Hyper Casual Games: A Closer Look at the Past, Present, and Future
The game industry is currently emerging as an attractive destination for enterprises to earn dividends. Massive improvements in technology and infrastructures over time have allowed the industry to impress gamers with unique concepts to ensure surplus entertainment throughout the year.
Presently, the market value of the video game segment is over $300 billion. The introduction of next-gen games like Decentraland, Gods Unchained, Axie Infinity, etc. is allowing players to deeply and realistically engage with the online gaming environment. But despite such progress, hyper-casual games still continue to enjoy the admiration of a vast user segment.
In this post, we will evaluate the journey of hyper-causal games from the past with their countless possibilities in the present and future. But to proceed before, let us know:
What are Hyper Casual Games?
These are extremely simple-to-play games without requiring much skill. You just have to tap the screen to move your characters either up or down, left or right, etc. to accomplish quite conveniently.
In hyper-casual games, you always have the privilege to restart or continue at the same level to progress ahead. Moreover, these games never occupy much space in your smartphones and are also installed quite conveniently.
In 2022, the global market value of hyper-casual games was $16665.88 million which is anticipated to reach the amount of $25958.4 million in 2028.
If you are interested in developing such games then communicating with a professional mobile game development company will help you to gain success.
At the moment, platformers and puzzles are the two most highly popular sub-genres of hyper-casual games. Besides, other demanding segments of hyper-casual games comprise arcades, simulation, lifestyle, and so on. These games are quite ideal to enjoy idle moments and earn rewards without much effort.
Hyper-Casual Games: Visiting the Past
The attempt to create hyper-casual games started back in 2011 & 12 with the release of runner games. But the first full-fledged attempt at hyper-casual game development gained visibility with the arrival of the Flappy Bird game in 2013.
In fact, it was the first hyper-casual game that generated a good response in the market. The game had a smooth mechanic and short levels which are major attributes of hyper-casual games.
Since then, the popularity of hyper-causal games has continued to grow and intensified with time. It was in 2017 that sub-genres of hyper-casual games started to arrive. On noticing the growing popularity of these games, many enterprises have started to invest in these segments with the support of a professional hyper-casual game development company.
Hyper Casual Game Development: Current Scenario
Right now, hyper-casual games have emerged as a demanding segment of mobile gaming. Every enterprise is consulting with a professional hyper-casual game development company to bring out engaging and lightweight game applications of distinct genres to amuse players.
In 2021, the download record of these games was 13.7 billion which in 2022 witnessed a reduction of 12.3 billion. But even then also, the craze to play hyper-casual games is quite visible among a vast player base.
What makes these games quite immersive is the short game-playing session with simple mechanics that allow you to obtain a refreshing experience of gaming quite consistently. As these games come with a single feature with a minimal UI/UX design, it is comparatively easier to build them without much effort.
Hybrid Casual Gaming: The Future and Emerging Trends in Hyper-Casual Games
No doubt, hyper-casual games have a very good market demand. But as the taste of users is changing gradually, a new trend has started to emerge in the game development industry. The main objective is to boost user retention for long hours.
This is known as hybrid casual gaming which combines the best features of hyper-casual games with mid-core games.
In 2022, revenue generation from hybrid casual gaming touched the amount of $974.6 billion with an impressive download figure of 5.1 billion.
In these hybrid-causal games, users will have the convenience to receive a similar game-play experience of hyper casual games where they just have to tap the screen to move or regulate characters.
In addition, they will also have the surplus scope to experience immersive storylines, with new and fascinating game levels combining other attractive features of a core gaming application. In short, users will find more opportunities to stay hooked on hybrid casual games. But that will not minimize the popularity of hyper-casual gaming at all because these games are quite ideal for users who only want to seek amusement without devoting time and energy.
Final Thought
Although the industry of gaming is steadily evolving, the demand for hyper-casual games is still prevalent. Simple mechanics, short playing sessions, user-friendly design, etc. have resulted in the rising popularity of such games. However, this engaging game segment is also standing on the verge of the next revolution which is known as hybrid casual gaming.
It represents the combination of hyper-casual and mid-core game features. As a result, it is helping enterprises to captivate the attention of end users till the end. If you are interested to know about hybrid-casual game development, communicate with an industry expert now.