Market Overview:
Social gaming involves playing games online with friends on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and messaging apps. Popular social games include Words with Friends, Candy Crush Saga, Angry Birds Go! and Poker games. These games are simple to play, engaging and foster competition and collaboration among friends.
Market Dynamics:
Rising internet penetration across the globe has expanded the market for social gaming considerably. According to data, over 4.7 billion people are active internet users worldwide as of 2023, representing around 60% of the global population. This widespread access to internet has made social gaming accessible to users across geographies.
Another major driver has been the growing popularity of online multiplayer gaming. Most social games allow players to invite friends, family or other online users to join in the fun. This fosters a sense of community and competition among gamers and makes the gaming experience much more engaging. Leading social gaming developers like Zynga focus heavily on team play, turn-based challenges etc to encourage social interactions through gaming.
Strength: The social gaming market has a strong network effect as more users join social gaming platforms. This leads to greater engagement among users and higher revenues for gaming companies. Social gaming also allows users to play virtually with their friends and family members which enhances the gaming experience. further, social elements such as leaderboards and achievements increase replayability of the games.
Weakness: Social gaming apps and platforms are highly dependent on consistent software updates and new game launches to retain existing users. Many casual gamers switch between different games quickly if newer options become available. The market also experiences heightened competition which requires significant spending on user acquisition and retention.
Opportunity: The increase in smartphone penetration worldwide along with advanced networking infrastructure provides a huge opportunity to acquire new gaming audiences. Emerging technologies around augmented reality and virtual reality could further enhance the social and immersive experience for gamers.
Threats: Strategic investments by large technology companies into gaming could challenge the market dominance of existing players. Strict regulations around in-app purchases and loot boxes in certain regions pose monetization challenges for gaming companies.
The global Social Gaming Market Share is estimated to be valued at US$ 17.40 Bn in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 16.1% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.
Key Takeaways
The global social gaming market is expected to witness high growth, exhibiting a CAGR of 16.1% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, due to increasing smartphone and internet penetration worldwide. Social elements in mobile gaming engage users for longer duration and frequent gameplay.
The Asia Pacific region dominated the social gaming market in 2019 with a share of over 35%, led by countries such as China and India. High smartphone adoption, availability of affordable internet plans, and popular game franchises havebeen the key drivers of gaming growth in the region. North America and Western Europe are other major markets for social gaming owing to high spending power of gamers and advances in gaming infrastructure like cloud gaming.
Key players operating in the social gaming market are Zynga, Inc., Wooga GmbH, Playtika Ltd., King, Tencent Holdings Ltd., Electronic Arts, Inc., Renren Inc., CrowdStar, and Booyah Inc. Leading gaming companies are focusing on free-to-play business models and engaging content to expand their user base. Strategic partnerships for new game launches and user acquisitions are also witnessing a significant rise.
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