Many consider the present to be the golden era for mobile games. Given the technological prowess developers have come to gain access to and players receiving regular updates from games they love, they have come a long way. However, on the other side of this spectrum lies a harsh reality of unfinished titles, canceled games, and an unstable industry where only a few studios truly make it.
In a recent study, SuperScale concluded some shocking results. On perhaps the most accessible platform, smartphones may have a plethora of games available right now. But there would have been many, many more if 83% of mobile games didn’t die within three years of launch. Surprising? There’s a lot more to this story.
Unfortunately, Canceled Games Are Becoming the Norm in the Industry
Canceled games aren’t a niche anymore. These unfortunate products of entertainment seldom find the funding or resources to support their creator’s vision. The team at SuperScale specializes in improving growth and sustaining a positive vision for mobile games, and it recently conducted a study that found out disheartening numbers surrounding mobile titles and how they make up a big chunk of canceled games that never see the light of day.
Here are some stats that might make you shift a little in your chair:
- A large number of mobile games (83%) die out within the first three years of launch.
- In the last 12 months, 32% of studios have witnessed layoffs.
- 78% of developers prefer wanting to work on new titles.
- Within the industry, 30% of junior developers feel that their potential is wasted and that there’s no creative fulfillment when cancellations happen.
This survey was conducted across 500 US and UK developers. SuperScale’s research concluded that 43% of mobile titles are killed off during their development cycle before they even launch, ending up as canceled games.
Furthermore, 78% of these games are made by developers who would rather work on a new title. The inconsistency in morale here makes for the massive $96.2 billion mobile games industry. And those who are just getting started in the industry might have it worse; 32% of developers conducted layoffs, and almost a quarter of these studios came extremely close to shutting down altogether.
Combine the lack of interest in working on a project with massive layoffs, and you have an industry bloated by creators with canceled games that eventually never see a release.
Superscale Further Explores Whether Promising Mobile Games Would Have Made It
The research put things into perspective by selecting certain games that genuinely showed promise and then analyzing the possibility of a promising future. 18 such games were selected, and it must be noted that these titles no longer receive updates or funding. Based on these games, SuperScale envisioned a Good Games Don’t Die white paper that looks into current trends and measures, such as monetization and additional design philosophies.
This data would then be used to unveil the true potential of promising games in the future, even if they are canceled.
In the context of the same, the CEO and Founder of SuperScale, Ivan Trancik, shared some insights:
These are volatile times for the games industry. Many mobile game developers are finding it hard to remain profitable in the face of challenges such as ATT, heavy competition in a mature mobile market, and macroeconomic conditions like high inflation. 83% of games are flat-lining in the first three years is an eye-opening statistic, that indicates a new mindset is needed within the industry.
Furthermore, Ivan explained how the findings from this research would serve as a crucial reminder to mobile game developers to take another look at canceled games. This will also help publishers make the right decisions and maximize profits across their diverse portfolio of both old and new games.
Ivan took a philosophical angle and added a pinch of perspective to his statements:
The art and business of making games is often borne from a place of indescribable passion, and not always for pure commercial gain. We believe there is an opportunity for the entire games industry to reflect on the incredible gaming content that has already been created, and to take a second look at what can be done to inject new life into them.
If you wish to find out more about canceled games and invest in these insights further, sign up for SuperScale’s latest deep dive into fixing the potential for various mobile titles.
Finally, here are some data points that might give you a fresher perspective on the reality of mobile titles and how canceled games can someday divert from being the norm:
The big recession: About 32% of studios in the past 12 months have faced layoffs, and 40% of studios have even engaged in outsourcing various dev tasks. Out of the different genres, hypercasual and collectible card game developers were impacted the most.
How mobile games make money: Around 62% of developers have been using services like LiveOps to make profits out of their games. 37% of studios update their numbers on a weekly basis, but less than half of them give monthly updates.
Few games truly make it: Out of all the mobile titles that are envisioned, 43% are killed off before launch and end up as canceled games. 76% of them hit peak profits perhaps once a year, and 83% of these games simply fade away within the first three years of existence. A small 5% of games receive consistent support over the course of seven years.
A creative pursuit turned into misery: Out of all the developers who work on their passion projects, 78% would rather work on something new. Only about 30% of developers genuinely believe that focusing on legacy games is the ultimate smart move in a bloated industry. 37% of candidates in the research even admitted that the industry’s uncertain nature often stops them from building new games.
However, 30% claimed that the market is almost impossible to survive in, and 30% believe that their personal niche is way too competitive for the industry.
While these are somewhat depressing numbers, using these stats to further analyze mobile games and their potential seems to be the next big step.
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