Tapping into the hypercasual mobile gaming market

Given the straightforward nature of the genre, it's no surprise that hypercasual players gravitate towards mobile games in order to pass time and relieve stress. However, hypercasual gamers are also motivated to play for emotional and social reasons. Being able to express something unique about themselves is a key reason for playing mobile games according to 44% of US hypercasual players and 41% of UK players, and 39% of hypercasual players in the US say they enjoy gaming to connect with people they know.

Hypercasual gamers are often eager to build community with other players. Over half of hypercasual players in the US and UK have engaged in online social activities related to the genre, such as chatting with others and interacting with social posts. And there's appetite for more connection, with 67% of hypercasual players in the UK and 74% of players in the US expressing interest in future social activities related to the genre.

In addition to chatting about titles and interacting with related social posts, hypercasual gamers are interested in communicating with game companies; 83% of players in the UK say this is appealing. They're also curious to see how they stack up against others, with 35% of hypercasual gamers in the US saying they like to look at other players' high scores on a leaderboard. Additionally, one-third of hypercasual players in South Korea would also be interested in joining an online group or community for hypercasual games.

Because so few hypercasual players make in-app purchases, in-app ads are a valuable way for developers to monetise titles within this genre. Hypercasual players understand the value exchange of ads, with 79% of US players and 85% of South Korean players saying that they're OK with seeing in-app ads.

However, over one-third of US hypercasual players have abandoned a game in this genre because of ads that were too frequent, so it's important to focus the in-game ad experience on retention. Generally, hypercasual players prefer longer, less frequent ad breaks compared with shorter, more frequent ones. Over the course of ten minutes of gameplay, 39% of US hypercasual players say they'd like to see one 30-second ad compared to only 23% saying they'd like to see two 15-second ad breaks and 18% saying they'd like to see three 10-second ad breaks. Incentivising players to watch in-app ads can also be beneficial, with 69% of South Korean hypercasual players saying they prefer watching in-app ads when they receive a reward.