S03 E08 data.ai’s Lexi Sydow Hot Gaming Trends And Ad Formats That Are Losing Steam
Aug 31, 2023
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Lexi Sydow, gaming trends and ad formats expert, gives insights on shifting player tastes, emerging genres, and the importance of contextual market data in overcoming ad fatigue. Monetization techniques, challenges in in-game ads, and user preferences are also discussed.
Diversification across platforms and monetization formats, especially rewarded video, is crucial for game developers to generate revenues.
Understanding player tastes and leveraging contextual market data are essential to overcome ad fatigue in the oversaturated mobile gaming market.
Deep dives
Mobile gaming market stabilizing with economic pressures
The podcast discusses how the mobile gaming market is stabilizing despite economic pressures. Last year, there was a decline in gaming spend due to the squeeze on disposable income. However, this year, outside of China, there has been a stabilization in the market with flat growth year over year. This is positive news considering the economic pressures that everyone is currently facing.
Pockets of growth and trends in mobile gaming
The podcast highlights some interesting pockets of growth and trends in the mobile gaming industry. Simulation games, particularly Indian bikes driving 3D, have seen significant growth, with 80% of downloads coming from India. Sports simulation games, like FIFA Soccer and Football League 2023, have also performed well in countries like India, Brazil, and Indonesia. RPG games, specifically the launch of Honkai Star Rail, have driven growth in the team battle subgenre. The party Royale genre, with games like Stumbleguys and EGGI Party, has also carved out market share, especially in China.
Challenges and strategies in mobile game monetization
The podcast explores the challenges and strategies in mobile game monetization. It mentions that sentiment towards in-game ads has deteriorated, which poses a challenge for developers. However, it suggests that rewarded video ads and playable ads are more well-regarded by users. It also highlights the importance of understanding context and leveraging contextual data for targeted ads. The report suggests that there are still opportunities for developers to monetize through creative strategies, particularly in casual and hyper-casual genres, as well as emerging mobile markets like Brazil and India.
Mobile remains the primary growth driver for digital games consumption despite a “softening in direct consumer gaming consumer spend.” But diversification rules as the strategy that will allow devs to generate revenues by ensuring their games are on all platforms and their monetization uses all formats and approaches -- especially rewarded video. This advice, and the stats to back it up, comes through loud and clear in the latest Gaming Spotlight Review 2023 from data.ai. In this special 2-part series, our hosts, Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, dive deep into the key findings with Lexi Sydow, Director of Corporate Marketing & Insights at data.ai. They discuss how shifting player tastes pave the way for emerging genres and why contextual market data is a must to overcome ad fatigue in an oversaturated market.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
02:56 An adjective to describe the current mobile market and latest report
05:29 The Gaming Spotlight report
09:37 Publishers, watch out for these subgenres
14:09 What does the data say about cross-platform gaming?
17:39 Are in-game ads coming to an end?
22:07 Contextual data to get your ad seen
26:09 Vote for PocketGamer in the British Podcast Awards
Gaming Spotlight Review 2023 - https://www.data.ai/en/go/gaming-report-idc-2023/
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Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event
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