers looking to explore new frontiers and ideas. In the early part of the 2010s, the rise of online gaming was becoming impossible to avoid – whether it was console gaming, which was able to connect millions of gamers from all over the world, or casino gaming, which was able to transform and add a new range of gaming ideas due to the speed and convenience of online platforms.
Every facet of the casino gaming world moved seamlessly into this growing online world, and such was the promise and potential that developers quickly developed ideas that meant people could play these casino games on the move.
Slot games were already proving to be a big hit for desktop and PC gamers, but the emergence of slot games that could be played on a tablet or smartphone gave the industry an extra kick during the mid-2010s.
It also helped that the emergence of new gaming ideas, whether video slot games, jackpots or megaways, kept slot gamers intrigued and engaged with fresh ideas. Megaways at LeoVegas showcases how popular this type of slot gaming has become over the last decade. Still, a significant reason behind this growth has been because of developers who have been able to convert the online experience and mirror it onto mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
The Impact Of Streaming On Mobile Entertainment
Developers have explored the rich world of casino and successfully branched into several other gaming genres over the last decade or so. They’ve kept their finger on the pulse and identified that the substantial growth in streaming services like Netflix was not just a fad, but they were the beginning of a pretty big shift in the dynamic.
New Netflix shows attract the biggest stars, and with millions of people watching TV and movies on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, developers again knew this was where their audience lay.
Sure, casino games helped illuminate this, but they attract a specific audience looking for suitable ways to play—they don’t just play poker, slots, etc., just because they can do it on their iPad.
Other Games That Elevated The Mobile Experience
The world of eSports and professional video gaming is one of the biggest success stories in recent history. Although those who might not be too privy to how the industry works might think it focuses on video console gaming, the biggest eSports market is League Of Legends, which initially launched as a free-to-play mobile game in 2009.
The appetite and audience for eSports have shown that developers have struck gold with their early belief that converting online experiences to accessible mobile versions would capture an entirely new type of audience. The League Of Legends 2024 Worlds Final was held at the O2 in London, which isn’t bad for a game that initially started as a free-to-download app at a time when video console games dominated the landscape.
The rise of LoL happened simultaneously as online casinos shifted to a mobile world, and the smartphone became so revolutionary. While these three might not seem interconnected, developers who connected the dots and converted online desktop experiences into successful mobile gaming ideas could see the changes and position their ideas accordingly.
Final Thoughts
Mobile gaming ideas continue to adapt. With more mobile phones in circulation than ever and the number of developers looking to develop fresh gaming ideas, future mobile play ideas look increasingly like they’ll involve virtual or augmented reality and further implementation of AI.
While this might sound generic for now, experts do believe that this is the future of all types of gaming. Given the health of subdivisions within mobile gaming, whether it’s the slot gaming ideas we discussed at the beginning of the article or how streaming services now dominate mobile entertainment, developers will continue to search for ways to both bridge online desktop experiences to mobile and to create entirely new mobile experiences that can capture a global audience without becoming stale and losing the interest of those avid gamers.