The pandemic has hit many industries, so advertisers have shifted money to mobile-centric platforms. With users spending more time on mobile, some app categories have been able to sustain ad revenues or even grow. In-game advertising has been steadily strong as people are playing an additional three minutes daily on average in 2020. Meanwhile, numbers are in for the top-grossing mobile games and two of Tencent’s titles came out on top. For all the details, read on for this week’s Mobile Monday!
Increased Time Spent in Mobile Leads to Growth in In-game Advertising
According to eMarketer’s latest data, U.S. adults are expected to spend 23 extra minutes a day on smartphones in 2020 which totals three hours, six minutes on average. Because of this increased time on mobile, app categories have seen a rise in usage, especially in social media, messaging, video, and gaming. Adults in the U.S. will spend an additional three minutes on mobile games this year. Furthermore, Americans’ increased time spent on mobile games has led to growth in advertising.
The advertising industry has taken a hit this year as a result of the ongoing pandemic and some brands spending less on ad budgets. With strong demand, mobile gaming has emerged as a bright spot in mobile advertising as it has managed continued growth. eMarketer estimates that overall gaming ad revenues will grow roughly 10% in 2020 to $3.61 billion, with the bulk of this spending in mobile. Because most ads in games are for other titles, most in-game advertising avoided the worst effects of the lockdown. In some cases, games were able to gain users and increase engagement.
Honor of Kings Was the Top-grossing Mobile Game in June 2020
As people continue to mostly stay at home, mobile gaming has continued to gain huge earnings. Sensor Tower reported that Tencent’s Honor of King was the top-grossing game in June 2020. Known as Arena of Valor in the West, the game had a 50% year-over-year increase and generated $193 million on iOS devices alone. Around 95% of the title’s revenue was from China, followed by 2.1% from Thailand and 1.8% from Taiwan.
The second-highest earner in June was another Tencent title, PUBG Mobile. The game grossed over $168 million representing a 13% growth from June 2019. Approximately 53% of that revenue was from its localized version in China named Game For Peace, followed by 10.4% from the United States. Additionally, PUBG Mobile has reached $3 billion in lifetime revenue, having doubled its earnings since December 2019. The next top-grossing app was Monster Strike from Mixi, followed by Roblox from Roblox Corporation and Pokémon GO from Niantic.
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