Recently mobile games like PUBG and COD gives an unexpected boost in the mobile game app market revenue. As they have successfully earned around 2.6 billion and 500 million US dollars from the users in 2020.
If you have a unique game idea and have a well-planned mobile game app development strategy to execute that idea, this is the best time for you to get success. According to the present conditions a successful mobile gaming application can earn around 121 US dollars from each of its users. You can also ensure a better return of investment by implementing the latest technologies like Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) and enhance the gaming experience of the users.
To know more about the mobile application development services for gaming apps, please continue the blog.
What are the different stages of mobile game app development?
Most of the games are developed by maintaining a specific step by step procedure during the development process. These procedures can help you to develop robust, feature-packed high performing mobile games which can ensure the success of your organization in the market. Here is the step-by-step procedure of the development process so focus on the steps,
- Analysis and market research of the present market trends
Firstly, you have to gain a thorough knowledge of the present ongoing trends in the mobile gaming app market. Plus, you should know the details of the trending games or how those games are gaining huge user's base. After this only you will be able to set up your mind, regarding the trends which will be best for your mobile gaming app. Also, you will be able to find the solution for implementing those trends into your gaming software. This process can take from 1 to 2 week if research has been conducted in the gaming market.
- Making proper game design documentation.
After fixing the features and the trends now you have to create proper detailed documentation of your gaming idea. In this step, you have to decide on various aspects of the gaming application. Such as target audience, the genre of your game, scale, type of revenue model and general pictures that you want to implement into your game. Proper detailed documentation can also take 1 to 2 weeks of time during the development process.
- Development of technical specification and implementation in the application
In this step, you have to decide a various technical aspect of your games such as performance, graphics, FPS (Frame per second) and integrating with different platforms (Android or iOS). In order to execute this step correctly, you might have to consult various developers and after that only you can get an estimate of the development cost of your mobile gaming application. fixing all the technical aspect of your gaming app idea can take up to 3 weeks of time.
- Development of the prototype
After the documentation process of both the general and the technical specifications of the gaming app. The hybrid app development services that you have hired will provide you with a basic working prototype of your gaming app. With this, you will be able to get an idea of your game and how your gameplay will work on various mobile devices. Better the performance of the prototype better will be the end result of the gaming application. This step can take near about 2 weeks of the development period.
- Design of the game
This is the step where you will fix various visual aspects of your game. Generally, users like games with better visualizations along with better framerate. Implementing 2D or 3D high-end graphical content by compromising the processing speed of the game can be the reason for the downfall of your gaming app. So, it is better to provide a normal graphical visualization without compromising the performance or the FPS of the gameplay. Executing this stage properly can take more than 3 weeks of the development process.
- Game programming
This step is also related to the performance of your gaming application. Using proper code language according to the requirement of your mobile gaming application is mandatory. Not on only the coding language you have to decide what APIs you want to implement, animations on every step of the gaming interface etc. If all the above-mentioned aspects are implemented properly according to the requirements of your gaming idea. Then only you will be able to get a better performing mobile gaming application to ensure your success in the market. This is a prolonged step of the development process and requires more than 10 weeks of development time.
- Implementing various sound schemes
Along with graphical visualization, sound is also a key aspect of mobile gaming applications. Especially for the battle royal games, the sound of the game matters the most. So, you have to implement various sound-enhancing techniques in order to provide a better gaming experience to your users. Proper implementation of better sound functionalities in the gaming application can take near about 1 week of time.
- Testing the developed product
After completing the previous steps now is the time to test your developed mobile gaming application. This is the steps where the hired developers will try to fix all the minor glitch and the bugs that pops up will be playing the game. The testing should be done thoroughly otherwise it can show various compatibility issues after the deployment of the application on the market. This can affect the reputation of the organization can bring down your rate of investment. So, it is better to hire a better mobile gaming app development service that will ensure better compatibility and bug or glitch-free app. A though the testing process of a mobile gaming application can take more than 2 weeks of development time.
