KEYGLOBALTRENDS©Newzoo2018FREEVERSIONM51-651%mobileGlobalmarketreportMobilemarkettrendsAppmarketrevenues&forecastsMobilebrand&modelusageSmartphonepenetration2018FREEVERSIONGlobalMobileMarketReport2FREEVERSIONKEYGLOBALTRENDS©Newzoo2018TABLEOFCONTENTSFOREWORD3.RANKINGS1.THEKEYGLOBALTRENDS4.TERMINOLOGY5.METHODOLOGY2.THEGLOBALMOBILEMARKETGlobalMobileMarketReport3FREEVERSION©Newzoo2018FOREWORDWeareproudtopresentthefreeeditionofour2018GlobalMobileMarketReport.Theindustryhasagaingrownandthrived,withconsumersontracktospendmorethan$92billiononappsthisyear.Overthree-quartersoftheserevenueswillbegeneratedbymobilegamesalone,asgamingfirmscontinuetoleadthechargeinbothmonetizationandengagement.Mobileconsumershavebecomemoreandmoreinterestedincompetitiveandimmersivegameexperiences,leadingmobilegamepublisherstoexpandbeyondthecasualgamesmarket.Meanwhile,hardwarefirmsarenowtargetinggamerswithsmartphonesspecificallydesignedforgaming.Niantic’sPokémonGOhasalreadyshownthemassiveopportunitythatARpresents;however,sincethegame’s2016releasewehaveseenfewtitlesthathavesuccessfullypushedthetechnologyforward.Infact,thenextgametopushtheARenvelopewillmostlikelybeNiantic’snexttitle,HarryPotter:WizardsUnite.Lookingatnon-gameapps,thingshavebeenjustasinteresting.TechfirmslikeApple,Google,Facebook,andAmazonarepouringbillionsintooriginalvideocontent—eachonevyingforapieceoftheNetflixpie.Andappstorerevenues,bothforgameandnon-gameapps,havecontinuedtoincrease.Ingeneral,morestart-upsareutilizingsmartphonesandtabletstomakethingsmorecon-venientforconsumers—inallaspectsofourlives.Forexample,innovativemobile-firstbanksarerapidlyexpandingwithinEuropeandbeyond.IntheU.S.,certainappcompanieshavediscoveredhowtodrawinmassiveliveaudiences—allbytakingatried-and-trueTVformulaandadaptingittofitourmobile-firstlives.Wetrustyouwillenjoythisfreeversionofourpioneeringmobilemarketreport,whichgivesatasteofthehigh-qualitydataandknowledge-packedtrendsavailableinthefullversion.“ThankyouforreadingthispreviewofthesecondeditionofourGlobalMobileMarketReport.Thisannualreportandsubscriptionprovideyouwithanin-depthoverviewofthemobilemarket,globallyandperregion.ThedataisderivedfromourMobileIntelligenceSolutions,whichaimtohelpthecompanieswithmobileatthecenteroftheirstrategy,productdevelopment,ormarketing.Allinall,theglobalmobilemarketisstillfiercelycompetitive.Eventhoughindustrygiantshavemanagedtoclaimasignificantfoothold,thereareplentyofunexploredopportunitiesforinnovativecompanies,withmorethanenoughroomforfreshcontentandinnovativenewbusinessmodelstothrive.”JelleKooistraHeadofMarketAnalysisFOREWORDFREEVERSION©Newzoo2018GlobalMobileMarketReport4KEYGLOBALTRENDS1.FREEVERSIONGlobalMobileMarketReport5FREEVERSIONKEYGLOBALTRENDS©Newzoo2018KEYGLOBALTRENDSABRIGHTFUTUREONMOBILEIMMERSIVE&COMPETITIVEGAMESOverthelastfewyears,mobilesmartphoneshavebecomepowerfulenoughtorivalcertainlaptopsinprocessingpower,allwhileremainingsmallenoughtoputinyourpocket.TheyarenowpowerfulenoughtohandleexperiencesthatwerepreviouslyonlypossibleonPCandconsole.Thesemorecomplex,orimmersive,experiencesarebecomingespeciallypopularintheChinesemarket,withgamessuchasPUBG:MobileandTencent’sHonorofKingsdoingparticularlywell.ThoughnotonthesamelevelasinChina,theseexperiencesarealsobecomingmorepopularintheWest,wheremorecasualmobilegames,suchasKing’sCandyCrushSaga,havehistoricallydominated.ThefullreleaseofFortniteMobileoniOSonApril2,forexample,wasahugehitforEpicGamesintheU.S.andEurope.Infact,theglobalcasualgamesmarkethasreachedapointofsaturation,leadinggiantsofcasualgamingsuchasKingtoexploremid-coretitles.Kingrecentlybroughtitsmatch-3knowledgetoacoreexperiencewithitsLegendofSolgard.Inaddition,itisworkingonamobileadaptationofCallofDuty.Increasingly,mobilegamereleasesareexpandingintogenresthatarestaplesofPCgaming,includingMOBAs(ArenaofValorandMobileLegends),shooters(FortniteandPUBG),strategygames(Civilization6andRome:TotalWar),andMMOs(NetEase’sCrusadersofLightandNetmarble’sLineage2:Revolution).Allthesegamestapintotheincreasedpowerofnewerdevices,whichhavebetterspecs,biggerscreens,andmorestorage—allfeaturesthatconsumersneedtoplaythesemoreimmersivegameexperiences.Besideshavingdeeperimmersionthanmorecasualgames,manyoftheabove-mentionedgenresarealsocompetitive,featuringplayer-versus-player(PvP)modes.Theexceptionsarethestrategytitles,whicharetypicallyplayedsoloonmobile.Eventhoughstrategygameshavetraditionallyhadcompetitivemodesaswell,thelongsessiontimesarenotyetsuitableformobilegamers,whoplayforshorterperiodscom-paredtotheirconsole-andPC-gamingcounterparts.Thissurgeincompetitivemobileexperiencesmeanstherearemoreopportuni-tiesfortournamentsandrewardsystems(forbothphysicalanddigitalrewards).Therearetwomajorplayersinthisspace:Skillz,whichwasreleasedbackin2012,andAmazon’sGameOn,whichlaunchedrecently.AmazonGameOnisasetofAPIsthatenablesdeveloperstobuildcross-platformcompetitionsintheirgames.WithGameOn,developershaveaneasywaytoattractnewplayersandstrengthentheirfanbasewithleaderboardsandleagues,awardin-gameandreal-worldprizesfulfilledbyAmazon,anda