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The Rise of Midcore Mobile Games

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Jul, 2022 The Rise of Midcore

Mobile Games

July 2022

Snapshot Report


Using a
Category → Genre → Subgenre
hierarchy we are

able to differentiate games in a meaningful way and offer

accurate insights for all individual game types currently found

in the market


Our taxonomy is
created together with industry experts
and

is based on thorough testing and data-analysis of the market


In this report we are focusing on the must-have features that

the top-grossing Midcore games have.

GameRefinery’s Genre Taxonomy

GameRefinery uses a three-layered

approach to categorize games

It used to be the case that the mobile gaming market was dominated by Casual and Hyper

Casual titles such as
Candy Crush
and
Merge County
. While these and many other titles in the

Casual and Hyper Casual market are still popular, the growing popularity of Midcore games

such as
Diablo Immortal
,
Call of Duty: Mobile
, and
Apex Legends Mobile
is a sign that the

mobile market is evolving and providing new experiences that cater toward the needs of PC

and console gamers.

There are plenty of numbers backing this up. If we take a look at Midcore and Casual mobile

games released in the past 365 days, nine Midcore titles still feature in the top-200 grossing

chart (US), compared to just three Casual games.

That’s not to say that Casual and Hyper Casual games are no longer popular, but the

popularity of Midcore games shows that AAA developers and publishers from the world of

major video games are starting to take the mobile market more seriously.

The vast majority of Midcore games are AAA experiences, many of which have been ported

from best-selling PC and console franchises to mobile. Of course, many big names have

experimented with mobile ports in the last decade with mixed results, but we’re starting to

see more consistency when it comes to quality now. What’s impressive about many of these

AAA Midcore games is that they retain the quality of their PC and console counterparts while

adapting to the mobile market with specific gameplay and monetization features. In this

Snapshot Report, we dive into what’s setting them apart and the features making them so

successful.

The rise of midcore mobile games overview

Key points


Nine Midcore mobile games that have been released in the past 365 days currently feature in the top-200 grossing chart

(US), compared to just three Casual mobile games.


The Midcore category’s market share accounts for nearly 37% of US mobile game revenue (iOS), making it the only game

category that has grown between Q1/2021 and Q1/2022.


More intuitive control systems that allow for experiences similar to PC and console gaming differentiate top

revenue-driving AAA Midcore games from other competition.


Successful Midcore games distinguish with their multiple monetization streams, including gachas and new Battle Pass

styles, to thrive in the competitive mobile market. For example, over 65% of the top Midcore games contain more than

five different gachas.


Top Midcore games offer a busy calendar of live events and content updates. For example, 80% of top Midcore games in

the US combine events with their special event currency, which is an effective way to increase sinks in the game’s

economy temporarily.


There’s a new trend of Midcore games implementing external web stores to bypass in-app purchase fees.

Market

What does the Midcore mobile gaming

market in the US currently look like?

Top games and their current market share within the

Midcore category in US iOS

Key takeaway
: The Midcore category’s market share accounts for 36.73% of the US mobile game market revenues (iOS, Q1/2022), making

it the only game category that has grown between Q1/2021 and Q1/2022 (by 1.55%). When we compare the market situation between

Q1/2022 and Q1/2021 within Midcore games, the biggest market challenger is Supercell’s
Clash Royale
, which managed to increase its

market share by more than 4% a year. Moreover, compared to Q1/2021,
Lords Mobile: Tower Defense
and
Top War: Battle Game
have had

to give up the top 10 positions as
Clash Royale
and 4X Strategy game
Evony
established their position in the top 10 by gaining more market

share.

Numbers are from iOS games, US market. (Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform)

Midcore market (US) in the past year – what has happened?

Key takeaway
: Below, we take a look at the
Midcore
and
Casual
games (which have always been considered more appealing to large

audiences in the US) released in the past 365 days which have sustained their position in the top-grossing 200. It’s interesting to see

only
three Casual games
compared to
nine Midcore games
. Next, we’ll take a look at what the new top challengers in the Midcore

category look like.

Interested to know more? Head to Market Explorer in the

GameRefinery service to explore the market data more!

30d average

top-grossing

rank

Days since release

1-100

100-200

365

0

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

Diablo Immortal

Dislyte

Apex Legends

Mobile

Ni no Kuni:

Cross Worlds

Bloodline:

Heroes of Lithas

Zen Match

Last Fortress:

Underground

King’s Choice

Merge County®

“New Stars”

“Rising Challengers”

Cube Master 3D

– Classic Match

The Lord of

the Rings: War

Garena

Free Fire MAX

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

The top three Midcore superhits in the past six months:

Diablo Immortal

Diablo

Immortal

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

Read the full overview in the GameRefinery service →

Special notes from the analyst


The fast-paced action RPG controls

are ported extremely well to mobile,

and the gameplay is smooth and

fluid.


Playing the main storyline is

comparable to a compelling quality

PC/Console single-player RPG.

Monetization isn’t pushed too hard

until the endgame.


The game utilizes interesting ways

of storytelling while introducing

different game features such as

factions, game modes, and

progression mechanics.