- Deployment in the app stores
It is also a big step in the development process. You can always increase your user base by launching mobile gaming applications in both app stores, i.e., Android and iOS. Nowadays there are many hybrid app development platforms available in the market where you can develop your gaming application compatible with both the app market. along with this proper deployment of the mobile gaming application with detailed description can increase your user base. This can be done in 1 to 2 days after the development process.
What are the factors that affect the mobile games app development cost?
There are many factors that affect the cost of developing a mobile gaming application. This also includes the cross-platform app development services that you have hired to conduct the development process. Here are those main factors that govern the cost of the development of your mobile gaming application. So, focus on these factors to get a dynamic and stable application at a reasonable investment of cost,
- Design
The design of a mobile gaming app is a multilayer process. Where you have to execute the gameplay and the game environment as per the development plan. This is a very crucial and sensitive part of the development process. If you don't plan it very well you can end up with a product with more glitches and bugs. And this is not good for your organization reputation.
Hiring the best mobile game app development services can be costly but will give you better results. As they know the best way of designing your innovative game idea. This includes total development and designing cycle of the game along with user interface and experience of the application. For the developing the various designing aspects of the developers charge the as per the experience and the capability of them to deliver you a better product. Hiring a designing expert can cost you 150 to 250 US dollars per hour.
- Testing of Game application
Usually, mobile game users have no tolerance when it comes to glitches or bugs that happened while playing the game. Which makes this factor also one of the most important points to look after while developing a mobile gaming application.
No gamers like a slow game full of bug and glitches. So, hiring the best mobile gaming app development services available in the market can ensure that your product is bug or glitch-free without compromising the performance of the application. Plus, you will be able to deliver a smooth functioning feature-packed product to the users with a better user experience.
Testing of the mobile gaming apps are needed in every step of the development process. Not on the development process also after deploying or providing updates for the game. So, you just have to keep a certain amount from the app development budget for the testing part only.
- Types of stories, plots and characters introduced in the game
For some of the mobile games story, plots and character introduction play a major role to keep attracting the user towards the application. You will need well-defined characters with their own voices and an interesting storyline along with a various way to communicate with the user's character.
For this, you need a huge crew including the voice artist, professional who will help the developers to create various motions of the characters. You are also going to need a professional's strategist who will help you to make the storyline of your game more intriguing among the users. And make sure the users play the game until the end of the story. Usually, the game strategists charge 100 to 150 dollars according to their experience.
- Types or Genres of game
There are many types of games present in the market. After all the planning and documentation these are the most money-consuming factors of the development process. The expected cost of developing the games will depend on the category of your games such as mini, casual, mid-level or high-end. This also clarifies the complexity of your product. Mini-games, casual 2D or 3D games, mid-level and high-end games etc. are some of the game categories under which you can get an approx. estimation on the cost of development. The development cost will more if the requirements of your product is more complex.
- Market strategies for your mobile Gaming application
Deploying a mobile gaming application is not enough you the success of the application. You have to make the application viral on social media and also among the target audience. For this, you can avail various marketing techniques to create hype for your product. More people know about your mobile gaming application more users will download your application.
So, you have to keep a certain amount of money hiring a PWA development company that will take care of the marketing aspects of your gaming application. Plus, they will ensure better APO (App Store Optimization), which will help your mobile gaming application stay visible in their respective app markets such as Play Store and Apple Store.
What are the pre-development and post-development cost for developing a mobile gaming app?
- Pre-development Cost
If you are thinking of developing an open-world multiplayer game with various characters and missions like Gangster New Orleans. For these types of games, you need better Game Designed Documents (GDD). The GDD is the main foundation for online multiplayer games. The developers will be able to design the visual form of your game idea depending on the detailed GDD that you have created for your game. Here are some of the aspects that your GDD will cover,
- Storyline
- Different Games Levels
- Gameplay
- Character's introduction and story Plots
- Targeted users.
These types of games are considered to successful according to the engagement time of the users towards the gameplay. If your game doesn't have an attractive storyline and level or mission to complete. Uses will not play your online mobile game irrespective of implementing better graphical content. Similarly, you should focus on the plot of the levels. Your game storyline is taken from a novel or storybooks you have to make sure, the characters are enhanced and effectively introduced in the game plot.
