The year 2020 started on a high note with games like Call of the Duty: Mobile, PUBG Mobile doing exceptionally well. But soon it turned out to be challenging for the world. The COVID-19 outbreak, which led to the lockdowns, was one of the significant factors that shook the entire world. A lot of things changed as people had to stay indoors and manage everything accordingly during the lockdown. This resulted in people turning more towards online mobile gaming. A report by App Annie mentioned that the Mobile apps and game downloads worldwide crossed 64 billion in the 1st half of 2020. It is significantly higher if we compare the data with the 1st half of 2019. Not only the general mobile games but the online casino industry also witnessed growth during the lockdown. Many UK casino sites experienced a massive increase in the number of new users. This increase gave the gambling commission in the UK more work to do to protect players from becoming addicted to it and spending more than they should spend on games. Here are some key factors and trends that made people embrace online mobile gaming during the lockdown.
Change in world’s pattern of doing things
If we just observe things clearly then we will find that everything has a set pattern. The lockdown we experienced this year, however, changed our pattern of working, socializing, playing, and having fun. During the lockdown, we became more accustomed to our phones and personal computers. People couldn’t go outdoors to play their favorite games but they needed something for entertainment. So, they embraced online games. Mobile games like Ludo and Chess became very popular in joint families as people started remembering their childhood days.
A shutdown of Physical Sporting Activities
If you read updates on gaming news sites, you’ll see that the lockdown decreased physical sports and outdoor gaming activities. In fact, for months, there was a shutdown of physical sporting activities. People started feeling uneasy and so turned towards games based on Match-3 puzzles. A report by AppsFlyer shows that the demand for mobile gaming has shown growth by an astonishing 45% worldwide in 2020, compared to the previous year
A plethora of hyper-casual games
Another thing that made players enjoy online games during the lockdown was the availability of quality hyper-casual games. Those who were interested in fun games went for hyper-casual gaming. Sensor Tower reported that of the 2.1 billion installs amassed by the 20 most downloaded games released in 2019, 77.6% were for games belonging to the hyper-casual genre. So you can understand the popularity of these games even before the lockdown started.
As the world leaders currently talking about vaccination for COVID-19 and future steps to be taken. It will be interesting to see how this growth in mobile gaming corresponds in the future.
What is your opinion on the trends of online mobile gaming during the lockdown? What are some of the games that you started playing during the lockdown? Tell us in the comments section below!
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