The mobile gaming industry has always been a significant part of the global gaming market, but as the market continues to evolve and competition intensifies, attracting and retaining key users has become increasingly difficult. In response to the increasingly crowded market and changes in the wider mobile ecosystem, mobile game developers need to find new ways to attract users. In this regard, TikTok provides three core pillars: cultural relevance, connection, and community.
Cultural relevance: creating games that fit the spirit of the times
To attract a wider mass-market audience, mobile game developers need to ensure that their games can keep up with the times and align with popular culture. It is important to generate widespread discussion and popularity on social media, as 5% of modern gamers believe that the popularity of a game on social media plays an important role in deciding whether they play it.
Connection: Building lasting relationships with players
The new generation of mobile gamers want to have a deeper connection with the game developers they are playing. They need to trust that the developers have the best interests of players at heart and are not exploiting them through misleading marketing campaigns or aggressive monetization strategies. Placing false advertisements on social media platforms that do not match the game content and benefits is a very wrong behavior.
Community: Bringing players together around shared passions and experiences
In the new era of mobile gaming, creating a game that stands the test of time requires not only a close relationship between players and developers, but also a focus on connections between players. By creating communities, mobile game developers can build a sense of group identity and “ownership” of the game among players, leading players to make a deeper emotional investment.
Games that cultivate this type of community among their player base have a strong advantage in winning and retaining players. Not only are players more likely to stick with a game they are already invested in on social media, they also have a strong motivation to recommend it to family, friends and their other personal networks on social media.
TikTok provides these three core pillars, giving mobile game developers new ways to attract users. Cultural relevance, connection and community building are key factors in attracting modern players, and for the mobile game industry, understanding and leveraging these pillars will help meet the challenges of the market and succeed.