10 Trending Gaming Genres in 2020

It is unarguably true that the mobile game market is booming at an unprecedented rate. According to Udonis, mobile games hold 51% of the share in total global gaming revenue distribution. Don’t get surprised! It’s true. Let’s look over a few other mobile game facts to have an idea of the popularity of mobile games in the entire gaming industry:

  • According to MediaKix, the mobile gaming market is expected to reach USD 180 billion by 2021.
  • As per EEDAR’s report, puzzle, strategy, and casual games generate half of the total mobile game market revenue.
  • As per VentureBeat and AppsFlyer, the hyper-casual game market is worth approximately USD 2 billion. 
  •  As per App Annie, 33% of the downloaded applications are mobile games.

Most popular mobile gaming genres 2022

These are the top ten mobile game genres along with their popularity percentage:

  1.       Casual Games (58.86%)
  2.       Puzzle Games (56.5%)
  3.       Arcade Games (55.08%)
  4.       Action Games (34.19%)
  5.       Racing Games (30.83%)
  6.       Strategy Games (15.65%)
  7.       Card Games (15.35%)
  8.       Board Games (14.95%)
  9.       Adventure Games (14.82%)
  10.   MOBA Games (13.61%)

Let’s read them in detail:

Casual Games

Casual games are games that target mass audiences. In other words, people of all ages can play these games as they don’t include any hard or fast rules to play and win. Along with simple rules, casual games usually have shorter sessions and require less learning.

These types of games usually have a simple interface as well as gameplay and can be played just by a tap or swipe. Talking about the cost, you don’t need to spend a fortune to build such games. The ROI in casual games is huge though. These are generally free-to-play games, but you can earn money through in-app advertisements or by using any other monetization strategy.

Puzzle Games

Either online or offline, people love to play puzzles as it helps them to test and enhance their intellectual ability. Sudoku, a puzzle game that used to be on almost all newspapers earlier, depicts the popularity of puzzle games among people. The game has gone digital with an amazing interface and simple rules. Besides Sudoku, puzzle games like Threes, Dots, and more enjoy a humongous customer base. To build such a game for the Android and iOS platforms, you can hire game developers from a reliable mobile game development company or a freelance website.

Arcade Games

These types of games are simple games including a single action. Arcade games don’t really have to have a story since it focuses only on the gameplay. Pac-Man, Digger, Angry Birds Classic, Jetpack Joyride, Teeter Pro, Smash Hit, Fruit Ninja, etc. are some of the classic examples of arcade games.

A developer with basic knowledge of development can easily create such a game for the Android and iOS platforms. To make an arcade game engaging and entertaining, you can use good graphics and maintain a visually appealing UI/UX. Set simple rules, offer challenges, and hook the players for hours.

Action Games

These types of games test a player’s hand-eye coordination, reaction time, and reflexes. People love to play action games that offer them a great adrenaline rush along with an unmatchable experience. On top of this, action games also need to have vibrant visuals that make a user feel the character in the game.

Call of duty, Fortnite, Critical Ops, Brawl Stars, and PUBG, are some of the famous and most-played action games. To build an action game, you can find an experienced game development company or hire dedicated game developers.

Racing Games

Racing games are there in the mobile game market for almost two decades now. In these games, a player participates in a racing competition and reaches the destination by leaving other players behind to win. Racing could be on land, air, water, or space. You can choose to build car racing, bike racing, animal racing, or any other type of game that delivers your audience fun, thrill, and joy.

Since the mobile game market is already flooded with a plethora of racing games, it is advised to add exceptional features or fun elements to your game to make it stand out. Real Racing, Asphalt 9: Legends, Need for Speed, and F1 Mobile Racing are some of the examples of racing games. 

Strategy Games

Strategy games are games that require decision-making skills and hence, are in high demand among people. It could be an abstract strategy, team strategy, turn-based strategy, or real-time strategy. Apart from just popularity, strategy games also help in generating huge revenue in this industry.  

Leagues of Legends, Age of Empires, StarCast are a few mobile games that fall under this category. If you are planning to build such a game, then contact a trusted mobile game development company.

Card Games

People have been playing various card games for ages. With digitalization, these games can now be played on your smartphone just by following the same rules. You can play these games using the traditional deck of cards with your friends or random players.

Solitaire, Poker, Spade, Rummy, etc. are a few popular card games. Just like casual games, card games target mass audiences. While building a card game, you need to make sure that the instructions or rules to play the game are clearly mentioned. Such games don’t need to have a highly interactive interface. However, you can provide various features to make your app different from the ones that are already there in the market.

Board Games

These are traditional tabletop games that are now available on your mobile phones. These games involve pieces or counters to be moved or placed on a board or surface. For doing so, a player has to follow a set of instructions or rules defined. Ludo, Chess, Lords of Waterdeep, and Rento are some of the games that fall under this category.

Adventure Games

Adventure games come up with exciting storylines that bind the players throughout the game. Moreover, such games are also packed with huge action and attractive visuals that take players on an adventurous journey. To build such a game, you need a full-fledged development team with considerable experience in game development. Machinarium, The Walking Dead, Broken Age, and Rayman Adventures are a few examples of adventure games. 

MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena

As the name suggests, these types of games are played between multiple players with each player as a part of the team competing with the other team on a specific map. These games require having particular gameplay, character classes and roles, different maps to play, and much more. Like adventure games, a highly experienced team of game developers can build games of this genre.

Select any of these genres and build a mobile game app today!

Where can I play these games?

Fortunately, there are a number of places on the internet where you can enjoy these genres of games:

  • Solitaire Bliss is great for solitaire and card games
  • Im-a-puzzle is a platform where you can solve and create your own puzzle
  • Crazygames has a variety of games from racing to action games
  • CardGames has a variety of games including online board games
  • Play Solitaire is a great place to play Solitaire Full Screen

Final Words

With technological advancements (AR/VR) and the increasing number of mobile phone users, the mobile game market has seen tremendous growth over the last decade. Mobile games of various genres, such as adventure, casual, card, board, racing, action, role-playing, and more, are becoming popular among people of all ages. Considering the popularity of these games, it would be no wrong to choose them as your startup mobile app idea.

To do so, you can reach out to a development company or hire mobile game developers. While choosing from any of these two, make sure you check their portfolio and share your game app idea or specific app requirements. Hand over your project to a reliable and experienced game development company that offers you the best value for your money.

Read Also – Cross Platform Mobile Game Development Tips