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Mobile games have come a long way since the explosion of app-based games like Angry Birds and Temple Run. While mobile games used to be looked down on as inferior versions of pre-existing games made on a shoestring budget, they now represent a significant fraction of video games alongside console and PC titles.
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Sensor Tower reports that in 2023 mobile game revenue reached $76B – 22% higher than pre-COVID levels in 2019. Mobile games do much more than just fill time on the morning commute: They provide an outlet for entertainment around the world as opposed to the western-focused Steam market and the very niche console market. With such global appeal, it’s crucial for sponsors and publishers to tap into the mobile market.
In this article, we’re looking at which mobile games and genres are the most popular on live-streaming platforms as a sneak preview of our upcoming Mobile Games report.
Looking at the top mobile games throughout the first half of 2024 reveals two clear frontrunners. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) and Garena Free Fire lead all other mobile games with 229M and 226M hours watched, respectively. These two titles are heavily supported by esports events around the world, with 54% (123M hours watched) of MLBB’s viewership coming from esports. The importance of esports in mobile gaming cannot be overstated, with the Esports World Cup even investing a significant prize pool into the space to encourage top mobile pro players to come to Riyadh for the tournament.
Interestingly, this trend of esports propping up mobile games on live streaming runs counter to sales figures. Most mobile game revenue is generated by casual games like Monopoly GO!. Developers may have to trade off mass revenue for live streaming popularity at this point in time.
Further down the list we have a slew of shooter titles including PUBG Mobile, BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA, and Call of Duty: Mobile. Although Call of Duty: Mobile is low on this list, it’s worth noting that both it and the Battle Royale spinoff Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile have had fantastic performances upon their debut. More time on the mobile market may see Call of Duty games prove themselves worthy entries in the space.
Looking at shifts across the top 3 games sees PUBG Mobile dropping out of the race as of late. From Q1 2022 to Q2 2024, PUBG Mobile has seen a 65% drop in viewership down to just 61.4M. This leaves MLBB and Garena Free Fire to battle it out, with the latter actually edging out the former for the first time ever in Q1 2024 by 12M hours watched. Meanwhile, BATTLEGROUNDS MOBILE INDIA has continued to slowly crawl up the charts since its release, climbing from 30.5M to 50M hours watched in Q2 2024.
Although the top two titles are a MOBA and a Battle Royale, it’s actually Shooter games which are bringing in the highest viewership so far. Shooters have consistently edged out Battle Royales by a margin of over 10M hours watched per quarter, ending up at 259M hours watched in Q2 2024. This slight preference no doubt comes from the sheer number of mobile Shooter titles and their supporting esports events, which have been even more popular recently.
Battle Royales have a similarly high viewership. When taking all Battle Royales into account, they easily outweigh the impact of MOBAs over time (which can’t be single-handedly supported by MLBB). Far lower down, we have FPS games at 14.6M hours watched in Q2 2024 (a genre preferred on PC rather than mobile) and RPGs at 13.8M hours watched (perhaps handicapped by their incompatibility with esports and their need for higher graphics to sell the games’ world-building). This trend may start to shift, as the Japanese mobile market rebounds in 2024.
Beyond these genres, there may be potential for mobile games to branch into other fields on live streaming. Sports games have historically generated a lot of revenue on mobile – if a publisher could bring this format to the live-streaming arena, it could lead to a powerful new fanbase. Sponsors and publishers should invest more into this growing market and capitalize on genre niches that haven’t yet been explored (such as Vampire Survivors making the leap to mobile thanks to its simple control scheme). Stream Hatchet will be watching as the mobile genre expands in years to come.
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