2023 Casual Gaming Apps Report
Download PDFJun, 2023 Casual Gaming
Apps Report
2023
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2023 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Contents
Highlights & Methodology
Introduction
Cost & Revenue Benchmarks
Where Do Your Installs Come From
?
Top Trends in Casual Gaming
About Us
2
3
4
5
15
21
35
2023 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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3
Highlights &
Methodology
ROAS
While Android users are more cost-effective to acquire, the two
platforms post a similar D-7 ROAS.
CPI
Simulation games offer the best deal when it comes to installs at
$0.59.
Installs by Category
Ads in casual games are the dominant driver of installs across
gaming genres, making up for 74% of installs.
Installs by Genre
Puzzle games are an important source of installs across gaming
genres, driving 31.3% of installs.
Must-Know Casual Gaming Trends
Merge mechanics are catching the eye of non-merge and mid-core
games, and hyper casual games are evolving into “hybrid casual”
winners.
This report is based
on data from
Feb 1 2022 – Feb 1 2023
100M
Installs
390B
Impressions
16.7B
Clicks
All data for the report comes from
GameRefinery
and
Accelerate
, Liftoff’s
programmatic advertising solution.
2023 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Introduction
4
2023 is a pivotal year for the mobile gaming industry. Spending on mobile games
skyrocketed during the pandemic, but as inflation rose in 2022, consumer spending in
many sectors—gaming included—began to taper. To adapt in a volatile economic
environment, game developers are pivoting their business strategies. Instead of
scaling quickly, developers are prioritizing incremental revenue growth and
long-term profits.
For gaming advertisers looking to drive revenue in a volatile market, the key will still
be finding new audiences and capturing the attention of higher-value players. This
may be why despite fluctuations in consumer spending, the mobile ad revenue is still
growing. According to Emarketer, US mobile
gaming ad spend is forecasted to
grow
10%, reaching $6.28 billion in 2023. Growth is predicted to continue at between 8% to
10% in the coming years.
Casual mobile games, in particular, attract a broad following of players from
different demographics and different motivations. To get the best value from ad
spend, gaming marketers need to meet their audience where they are. To help, in
addition to our annual breakdown of benchmarks for advertising cost and revenue,
Liftoff’s 2023 Casual Gaming Apps Report takes an inside look at which mobile
gaming genres and subgenres are driving installs for casual, casino, mid-core, and
sports & driving games.
Finally, 2023 is primed to be a year of breathtaking innovations in game design. In
part three of our report, GameRefinery analysts closely examine the casual gaming
trends that are making a splash, including new trends in core gameplay and meta
layers, the increased popularity of competitive events, and why minigames reign
supreme.
Cost & Revenue
Benchmarks
Casual Gaming CPI,
Overall &
by Platform
D7 ROAS
, Overall & by Platform
CPI by Month
D7 ROAS by Month
CPI & D7 ROAS by Region
CPI & D7 ROAS by Genre
2023 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Our cost and ROAS benchmarks cover three of the biggest casual gaming
genres. Here’s how Liftoff defines them:
How We Define
Casual Game Genres
6
Puzzle
Puzzle is a
wide-ranging genre. A
mainstay, match 3,
remains one of the
most popular. Also
included are solitaire
and hidden object
(think June’s Journey).
Other notable game
types, such as word
games (like Words
With Friends), coloring
games, and trivia
titles, make up the
rest of the category.
Simulation
From adventures
abroad to creating
new cities, simulation
includes anything
that puts the player
in charge of building
an empire. Popular
titles of the genre
include Rollercoaster
Tycoon, Cooking
Diary, and—for
animal lovers—a
range of virtual pet
sims.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle games
include interactive
stories (such as
Lovelink), home
customization and
dress-up titles (with
famous examples
including Design
Home and Covet
Fashion), as well as
rhythm and music
games.
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Casual Gaming CPI,
Overall & by Platform
7
From 2022 to 2023, the average overall cost per install (CPI) hovered around $1. This is
lower than what we saw in the
two previous years
.
●
Post-ATT (App Tracking Transparency), Android remains the most cost-effective
solution for casual gaming apps, with an average CPI of $0.63.
●
At $2.23 per install, acquiring users on iOS costs over 3x as much as on Android..
$0.98
$0.63
$2.23
Overall
Android
iOS
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
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D7 ROAS, Overall & by
Platform
8
Even as spending and gaming habits change, return on ad spend (ROAS) is still the top
metric for many advertisers assessing their ad spend strategy.
