Deconstructor of Fun breaks down successful free-to-play games in search of what makes them fun - or not. All of the contributors to this site are both gamers and game makers.
All in Predictions
2022 Predictions #3 Sports Games Get Beaten from a Pillar to a Post
In 2021 Sports category on mobile hit the wall. Revenues remained stable while downloads declined 9%.
2022 Predictions #2 How to win after Fortnite's 💀 and Why Going Cross-Platform is Mandatory for Mid-Core Games
Mid-Core games’ revenues reached nearly $15B, which is 16% more than in 2020. At the same time, the installs declined by nearly a fifth, bringing dark clouds above several genres.
2022 Predictions #1 The King is back, Merge overheats and Hypercasuals falter
Casual Games stand for 80% of all mobile game downloads and 35% of all In-App Purchases. Once you count in ad revenue, this is the most dominant category of them all.
2021 Predictions #8 Three Growth Opportunities Unlocked by IDFA Depreciation
While many teams will spend much of the year working on post-IDFA transformation plans, other secular trends within the gaming can provide a real opportunity to developers.
2021 Predictions #7 The Next Big Shooter is...
During 2020 the Shooter revenues boomed by 38% Year-over-Year while the installs clocked at 2.7B, growing by 31% compared to 2019 making this the second-fastest-growing category after Casino.
2021 Predictions #6 Casino Games on Mobile Post Lockdowns and IDFA Depreciation
As the real casinos were shut down, casino games on mobile pocketed all the chips! But what happens when the lockdowns end?
2021 Predictions #5 Sports Games Race into a Billion Dollar Club
Despite being the smallest category on mobile, 2020 was a very good year for Sports & Racing as it breached the billion-dollar mark, with combined revenue of $1.2B compared to $827M in 2019.
2021 Predictions #4 Contenders Throwdown for Supercell's Mid-Core Crown
Strategy games generated $5B in net revenue during 2020 growing IAP revenues by 21% while the downloads were up 9% year-over-year.
2021 Predictions #3 Top Mobile RPGs Will Go Cross Platform
RPGs kept up with the growth generating $3.3Bn year-to-date with a growth of 29% YoY. This makes RPGs the third-largest genre on mobile. With IDFA depreciation incoming, top mobile RPGs will look outside mobile to continue growth.
2021 Predictions #2 Will the Hypercasual Party Ever Stop???
Hypercasual games alone account for ~45% of 2019’s total download volume across all mobile games and grossed over 3 billions in 2020.
2021 Predictions #1 Puzzle Games Becomes the Top Grossing Genre on Mobile
$5.1Bn in IAPs at a 29% Year-over-Year growth the Puzzle genre has become the largest on mobile in the Western markets. While Playrix continues to assure its dominance in the match-3 games, the merging sub-genre is booming, providing growth at a first-come-first-serve principle.
2020 Predictions #10: Playbook to reach the Top of Sports Games
Sport games is the smallest category on mobile. Only $850M (+17%) in 2019. If that’s too little, skip this analysis. The rest of us should dive in.
2020 Predictions #9: Newcomers Will Reimagine Card Battlers
As Hearthstone declines the door finally opens up for a handful of new competitors. This analysis explores who holds the winning deck.
2020 Predictions #8: What do the Kardashians and Casino Publishers Have in Common… CA$H!
Despite stagnating downloads in 2019 Casino games reached $3.3B (+26% YoY). And it’s not only the Kardashians that were helping rake it up…
2020 Predictions #7: Why Auto-Chess Games can't Monetize - and How to Fix That
In 2019 Auto-Chess games were the viral trend. Three giants, Blizzard, Riot and Valve, all entered the market. Less than a year later, all three are struggling to scale.
2020 Predictions #6: Three User Acquisition Trends Studios Will Have to Ace
2019 was the year of misleading ads. 2020 is going to be about a consumer-friendly, data-driven approach to matching ad creative with audience tastes.
2020 Predictions #5: The Clash of Ice and Phasers
Strategy games generated $5.4Bn in 2019 growing 23% YoY. This is the genre where the big bucks are made and the winners are redefined.
2020 Predictions #4: Who Will Reap the Rewards as Fortnite Declines?
Shooters genre is dominated by giants from the likes of Tencent, Supercell, Activision and Epic. What happens when EA enters the battle? And is there room for anyone else?
2020 Predictions #3: How to Get That RPG Loot
With almost a $3Bn in annual revenues and a bullish 18% growth year-over-year RPG remains a genre that is still far away from its peak.