With the rise of mobile gaming, more are choosing to turn away from their laptops to their mobile devices for their gaming fix. There are huge amounts of options when it comes to gaming in the modern age, from consoles to phones and laptops. Although, more than ever, people seem to be picking their mobiles rather than traditional devices.
Rise of iGaming
iGaming is now second only to digital consoles in terms of popularity. In the UK last year, digital software and mobile gaming made up 75% of player spending on gaming software in 2024. The number of people gaming from their phones has gone up incredible amounts in recent times.
Vast Improvements to Mobile Gaming
Mobile gaming has often been known as a weak alternative to console gaming. It had long been associated with terrible graphics, poor narratives, and watered-down versions of console games. However, in recent years the quality of games has improved greatly. Now more than ever, people can access great games, more often than not for free, from their mobile devices.
Great games that can keep you entertained for hours are accessible right from the app or GooglePlay store. Some of the biggest games of last year were PUBG Mobile, Pokémon GO, Candy Crush Saga, and Genshin impact.
All of these games received anywhere from 50 million to 1 billion downloads last year – which shows you the scale of mobile gaming and brings us to the next point. Accessibility.
Global Reach
The potential of mobile gaming is in the scale of its reach across the world, with nearly everyone owning a smartphone. Unlike with an Xbox or PlayStation, where someone is committing to gaming and purchasing titles they enjoy, with a mobile, people are often just looking for something to pass the time.
A Variety of Games
Now, with the quality of mobile games in 2024, people are committing to them much in the same way they would commit to a console game. Massive console games like League of Legends, Apex Legends, and Just Cause are on their way to mobile devices. There are even social games, such as Mafia City, which would be hard to replicate on a console.
A game that is a cross between something like Sims, GTA and Farmville, where players compete for power globally and have wars. According to those who play it, the social element, interface and simplicity of using a touch screen are some of the biggest draws to the game aside from the content itself.
Online Mobile Casinos
The social element cannot be ignored these days, one industry that has started to understand this is the gambling one. There are new online sweepstake casinos and social casinos popping up everywhere. Easy to use, tons of great offers, and fun to play – it’s crazy to think it’s taken until now to catch on in the way it has.
In the US, a lot of that has to do with the Supreme Court decision in 2018 that has fuelled the growth in this market.
There are many fun online casinos offering every table game imaginable, thousands of slot games, and live casino dealers for increased interaction – taking you to the floor of a Las Vegas casino right from your mobile device.
Virtual Reality
VR is perhaps the most exciting and innovative piece of tech that is changing the landscape of mobile gaming. If it continues improving at the current rate, it will completely change how games are made and how we play them. It has the potential to create a truly immersive experience for gamers.
Virtual Reality has the capability to transport you into games and increase interaction to previously unimaginable levels. Whether that’s exploring in-game environments, playing strategy games, or fighting enemies in war-type games – there is no ceiling on how much VR could improve mobile gaming.
Free to Play
There are a huge number of engaging free-to-play and freemium games on the market for gamers to pick from. Unlike consoles, where a player must commit to buying a game, free games require no commitment and leave the customers with a wealth of options to choose from.
Free games have been on the rise for years, but they’ve come a long way from their rudimentary early days. Now you can access high-quality games that you can enjoy anywhere, anytime, without spending a penny.
Increased Social Media Interaction
Social media has exploded in the past decade, and it’s now making moves into the gaming industry. A lot of mobile games allow players to talk and game with friends, make new ones and immerse themselves in the community around the game.
It’s safe to assume that this will become an increasingly important factor in mobile gaming in the years to come. Gaming has always had a real sense of community, and it now appears as though there are communities being built around mobile games in the same way they have been built around console ones.
Most mobile games allow users to interact with their social media platforms, such as TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.
Gaming Phones
With the rise of mobile gaming have come gaming phones. For avid gamers who want to play on the go, gaming phones have everything you could need. A few things need to be considered if you’re thinking of getting a gaming phone.
Normal smartphones are already incredibly powerful, but gaming phones take things to another level. With triggers, excellent cooling technologies, and detachable controls – mobile gaming has never looked and felt so good.
Gaming phones are high performing and come with larger, high-res screens and refresh rates that are unmatched. They also have excellent battery life compared to ordinary smartphones, meaning you can play for long periods of time without worrying about charging. The Asus ROGPhone 6D is at the top of the market for anybody looking to get their hands on a gaming phone.
Why Mobile Gaming Will Only Get Better
Smartphones are already powerful machines, but the next generation will surpass our wildest expectations with lightning-quick processors and the increased use of 5G. The modern-day iPhone is far more powerful than even the Playstation 4. There is still a lot more room for mobile games to use this power, and all signs point to them doing so.