●
Overall, casual games posted a 7.6% ROAS at day 7.
●
While Android users are more cost-effective to acquire, the two platforms have
a similar D-7 ROAS.
●
iOS offers only slightly better returns at day 7 at 7.8%.
7.6%
7.0%
7.8%
Overall
Android
iOS
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
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CPI by Month
9
Costs vary based on a number of factors throughout the year, and tracking seasonal
progression can be useful. Average CPIs saw more fluctuation at the start of 2022 but
remained relatively consistent at the end of the year.
●
Casual gaming CPIs began at an annual low of $0.61 in February 2022.
●
CPIs declined sharply in June, falling below $1 after hitting an annual high of
$1.45 in May.
●
Between July 2022 and January 2023, CPIs hovered around $1, with a slight
increase in August.
Feb
$0.00
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$0.61
$1.24
$0.81
$1.12
$0.93
$1.05
$0.89
$1.45
$0.93
$1.10
$1.03
$0.94
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Sep
Aug
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
2022
2023
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D7 ROAS by Month
10
D7 ROAS for casual games fluctuated throughout the year, but returns typically stayed
between 6% and 9%.
●
Day 7 returns hit a yearly high of 9.34% in July. .
●
While ROAS declined in November, returns rose sharply in December,
corresponding with the end-of-year holiday season.
●
After the holiday season, ROAS fell to a 12-month low in January 2023.
0.00%
3.00%
5.00%
10.00%
7.92%
7.24%
8.15%
7.49%
7.29%
8.33%
8.00%
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Sep
Aug
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
2022
2023
7.31%
8.25%
9.34%
6.73%
6.28%
5.66%
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CPI
by Region
11
CPI varies depending on the region. While casual games are popular across the globe,
different habits, preferences, and privacy regulations can mean contrasting costs and
revenue trends.
●
North America (NAR) has the highest average CPI by far, about 4x as much as
the CPI for Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA).
●
Latin America (LATAM) has the lowest average CPI at $0.55 per install.
●
Asia Pacific (APAC) and EMEA have similar CPIs at nearly $1.
$0.76
$0.90
$3.59
APAC
EMEA
NAR
$0.00
$1.00
$2.00
$3.00
$4.00
$0.55
LATAM
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D7 ROAS
by Region
12
Casual games worldwide are seeking better profitability and steady returns. But as
costs vary, so does average ROAS.
●
While NAR has the highest CPI, this region also posted the highest ROAS after 7
days (8.1%).
●
LATAM has the lowest CPI, but it also has the lowest D7 ROAS at 4.8%.
●
EMEA and APAC have about the same average D7 ROAS at 6.5% and 6.4%,
respectively.
6.4%
6.5%
8.1%
APAC
EMEA
NAR
0.00%
3.00%
5.00%
8.00%
10.00%
4.8%
LATAM
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CPI by Genre
13
In addition to analyzing casual games as an app category, we also divided the games
into popular genres to assess differences in cost and revenue. Puzzle, lifestyle, and
simulation games are consistently well-performing genres.
●
Simulation games offer the best deal when it comes to user acquisition at $0.59
per install.
●
Lifestyle players can cost over 2x as much ($1.32) as simulation players to
acquire.
$0.90
$0.59
$1.32
Puzzle
Simulation
Lifestyle
0.00%
0.50%
1.00%
1.50%
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D7 ROAS by Genre
14
While lower cost matters when scaling a game, casual game developers are also
thinking about long-term monetization models.
●
Simulation and lifestyle games post similar returns after 7 days, at 8.5% and 8.3%,
respectively.
●
Puzzle games post a slightly lower ROAS at around 7%.
●
While ROAS figures are an important metric for short-term profitability—it’s
important to consider other metrics like
LTV rates
when evaluating profitability.
6.9%
8.5%
8.3%
Puzzle
Simulation
Lifestyle
0.00%
3.00%
5.00%
10.00%
8.00%
Where Do Your
Installs Come From?
GameRefinery’s Taxonomy of Genres and Subgenres
Install Drivers by Category
Install Drivers by Genre & Subgenre
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Which Games Are Driving
Installs for Your App?
16
Pre-IDFA, attribution was simply taken for granted. In today’s privacy-conscious environment,
user-level data is hard to come by. Many marketers may be asking—where do I really find my
users?
To help visualize the gaming market as whole, GameRefinery divides gaming apps into four
categories, genres and subgenres. Drawing on their taxonomy, we set out to find which games
are a top driver for all gaming installs and the install drivers for each category, genre and
select subgenres.
