Fortnite, PUBG, and Shadowgun Legends - What have been the big changes in mobile gaming in the first half of 2018?
This month, we're looking back at the first half of 2018, looking at the good, the bad, and everything in between. In this piece we're having a think about the big changes that have happened in mobile gaming over the past six months, and what they might mean for mobile gamers moving forwards.
It's our job to keep an eye on the trends, new ideas, and new concepts that are happening in mobile, and we've had a good long think and decided that these five were the biggest changes in 2018. If you've spotted any that you think are worth mentining, then make sure you toss them in the comments section at the bottom of the article.
Battle royale
Fortnite and PUBG coming to mobile definitely deserves to be at the top of this list. After all, Fortnite has been sitting at the peak of the top grossing charts ever since it first landed. But there's more to this than money. The success of the games show that there's a huge audience for more in-depth experiences on the App Store, and that's definitely something worth championing.
More Voodoo
At the other end of the scale, 2018 has seen a proliferation of much smaller games landing on the App Store. The likes of Voodoo and Ketchapp have been filling up space with the sort of experience that you can dip into for a matter of minutes. They've proven remarkably popular, and while they might not rank among the best games in the world, there's definitely going to be more of them in the second half of 2018.
Equal sequels
There's always a bit of dread when a sequel to a great game comes out. We're excited to see more, of course, but at the same time we're worried in case the magic spark isn't there for the second time. But for the most part in 2018, the sequels have been just as good, if not better than their predecessors. Want examples? Well there's Alto's Odyssey and The Room: Old Sins, to name just two.
More midcore
While strategy games have been championing the midcore bandwagon for a while now, 2018 is the year we saw the vague term making more in-roads into other genres. We've had midcore platformers, midcore multiplayer shooters, midcore MOBAs, and more. It's great to see more devs embracing ease of play, and giving mobile gamers the deeper experiences that they've been clamouring for.
Board games are back
Some of the best games that have come out in the past six months have been board games. And it's not just adaptations, it's brand new digital games as well. We're starting to see some really intelligently designed games that play brilliantly on mobile. And with a bit of luck, we're going to see even more of it in the second half of 2018.