This is a guest contribution by Sam Forrest of KamaGames. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you. 

It is unsurprising that with over 1.5 million apps currently available via the Play Store and App Store that it is becoming more challenging for developers to get their app noticed in such as saturated, “red ocean” market place – and that’s just the first step in building a sustainable gaming business.

In a recent Newzoo report, it was reported that gamers worldwide generated over $99.6 billion in revenue in 2016, an increase of 8.5% compared to 2015. For the first time, mobile games were also taking a larger share than PC based games at $36.9 billion, up 21.3% globally. The global games market is expected to grow with a compound annual growth rate of +6.6% going into 2019 which will see the overall market reaching $118.6 billion and mobile gaming $52.5 billion.

When looking specifically at the social casino games market, the most recent Eilers & Krejcik report estimated an increase of +13.6% y/y growth to $3.81 billion in CY16. Combined, the top 3 companies accounted for 41% of the total social casino games market, while the top 15 companies accounted for roughly 82% of the total market. Mobile games revenue accounted for 71% of all social casino game revenues generated in CY16 versus 64% in CY15 showing a very clear growth in the sector.