Mid-core
Casual
Sports &
Driving
Casino
RPG
Action RPG
Tower Defense RPG
Turn-based RPG
Fighting
MMORPG
Puzzle RPG
Idle RPG
Survival
Sovereign Games
Strategy
4X Strategy
Asymmetric Survival
Build & Battle
MOBA
Tactic Battler
Shooter
Battle Royale
Classic FPS/TPS
Snipers
Tactical Shooter
Card Games
Card Battler
Puzzle
Action Puzzle
Board Games
Bubble Shooter
Match 3 Puzzle
Merge Games
Other Puzzle
Word Games
Trivia Games
Hidden Objects
Solitaire/mahjong
Lifestyle
Customisation
Interactive Story
Music/Band
AR/Location
Based
AR / Location Based
Arcade
Platformer
Shoot/Beat’ em Up
Other Arcade
Tower Defense
Hyper Casual
HC – Puzzle
HC – Top
HC – Steer
HC – Swipe/Drag
HC – .io
HC – Other
Simulation
Adventures
Breeding
Tycoon/Crafting
Sandbox
Time Management
Idler
Sports
Arcade Sports
Realistic Sports
Driving
Arcade Driving
Realistic Driving
Casino
Bingo
Casual Casino
Other Casino
Poker/Cards
Slots
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Which Category Do Your
Installs Come From?
17
Liftoff’s new tool combines paid install data from Accelerate, Liftoff’s programmatic
advertising platform between February 2022 to February 2023 with GameRefinery’s
industry-leading gaming taxonomy. We traced installs of gaming apps to the apps
where their ads were displayed to reveal where games are reaching their users.
Our visualization provides an aggregate view of the sources of installs across several gaming
categories, genres and subgenres. At a high level, we found that casual games were by far the
most significant driver of gaming installs across all genres at 86.9%.
This is unsurprising, considering the number of casual games in the market as well as their
widespread popularity across demographics. Sports & driving comes in at a distant second at
6.6%.
Track gaming installs with
our data visualization tool
SPORTS &
DRIVING
MID-CORE
CASUAL
CASINO
3.2%
Category drivers across all installs
86.9%
3.3%
6.6%
0%
25%
100%
50%
75%
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Install Drivers for Casual
and Mid-core Games
For other gaming categories,
casual games were
consistently a top driver.
Based on our sample, 74.7% of
mid-core installs came from
ads shown in casual games.
Other mid-core games and
sports & driving games were
also a notable driver at 10%
and 14%.
Casino games drove less than
1.2% of total installs for
mid-core games.
Breaking installs down
category by category, we
noticed clear trends in
installs. Unsurprisingly, most
installs for casual games are
driven by other casual
games.
Less than 10% of installs came
from the other three
categories. Sports & driving
games are the second driver
of installs for casual games
at a distant 5%. Casino
games come in last at 1.3%.
Category Drivers
for Casual
Category Drivers
for Mid-core
18
CASINO
CASUAL
MID-CORE
SPORTS & DRIVING
Game Installed
Ad Shown
CASINO
1.3%
CASUAL
91.0%
MID-CORE
2.6%
SPORTS &
DRIVING
5.0%
CASINO
SPORTS & DRIVING
Game Installed
Ad Shown
CASINO
1.2%
CASUAL
74.7%
MID-CORE
10.1%
SPORTS &
DRIVING
14.0%
CASUAL
MID-CORE
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Install Drivers by Genre
& Subgenre
As mentioned, casual genres dominate the installs. Even as the genre wanes in popularity,
hyper casual games are still a significant driver of installs across all genres at 32.3%. Puzzle
games are a similarly important driver at 31.3%. Simulation and lifestyle games form the next
tier, each driving around 9% of total installs.
Mid-core genres such as strategy and card games tend to be more niche in their interests and
make a smaller contribution across genres.
19
Genre drivers across all installs
HYPER CASUAL
32.3%
0%
10.0%
PUZZLE
SIMULATION
LYFESTYLE
ARCADE
DRIVING
CASINO
SPORTS
SHOOTER
RPG
STRATEGY
CARD GAMES
AR/LOCATION BASED
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
31.3%
9.3%
9.0%
4.9%
3.4%
3.2%
1.6%
0.0%
0.1%
0.5%
1.1%
3.2%
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Although casual games dominate in terms of volume, they also attract a diverse audience. As
we take a more fine-grained look at install drivers for specific genres and subgenres, we begin
to see a lot of crossover between genres and subgenres.
