Hyper casual games have been a distinctly well-known niche in recent years. These games got a sudden boost in the market with Flappy Bird in 2013. Since then, this genre has not seen a decline. Mobile games, in particular, have profited immensely from this. Have you ever wondered why they have become so popular?
Read the blog to know the sudden rise of hyper-casual games and why they’re so well-liked across a broad audience.
What is a Hyper casual game?
Gamers, in general, look for a proper storyline and immersive visuals while playing a game. Hyper Casual games, on the other hand, focus on the opposite. They have little to no storyline or plot but are quick games that take often take only a minute to play. Hyper-casual games hardly require any instructions and don’t take up space in your phone. If you start to play them, you can understand that though they are easy, they but have a high level of entertainment and replayability. One of the most popular hyper-casual games is the silly, but highly addictive Flappy Bird, which earns 50 thousand dollars in sales per day. It is a free game on Google Play and iOS platforms and is currently ranking number one globally.
Here are some statistics to show how hyper-casual mobile games have gained popularity:
- In the last year, hyper-casual grew in the share of gaming app installs up to 3.5 times.
- 101 million new gamers were introduced to the world of video gaming because of hyper-casual games.
- The market for hyper-casual games has reached around 2.5 billion dollars
- Gamers of the hyper-casual genre download 10 times more apps and watch 2 times more video ads as compared to other game genres.
The hyper-casual game will most often generate revenue from in-app ads rather than in-app purchases. The business strategy of such genres lies in designing the game quickly and presenting it to the audience. After the game is published, the objective of mobile video game companies is to reach as many users as possible. After gaining a notable amount of users, revenue is obtained through paid ads.
Thus, we can conclude that hyper-casual games are popular amongst a wide age demographic. With the number of hyper-casual games released each year, we can see that the mobile gaming industry automatically banks on it.
Reasons Why Hyper Casual Games are Popular
It is Simple to Play
The focal point in hyper-casual games is their simplistic nature. Such mobile games sure have more accessibility when it comes to skills. This means that to play these video games, you don’t have to be a professional gamer to enjoy it right away. Once you get used to the main moves, it quickly grabs your attention and turns highly addictive too. This feature is what appeals to the wide demographic.
The graphics of such games are often above average, but despite that, the game is still widely played on phones. This also proves that it has commendable longevity and retention rates.
The Features
Games need to have very engaging gameplay to attract users. Hyper casual don’t necessarily follow this rule. They are engaging enough for the replayability factor to keep going, but they don’t follow the plot-heavy rule. Gameplay is defined as the features of the video game to play and the user experience, which includes the plot, mechanics, game rules, sound effects. Hyper casual games need to be attractive enough to keep the users hooked.
Free
The best games you want to play are 99/100 times, published with a free-to-play model. When a game is free to play, it has wider accessibility and can easily reach an audience of all age groups. On Google Play and iOS platforms, you will find thousands of free video games. Hence, the easier the availability, the greater the popularity of the game.
Easy to Build?
Making Hyper Casual games needs a storyline that creates a highly engaging user experience. The mobile game has to use only minimal mechanics to build highly efficient games. Hence, games need to be made in the shortest possible timeframe as well. While playing a game, they should be able to quickly understand a game’s concept within seconds of starting it. The game developer needs to be on the lookout for emerging mobile trends that can be incorporated into the game.
Who Can be a Hyper Casual Gamer?
Hyper casual gamers are just like you and me, people who look to spend time when bored. This can be when we’re stuck on the train or a bus or waiting in the queue. Hyper casual gamers don’t care about the genre as long as they’re engaging and effective.
In this, gamers don’t look for complex strategy or gameplay. All they look for is a lot of fun and entertainment, and as a means to kill time. Many games are also timer-based so that gamers get a sense of accomplishment after winning a contest. Users can immerse themselves into another world or character for a short span of time.
Monetization in Hyper Casual Games
By 2023, gaming analysts predict that the popularity of hyper-casual games will not only increase but double. 17.6 million installations of hyper-casual games were seen daily since January 2021, rounding up to 12.5% of the total number of net game installs done.
In Conclusion
Whether for entertainment or leisure, hyper-casual games are a part of every user’s life now, and they will only grow in the future. On the MPL app, you can find more than 60 hyper-casual games of various genres that you can play for free. Just download the MPL app and dive into the world of hyper-casual games now!