The top three Midcore superhits in the past six months:

Dislyte

Dislyte

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

Read the full overview in the GameRefinery service →

Special notes from the analyst

Promoting (raising the max level

for) a certain element character for

the first time to the max triggers a

five-day login bonus. Moreover,

subsequent max promotions of

that element give a one-off reward.


Multi-battles allow the player to

start up to 10 battles of

auto-battle, during which the

player can leave it in the

background and continue playing

other parts of the game freely.

The top three Midcore superhits in the past six months:

Apex Legends Mobile

Apex

Legends

Mobile

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

Read the full overview in the GameRefinery service →

Special note from the analyst


Having played hundreds of hours

of the original PC/console Apex

Legends, it really impressed me

how well Respawn has managed

to capture the feeling of the

original’s gameplay in mobile

devices.

2022 is a big year for

AAA midcore mobile games

AAA mobile games are dominating the midcore

mobile market, but what are the essential features

that are helping AAA Midcore games succeed?

Essential design features that help AAA midcore games

succeed on mobile

At the end of last year, we asked if 2022 would be

THE year for AAA in mobile. It’s certainly been a

jam-packed year so far, with new mobile games

offering spectacular gameplay experiences for the

players.

But for many developers and publishers,

transitioning big IP to mobile can be a challenge.

From control methods to monetization and the

weight of consumer expectation, the deck is often

stacked against titles that try to make this shift.

From a game design perspective, we share the

features that are contributing to the success of AAA

midcore games. Of course, not every developer has

the same resources of AAA development teams, but

being aware of the features they’re using is valuable

knowledge for smaller-scale developers.

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Essential design features

Let’s start with the basics, meaning the feel of the game. Moving from a complex controller and mouse/keyboard setup to a mobile

screen is a massive hurdle. Games such as
Call of Duty: Mobile
,
Genshin Impact
, and most recently,
Diablo Immortal
, have managed

to crack this to emulate precision and control, delivering an experience more akin to what mobile (and console) gamers expect from

AAA premium games.

Looking at GameRefinery’s player motivations data, we can see that the typical Midcore players are motivated by the excitement and

thrill of the adrenaline rush from acquiring and mastering the reaction-based skills that, for example, multi-touch controls typically

require.

#1 Controls and gameplay

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

Call of Duty: Mobile – Four Finger setup

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Controls and gameplay

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

Regarding control mechanics, it’s also

interesting to see that the two top Midcore

games by revenue in the US market,

Genshin Impact
and
Diablo Immortal
, are

two of the few Action RPGs/MMORPGs

where
aiming is a core part of the game

mechanics
.

For example, Genshin Impact’s control/feel

of the game is much closer to a AAA

premium console game when compared to

most other mobile Action RPGs.

Aiming is

important part of

the core gameplay

Yes

No

Genshin Impact

Diablo Immortal

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Controls and gameplay

What also differentiates
Genshin

Impact
and
Diablo Immortal
from

typical RPGs is that they are much

more focused on core gameplay

so that combat, story, exploration,

and quests are more involving

compared to, for example, usual

Action RPGs where autoplay is

commonly used to grind resources

for the progression in the meta

(character upgrades, etc.).

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

The game has

triggerable

autoplay

Yes

No

Interested in digging deeper into features that distinguish top games

from others? Our Market Explorer is the perfect tool for that!

While a healthy player engagement keeps

the blood in your game circulating, it is

monetization that provides the oxygen that

games need to survive. Multiple

monetization routes through Battle Pass,

direct purchase bundles, and gachas help

ensure your game is a commercial success.

Our
recent report
provides valuable insights

into innovative monetization feature

implementations, covering the ever-evolving

Battle Pass to new types of gachas and the

latest developments in IAP offers, but what

are the must-have monetization features

that the top-grossing games have? Let’s
take

a look!

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Essential design features

PUBG: MOBILE – Royale Pass

#2 Multiple monetization routes

We’ve written extensively about the growth

of the Battle Pass and how it’s being used

by some of the biggest games on mobile, so

it’s no surprise that more than a third of the

top 20% of Midcore games contain a Battle

Pass Plan.

However, what is surprising is the feature’s

degree of adoption between top Midcore

games and Midcore games outside of the

top 20%, making the Battle Pass plan a

clear differentiating feature between

best-performing games and others.

75% of the US (iOS) top 20% grossing Midcore mobile games utilize the Battle Pass feature,

while only 25% of games outside the top 20% have it. (Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform)

The popularity of Battle Pass plan among Midcore games

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Multiple monetization routes

There are plenty of innovative ways in which Battle Passes are being utilized. Find interesting BP

implementations using our Implementation Examples tool in the GameRefinery service.

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

PUBG MOBILE –

Royale Pass EZ Mission License

Innovative developers can also find ways to create

multiple monetization routes within a single feature.

PUBG MOBILE
‘s RP EZ Mission License is an extra

purchase on top of players’ premium battle pass

purchase. It unlocks weekly missions for the player

faster, letting them earn weekly Mission Cards (used
to

auto-complete tasks) which rewards the player with

more RP (battle pass progression points) from Season

Match Time rewards.