20
While a significant portion of match 3 puzzle players come from hyper casual and other match
3 games, word games and lifestyle games (coloring and customization) are also substantial
contributors.
By advertising only in similar games, advertisers may be leaving crucial returns on the table. If
your users come from different genres and subgenres, you may need to broaden your appeal
to maximize your reach.
Subgenre drivers for match 3 puzzles
SLOTS
0.5%
MATCH3 PUZZLE
19.9%
SOLITAIRE /MAHJONG
SOLITAIRE
6.2%
WORD
11.2%
HYPER CASUAL – PUZZLE
24%
HYPER CASUAL – TAP
15.8%
COLORING GAMES
5.4%
HYPER CASUAL – STEER
9.0%
CUSTOMIZATION
7.7%
Game Installed
Ad Shown
SLOTS
HIDDEN OBJECTS
MATCH 3 PUZZLE
TYCOON/CRAFTING
TURN-BASED RPG
Top Trends in
Casual Gaming
New Trends in Core Gameplay and Meta Layers
1. The Next Evolution of Merge Games
2. Combining Subgenres for the Win
3. From Hyper Casual to Hybrid Casual
4. Standing Out With an Innovative Core
The Rise and Rise of Competitive Events
The Minigame Takeover
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New Trends in Casual
Gaming: Core & Meta
22
Drawing on the latest revenue data, we identified casual games released in the past two years
that consistently ranked as one of the 500 highest-grossing games in the genre. We saw that
three types of games in particular—puzzles, match 3s, and merge games—populate the
rankings. We also observed a few notable trends:
Hybrid core and meta layers are becoming increasingly popular among top-grossing
games.
●
Match 3 games are facing a saturated market. Garden Affairs and BTS Island are the
only successful traditional match 3 games released in the last two years.
●
Merge games, a type of puzzle game, is the rising subgenre to watch. Merge games are
increasingly popular because developers can combine their straightforward gaming
mechanics with more sophisticated appeals to narrative.
Merge games
Puzzle games with unique gameplay
Traditional match 3
Zen Match
Love & Pies
Collect Em’ All
Cube Master
Fiona’s Farm
Merge County
Match Tile Scenery
Gossip Harbor
Triple Match 3D
Merge Fables
Tile Master 3D
Garden Affairs
Tile Link
Merge Studio
Scavenger Hunt!
BTS Island
Seaside Escape
Fishdom
Solitaire
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1. The Next Evolution of
Merge Games
23
Merge games are games where players drag and merge different items. The
mechanics are simple, and their wide appeal is easy to understand. They offer
instant gratification for players, and they’re easy to combine with other gaming
features.
Merge games offer incredible value for publishers, and they still have massive
room to grow. Merge mechanics are becoming a component in non-merge
games, including big titles like Homescapes, Gardenscapes, Township, and Cash
Tornado Slots.
Merge mechanics have now caught the eye of
mid-core
game developers. Games
such as Top War, King’s Choice, and Rise of Cultures have integrated merge
mechanics to attract casual gaming audiences. We’re also seeing publishers test the
viability of merge games for the mid-core audience with titles like Merge Vikings and
Merge Stories.
A top-performing slot title, Cash Tornado Slots
has a merge event.
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24
More and more, we’re seeing merge games evolve. There are new, innovative ways to
integrate merge mechanics with different meta layers.
Love & Pies and Gossip Harbor are examples of more sophisticated approaches in the
merge genre. Each combines merge mechanics with a strong emphasis on narrative
elements.
Gossip Harbor, in particular, takes the attention to a narrative layer to new heights. The
game introduces narrative beats as a reward type in its season pass so players can
unlock a new dimension to the game.
“One of the most appealing things about merge
games is their adaptability. Merge games can be
combined with meta layers to create new genres
and subgenres. The evolution of merge games is
also an example of success through hybridization. ”
WILHELM VOUTILAINEN
US Chief Game Analyst, GameRefinery, a Liftoff Company
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2. Combining
Subgenres for the Win
25
Changing up gaming mechanics can also drive added value for app publishers.
Often, games win over new audiences just by mixing and matching game
mechanics.
Fiona’s Farm found success by combining two of the major casual subgenres,
match 3 and tycoon/crafting, with adventure elements. The game’s core loop
includes playing blast match 3 levels to collect energy. Energy is used to complete
adventuring and fog clearing tasks. Completing these tasks then awards the
player with the materials they need to progress in the tycoon/crafting layer.
