The adoption of smartphones and tablets has been increasing across the globe. According to the GSMA Intelligence, the worldwide smartphone penetration is projected to rise from 60% in 2018 to 79% by 2025. The adoption of these devices is particularly increasing emerging economies, owing to the growing disposable income. The improvements and advancements in the mobile communication industry are further aiding people to play games without facing any graphics or speed-related issues.
Ascribed to this, the global webgame market is predicted to generate a revenue of $6.5 billion by 2030, rising from $3.5 billion in 2019, advancing at a 5.7% CAGR during the forecast period (2020–2030), according to a study conducted by P&S Intelligence. Other than growing use of smartphones, the rising utilization social media is also resulting in the growth of the market across the globe. At the present time, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are introducing various forms of social interaction.
It has been found that about 3.5 billion people use social media platforms on a daily basis. For example, about two-thirds of adults have a Facebook account. This is the highest among all social platforms. In order to capture the attention of people, various browser developers are providing games on these platforms, thereby resulting in the growth of the market. Webgames can be multiplayer and individual, among which, the penetration of individual player games has been higher in the past.
User can usually play such games against the computer that makes use of some AI element. These games offer more freedom to gamers in comparison to multi-player games, since they do not have to depend on other players for different activities. Ascribed to this, a large number of people prefer to play individual games rather than multiplayer games. Webgames can be scenario based, turn based, and real-time. Out of these, the popularity of real-time games has been increasing swiftly across the globe.
The popularity of these was the highest during 2014–2019 as well, as they offer real-time interaction among players. Owing to their thrill of on-the-spot strategy making and fast-paced nature, real-time games are increasingly surpassing the other variants. Kantai Collection, Ikariam, Habbo Hotel, and FusionFall are some of the very popular real-time games. Webgames also have different genres, namely arcade, first-person shooter, sports games, MMORPG, and real-time strategy games, among which, the popularity of first-person shooter games has been increasing swiftly.
These games are played from the protagonist’s viewpoint, which makes them thrilling for gamers. Moreover, these games are shorter than other variants, and hence are gaining popularity. Geographically, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region emerged as the largest webgame market in the past, and the situation is likely to be the same in the coming years as well. The growing penetration of tablets, laptops, personal computers, and the internet are driving the regional domain.
In conclusion, the surging penetration of smartphones and tablets and increasing utilization of social media platforms are driving the market.