But the interesting thing here is the pricing. It varies

based on how many consecutive seasons of the BP the

player has purchased. If they have purchased more

than three consecutive BPs, they get the EZ Mission

License for free. So, its primary function is to drive the

constant consecutive BP purchases and keep players’

“purchase streak going.”

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Multiple monetization routes

The gacha system is one of the most effective ways developers can monetize their mobile games, which is why they are currently

dominating the mobile game market and can be found in even the biggest IPs. 76% of the US top 20% Midcore games use

limited-time gachas, and over half of the top Midcore games contain more than five different gachas.

Interestingly, even though the growing popularity of gachas has made them evolve and we’ve seen several innovative

implementations of gacha mechanics, special gacha mechanics are still not that common among top Midcore games in the US. Only

30% of the US’s top 20% of Midcore games utilize them. Special gacha mechanics include gachas such as
Box Gacha
, where each

pull removes the earned item from the reward pool, so each consecutive pull increases the chances for the rarest items (often the

price also goes up for consecutive pulls) or in-gacha stores, where you accumulate gacha-specific currency for each pull, which is

used at its own store (also a way to build pity mechanic and give player agency to choose their rewards for pulling multiple times).

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Multiple monetization routes

The popularity of gacha mechanics among Midcore games (US, iOS)

How do top games implement gacha mechanics? Find more exciting examples

with our Implementation Examples tool in the GameRefinery service

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Multiple monetization routes

Genshin Impact – Limited-time gachas

In
Genshin Impact
, characters are introduced with high-quality storylines/missions that are often tied to

various events. Players can purchase these characters from the limited-time banner gacha, the main

monetization mechanic in the game.

Despite the game’s daily baseline revenue being relatively high, every new gacha release creates a massive

spike in the baseline revenues, as seen in the iOS graph above from the past 12 months.

Genshin Impact’s revenue and downloads past 12 months

One
interesting trend

we’re currently seeing, especially among

Midcore games, is
mobile game publishers’ external web

stores for selling certain in-game items to bypass Google and

Apple store cuts.
At the time of writing, we’ve spotted a few

mobile games doing this so far, for example:
Game of Thrones:

Conquest
,
Clash of Clans
,
Marvel Strike Force
, and
Star Trek Fleet

Command
.

So what’s the deal with these web stores? Most mobile games

are free-to-play titles and make most of their revenue through

in-app purchases such as in-game currencies, battle pass

subscriptions, or cosmetic items. Given that many of the most

popular mobile games make upwards of $100k every single day,

it’s no surprise that studios are looking to move some of their

in-app purchases to external channels where Google and Apple

can’t take a cut.

What remains to be seen is how many publishers will follow in

the footsteps of these games by setting up their own web stores.

What remains an issue is the visibility and accessibility of these

web stores. Apple and Google don’t allow the advertising of
these

web stores in-app, so mobile game publishers are currently

dealing with the challenge of getting the word out there about

these web stores.

Trend spotlight:
External web stores for selling in-game items

Game of Thrones: Conquest web store

Supercell store

for Clash of Clans

Star Trek Fleet Command web store

Another lesson to learn from the most successful

mobile games is that they offer players multiple

gameplay events, limited-time game modes, and

numerous new maps, characters, and weapons to keep

players engaged.

Successful mobile games know how to leverage

events.
Take
COD: Mobile
, for example – there are

always two to three smaller events tied to various

limited-time modes/new maps on the go that require

gameplay to unlock multiple cosmetics. This is

complemented with bigger gameplay events at least

once a month. In addition to the events, COD brings

tons of purchasable content on high cadence through

gachas, direct purchases and Battle Pass.

Offering variety and choice also supports a workable

cosmetic economy. Not everyone wants to buy the
same

cosmetics, so top games present new (and available

only limited-time) items on a very regular basis.

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Essential design features

#3 Massive content cadence

Call of Duty: Mobile’s revenue spikes in the last 12 months show the importance of events and

limited-time items. (Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform)

AAA Midcore mobile games:
Massive content cadence

The popularity of in-game events and related features among

Midcore games (US, iOS)

Midcore gamers crave novelty, which is why making sure that there’s always something new for players to discover is one of the

best ways to retain players.
Especially limited-time in-game events provide a way to offer players new event modes,

characters, event areas, and quests to keep them super engaged.

80% of top Midcore games in the US combine events with their own special live event currency, which is an effective way to

increase sinks in the game’s economy temporarily. Live event currencies can be combined easily with limited-time shops, gachas,

and content to create a boost to your game’s economy. By rewarding players with some of this unique currency within the

promotional period for something such as daily logins, you can be sure that players will keep coming back for more.

Source: GameRefinery SaaS platform

We Know Mobile Games

We answer not just
what
is happening on

the market but
why
and
how
it is happening

Did you find this report and data interesting? Want to know

more about mobile game genres, features and your

competitors?

Visit our website at
www.gamerefinery.com

and log in for

free!

You can also schedule a live demo by contacting yours truly

at
erno
@gamerefinery.com

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