Having a mix of three different gameplay layers adds depth and widens the game’s overall
motivational appeal. It also enables more monetization possibilities.
Fiona’s Farm’s tycoon/crafting meta layer for example, has significantly broadened its
monetization options. The game still uses lives and boosters and continues to monetize its
match 3 core gameplay. The tycoon/crafting meta, however, has allowed it to rake in money
through meta-related mechanics (e.g., crafting timers, ingredient items, and special
decorative buildings).
Fiona’s Farm has seen steady growth through
its smart mix of subgenres.
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3. From Hyper Casual
to Hybrid Casual
26
The hyper casual market is slowly fading from the download charts. The total
download market share of the hyper casual genre has fallen from around 50% in
Q1 2021 (just before the IDFA) to a bit over 30% in Q1 2023.
The IDFA changes heavily impacted ad monetization models, prompting top
developers to adapt their hyper casual titles. We’re now seeing the rise of “hybrid
casual” games.
Voodoo’s Mob Control is a true hybrid casual game with a simple, tactical-battler PvP
(player versus player) core combined with a character card-collecting meta. It has proven
elements from both hyper casual games and mid-core tactical battlers.
The core gameplay lets players attack other players’ bases by steering cannons that launch
mobs onto enemies and multiplier gates (a trending hyper casual mechanic). The meta
focuses on mob, cannon, and champion card collecting and upgrading.
Mob Control’s monetization combines IAA and IAP, and they have recently scaled both,
especially IAP. Recent IAP monetization features have included gachas and battle-pass
seasons, which are paying off. We can see their effects on the IAP revenue charts.
Voodoo’s Mob Control is one of the hybrid casual winners that broke
the top 200 highest-grossing games.
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4. Standing Out With
Innovative Core Gameplay
27
Puzzle games are still incredibly lucrative, and recent puzzle games have found
success through simple but alluring and innovative core gameplay. Match3D, Zen
Match, and the recent hit game Triple Match 3D are perfect examples of games
that invest in a unique or addictive core.
These puzzle games combine hyper casual puzzle gameplay with IAP monetization and
popular casual puzzle features—such as live events and rich new meta layers.
Triple Match 3D,
for example, combines hyper casual gameplay—Match 3D’s “find similar
items from a pile”—with Zen Match’s “match bar” element, offering a completely unique puzzle
experience that sets it apart from its competitors.
Triple Match 3D continues to lean into hybrid elements with new updates. They recently held
a renovation meta event titled Makeover Café.
With a unique core gameplay, Triple Match 3D has seen its revenue
and downloads skyrocket.
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The Rise and Rise of
Competitive Events
28
PvP and competitive events have long been a part of mobile gameplay. They can
add depth to a game and boost engagement, but they haven’t always been a
natural fit for all genres.
There was a time when mixing casual gameplay with competitive elements would
have seemed unusual, but that time has long passed.
Now, solo tournaments are a staple in the live operations framework of every
ambitious casual game. For example, all of the top-10 grossing casual games use
solo tournaments, and the majority of them also include co-op tournaments and
race events.
The Four Archetypes of Competitive Events in Casual Games:
Solo Leaderboard
Co-Op Leaderboard
Race Event
1v1
1
2
3
4
Improve your LiveOps with
our new
Live Events Tracker
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29
Each player motivation is scored on a scale of 1-5,
with 5 being very important and 1 being not important.
Why are competitive events so popular? One crucial reason is that they tap into an
increasingly common motivation for casual gamers—the desire to compete against others.
GameRefinery’s motivational drivers profile players according to 12 motivational types. This
helps game developers and advertisers better identify and connect with their audience.
Using this motivational framework, we can break down which motivations top-performing
casual games cater to.
We mapped the player motivation scores for perennial puzzle winner Royal Match against the
average scores for match 3 puzzlers. Like its competitors, Royal Match caters strongly to players
who enjoy “thinking & solving” and “completing milestones.” But as a top performer, Royal
Match also scored much higher in the “competing against others” category than the genre
average, giving the game an edge with a key audience.
“There is a widespread misconception that casual
players are not interested in competitive gameplay. But
this is not true. If we look closely at the motivations that
games like Royal Match tap into, we can clearly see that
competition is now one of the top drivers of player
engagement.”
ERNO
KIISKI
Chief Game Analyst, GameRefinery,
a Liftoff Company
Royal Match
Match 3 Puzzle (Average)
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Solo Leaderboards
30
This is the most basic (common)
competitive event implementation,
usually 2-3 days long. Recently, there
has been experimentation with
player-triggered one-hour events.
