1. Of nearly 167,000 Google Play mobile game publishers, approximately 3,300 of them are from the United Kingdom.
(42Matters)
Converted to percentages, these figures mean that 2% of all publishers on Google Play are British. Some of the best-known UK publishers in the mobile gaming market are ZeptoLab, Opposable Games, Kwalee Ltd, Game Pickle, MDickie, First Touch Games Ltd, Gismart, Aceviral, Cartoon Network EMEA, and BoomBit Games.
2. Puzzle games are the dominant gaming genre, with 33% of UK gamers playing them.
(Facebook Gaming)
One-third of UK mobile gamers enjoy developing their deductive skills while playing. Among top mobile games, puzzles were rated the highest, while shooters were right behind, with 12% of players enjoying frenetic action. Nine percent of gamers chose simulation games, and 8% went for sports titles. Only 7% of gamers on smartphones tested their tactics in strategy games.
3. Of 440,482 games on Google Play, 10,239 were developed by UK publishers.
(42Matters)
The most downloaded games by UK publishers are Angle Fight 3D, Ant Art Tycoon, Solar Smash, LOL Surprise! Disco House - Collect Cute Dolls, Baby Life 3D!
4. British-made mobile games have, on average, 861,730 downloads per game.
(42Matters)
The average number of downloads per game of mobile games you can download on Google Play is 503,750, which means that games by UK publishers perform significantly better and garner more interest among players.
5. 37% of UK publishers’ mobile games are released on both Android and iOS.
(42Matters)
Having game coverage on both Android and iOS mobile devices can make or break a mobile game publisher. Thirty-seven percent of all games by UK publishers can be downloaded and played on both iOS and Android phones. In comparison, only 20% of games by an average publisher work on both operating systems.
6. Mobile gaming in Britain saw a 50% player count increase during the pandemic.
(Facebook Gaming)
The COVID-19 pandemic has had such a massive influence on our gaming habits that it completely transformed the mobile gaming landscape in the UK and a number of other countries.
Between March and July 2020, the US, South Korea, and Germany recorded a 25% to 34% expansion of their mobile games player base. It was most likely a result of the pandemic restrictions and social distancing measures. These numbers, however, pale in comparison to the UK, which experienced a 50% increase in the number of mobile gaming players.
7. Facebook Gaming had over 1 billion hours of gaming recorded in Q3 2020.
(Facebook Gaming)
New mobile game trends emerged during the pandemic. Watching gameplay streams from smartphones was on fire in 2020 if we take into account that in 2019, this gaming platform had a mere 500 million hours recorded. Both Facebook Gaming and YouTube Gaming had a massive increase in hours watched. Twitch, however, experienced a slight dip in hours observed in September 2020, compared to the previous several months.
8. The average rating of UK publishers’ games is 3.67 out of five stars.
(42Matters)
This rating indicates that mobile game users are generally satisfied with the quality of games developed by UK gaming companies, but if we compare this rating with the global average of 3.83, we can conclude that games by British publishers still have ample space for improvement. The good news is that UK-made games have a higher number of ratings on average - 11,803 compared to 6,774 for games by all publishers - which is possibly the reason behind the lower rating.
9. 30% of UK mothers played mobile games for over 10 hours a week in 2020.
(Activision/Blizzard)
Kids aren’t the only ones who love playing mobile games - their moms enjoy it, too! Contrary to popular belief, the mobile gaming community doesn’t consist solely of teenage males. In fact, gamer moms are a prominent demographic in mobile gaming statistics in the UK. According to research by Activision Blizzard Media, 57% of gamer moms say that playing games positively influences their mood and that it helps them connect more easily with their offspring.
10. 93% of kids in the UK regularly played mobile games in 2020.
(ResearchGate)
Desktop, console, and mobile gaming market statistics show that an overwhelming number of kids played games regularly during the lockdown. It’s not all bad news, though, since a McCarthy, Li, and Tiu study from 2013 found that mobile games can aid children’s mathematical development.
11. 14% of all mobile games by British publishers are paid.
(42Matters)
Monetization is significant for developers and publishers in this highly competitive and ever-changing market. On average, 4% of all mobile games are paid. UK-made games fare better, with 14% of them being paid.
Also, 68% of UK mobile games have ads, compared to 73% of international mobile games.
As for in-app purchases, 21% of all mobile games rely on this method of monetization, in comparison to 35% of British publishers who incorporate in-game billing as a source of mobile games’ revenue.
12. 86% of people between 16 and 69 played video and mobile games in 2020, with 54% of them playing frequently.
(Savanta)
With roughly half of the British players being female, we can conclude there’s no observable gender discrepancy in mobile gaming.
When it comes to age, regular players who are at least 40 years old make up 46% of the UK gaming population. Out of the total number of frequent female players, only 33% declared themselves “gaming hobbyists.” Further analysis of mobile gaming demographics tells us that 58% of male players identify themselves the same way. It might be due to misconceptions about which types of games belong to the gaming hobby. Eleven percent of frequent mobile players consider themselves gamers, while almost 50% of desktop and console players use this title.
13. 47% of UK players say they want more diversity in games.
(Newzoo)
Almost half of the British players in 2020 declared they wanted to see more varied ethnicities, age groups, genders, and better overall diversity. What’s more, mobile gaming statistics inform us that the number of players who have no wish to play games that don’t represent them is on the rise.
14. 13% of players come from ethnic minority groups.
(Newzoo)
UK gamers are not just diverse in terms of their ethnicity. Fourteen percent of players identify themselves as LGBTQ+, while 20% of players are mentally and physically disabled. Almost half (46%, to be precise) of gamers would like publishers to express their opinions on societal issues, while 35% declared that taking stances on these issues is not important to them.