All these include various specialist, who will invest their time and effort to make your game more appealing to users. The development charges required to hire these depends on the various quality of the game. Usually, these specialist charges around 100 US dollars per hour which can sum up to 50,000 US dollars for the total pre-development process.
- Post-development Cost
Deploying the mobile gaming application to the respective app market is not all for success. To continue earning from the gaming applications you have introduces more and more exciting levels and missions so that the users don't lose interest in it. This can be done with the help of series of updates and to develop those updates you have to high a group of professional. They are eligible to ensure smooth deployment of your app updates into their respective app stores.
Plus, the hired developers will also provide customer support to your users and will try to solve their issues regarding the applications. They will also fix or rectify any glitch or bugs that are rising from a specific type of device or operating system version. Maintenance and the support are the most important post deployment aspects that you have to focus on to maintain the hype of your gaming app in the market.So, it is better to maintain a prolonged relationship with the development company if they provide better quality services to you and to your users.
Approximate cost of various games depending on the type of it.
There are different genre and categories of games that are present in both of the app market. The categories of the games are divided according to the story, gameplay and plot of the games. This also defines the amount of functionality and features implemented in the mobile gaming app. Hiring a progressive web app development company you can develop a gaming application according to the requirements of the documentation and the requirements of your organization. Here are some of the categories of the games and their approx. development cost.
- Mini-Games
These games contain less graphical content and basic features and functionalities. Usually, these games digitalized versions of physical games like cards, ludo, chess and much more. A basic version of these types of games usually cost the owners $20,000. If you want a custom-made gaming application with more graphical content the development cost can go up to $50,000. Games like Solitary, Temple Run, Subway Surfer are some names worth mentioning.
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- Casual 2D games
These are those types of games that consist of very basic 2-dimensional graphics. In spite of having basic 2-D graphical content, the games are attracting a huge number of users and form a larger user base. These types of games can cost you from 50,000 US dollars to 100,000 US dollars. Also, the return of investment is also very good for these types of applications. Red Ball, Sudoku, and Flappy Bird are some of the famous examples of these types of games.
- Social games
Social games are games where people can play through social media website like Facebook. The games are usually online and support multiplayer options so that the users can enjoy it with their friends and family. These types of mobile gaming applications are created with the help of various SDKs supported by the social media platform. Usually, developing a basic Social gaming app can cost you 100,000 US dollars to 250,000 US dollars. An app like Farmville, 8BallPool are some of the famous examples of social media games.
- Mid-level games
The mid-level games are those games which contain numerous levels along with various characters and storyline. These mobile gaming applications have better graphical content than the previously discussed categories. The main target of these types of games is to attract more and more users and increase their replayability and time. This is only possible because of the detailed storyline and the depth o the video content experienced by the users while enjoying the game. Usually, the cost of developing these types of games can vary from 250,000 US to 500,000 US dollars according to the features and functionalities implemented on the game. Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Hill Climb Racer are some of the famous games worth mentioning.
- High-end games and AAA games
These types of mobile games are usually having online multiplayer gameplay with better quality graphics. Also, as a user, you will need a high performing device and good quality internet connectivity in order to play this game smoothly. Developing these games requires proper planning and execution at each and every aspect of the development process. Plus, due to the high graphical and contents and more functionalities, the gaming applications are more susceptible to bugs and glitches. That why these types of games take more development hours and can go up to 12 months.
This the reason why this type of games requires a huge amount of development cost investments. Usually, to develop high-end games you have to spend around 400,000 US dollars to 1,000,000 US dollars. As developing these games requires a huge amount of investment hiring the best mobile app development companyavailable in the market will be the best option for you.
Conclusion- The cost of developing a mobile gaming application always depends on the type, categories and functionality and features integrated into the applications. So if you have an innovative and unique game idea, executing that idea with the help of the best app development companies available in the market can bring success to the organization. That is why don't rush to any decision, taking more time gaining intel on the present condition and ongoing trends in the market can provide you better results.