Players are usually matched in 30-100
player groups.
By completing levels, players can
collect specific rewards. The event
gives you a score, and players are
rewarded accordingly after the event.
90% of the top 20 level-based casual
games use a version of it.
Royal Match — Lightning Rush
Team Leaderboards
Team leaderboards are very similar
to solo leaderboard events, but
players are competing in teams
against each other.
If the game has guild mechanics in
place, it likely will employ this event
type.
55% of the top 20 level-based casual
games use it.
Angry Birds Dream Blast — Team Race
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Race Events
31
Recently, some games have
introduced phases to the format.
55% of the top 20 level-based casual
games use it.
Cooking Diary — Pet Race
Race events are competitive events that have a finish line. This differentiates them from
leaderboard events.
They often have much smaller segments—for example, 5-7 players. Typically, players
need to complete levels faster than other players in their segment to win the race.
1v1 Events
1v1 events are still relatively rare, and
we’ve seen only a few examples so far,
but it’s an interesting variation that
brings a more personal competitive
feel to the event.
Only 10% of the top 20 level-based
casual games use it.
1v1 events are competitive events where players are in a head-to-head situation with
just one other player.
Matchington Mansion — Bake-Off
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The Minigame Takeover
32
“The most common way of integrating
minigames in casual games is through
minigame events. It’s an easy way to engage
existing users by giving them new and fresh
gameplay experiences within a familiar
framework.”
KALLE HEIKKINEN
Chief Game Analyst, GameRefinery, a Liftoff Company
Minigames take different approaches and can have different goals depending on how they’re
deployed. Some minigames are more UA-driven, while others are more engagement-driven.
They can also be a permanent fixture or event-based.
23% of the 200 top-grossing casual games already use minigames in one way or another.
Minigame Approaches
There are multiple “level of minigames”
UA Creative
UA creatives are
“slapped” on
player funnel
UA Creative
as Mode
UA Creatives as
permanent mode
Proper
Minigame-
events
Varying core
gameplay through
events
Permanent
Minigames
Varying core
gameplay through
permanent game
modes
2023 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
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Case Study: Township
33
Township has especially experimented with various
minigames over the years. We’ve witnessed an
expanding set of minigame mechanics ranging from
hyper casual platformers to various puzzle experiences.
Recently, Township has been focusing mainly on match 3
or match 2 minigames with changing interconnected
layers, such as:
●
Renovation
●
Makeover
●
Exploration
●
Merge
Case Study: Family
Farm Adventure
The game has experimented with multiple different
minigame cores varying from platformers, merge and
even archery.
Usually, the minigames are connected to the core
gameplay through rewards—or with their energy system
(you need to play core gameplay to get to play
minigames).
Very recently, they’ve implemented “House of Games,”
which work as a “minigame portal” for all the minigame
events.
Playrix has long been the “king of minigames” in
the casual gaming space, with a wide array of
minigames across their portfolio.
Family Farm Adventure is one of the leaders of
the energy-based tycoon/exploration genre. Just
like Township, it has really embraced the use of
minigames in its live operations.
2023 CASUAL GAMING APPS REPORT
Download PDF
Case Study: Phase 10
34
Rainbow of Flavors event is one example where a board
minigame “core” is used. Players roll dice to move around the
boards collecting ingredients, which are then used for
cooking dishes to get rewards.
The event connects with the main game through the dice
(gained from playing black cards in normal levels) and the
rewards (energy, boosters, and cosmetics).
These themed events are monetized directly through
rewarded ads or IAP bundles and indirectly through the
requirement of playing black cards (gained easily by using
purchasable boosters).
Phase 10 is a straightforward casual card game with light meta and social elements.
For additional depth, the game runs large themed events each month and
introduces fresh, exciting mechanics.
Case Study: Two Dots
Live events are a major part of the gaming experience.
One significant event type is Scavenger Hunts—a hidden
object minigame that brings variety to the match 3 core
while retaining the familiar audiovisuals.
In Scavenger Hunts, your goal is to find hidden objects
from an image cut into 6 levels. The game offers hints
through rewarded ads—in case you get stuck for too long.
Those who have a keen eye and manage to spot all the
items from the image will win exclusive collectibles (e.g.,
avatars).
Two Dots is a pretty unique match 3 game where
players connect dots to make matches. The game
has cozy and pleasing audiovisuals.
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