Hyper, Hybrid, and Mid-Core, OH MY!

A business opportunity for IP owners in the an emerging genre

Taking a different approach this week, yet again, this time to share a business opportunity that I am seeing develop in "hybrid casual mobile games." Attempting to distill my thoughts, as this topic represents the convergence of a number of projects I am working on.

First, I will share a bit about "hypercasual mobile games" and "mid-core games" to help understand what makes "hybrid casual mobile games" different before outlining the opportunity I see in creating hybrid games attached to popular and valuable intellectual property to drive business results.

In the Playable Media Report this week

Let’s get into it…

What are hypercasual mobile games?

Hypercasual mobile games are known for their simplicity, easy-to-grasp mechanics, and brief gaming sessions. Examples include Candy Crush Saga, Temple Run, and Flappy Bird. These games feature minimalistic designs, instant playability, and addictive qualities, enticing players to keep returning for higher scores or achievements.

Monetization strategies for hypercasual games commonly include in-app advertising, in-app purchases for power-ups or customization, and data-driven marketing targeting.

Hypercasual games have surged in popularity due to their broad appeal, addictiveness, and simplicity. They've revolutionized mobile gaming by demonstrating that straightforward, engaging gameplay can attract and retain a large player base. These games often top app store charts and have significantly contributed to the growth of the mobile gaming industry.

What are mid-core games?

Mid-core games are a type of video game that falls between casual and hardcore games in terms of complexity, depth, and target audience. They offer more engaging and challenging gameplay than casual games while still being accessible enough to appeal to a broad range of players.

Some popular mid-core mobile games are Pokémon GO, Among Us, and Clash Royale. Mid-core games are typically monetized through a variety of methods, including in-app advertising, in-app purchases, and subscription models.

Mid-core games typically incorporate a variety of gameplay elements, such as puzzle-solving, resource management, character progression, and multiplayer elements, to keep players engaged over time. They also strike a balance between challenge and accessibility, providing enough challenge to keep players engaged without discouraging casual players.

Hybrid Casual Mobile Games are in the middle, yeah?

Basically, yeah, but with a few interesting new bits.

Hybrid casual mobile games represent a blend of the simplicity found in hypercasual games and the deeper engagement and monetization strategies commonly seen in mid-core games. These games aim to cater to a wide spectrum of players, from casual gamers seeking quick and enjoyable experiences to players looking for greater depth.

Key characteristics of hybrid casual mobile games include straightforward and intuitive gameplay, similar to hypercasual games, but with added complexity to maintain player engagement. These games often offer various modes, features like progression systems, collectibles, leaderboards, and social interactions to encourage repeated play. Hybrid games are as simple as Hyper games but with more goals than just beating your own high score.

The popularity of hybrid casual games has surged due to their ability to cater to a broader audience and generate higher revenue compared to hypercasual titles. These games strike a balance between approachable gameplay and engaging mechanics, attracting players who seek both simplicity and progression.

As before, monetization strategies for hybrid casual games encompass a mix of approaches, such as in-app advertising (again!), in-app purchases (always!), as well as data-driven marketing (like the hyper games), and sometimes subscription models (like the mid-core games).

If every game type uses in-app advertising and purchases, what makes Hybrid games different?

In hybrid games, in-app advertising is implemented "thoughtfully" to minimize player irritation (think: sponsor placements, or mid-roll ads like on YouTube), while in-app purchases provide opportunities for players to enhance their gaming experience or progress faster. Some games also offer subscriptions for exclusive content and ad-free play. Data-driven marketing remains a valuable tool to understand player behavior and retarget the audience effectively for more in-app sales.

Thanks for the background, now what's your point?

Now it starts to get interesting… because this is the growth area for mobile games.

Popular hybrid games are not nearly as popular as the Hyper and Mid-core titles we have mentioned before. Titles like Archero, Project Makeover, and Empire & Puzzles are not yet household names. So despite growing audience interest and refined tactics for monetization, this genre is looking for its first big W. Hybrid games could find a breakthrough title by attaching compelling gameplay to already iconic IP.

Pokemon GO could have been just an AR-powered scavenger hunt. The fact that the gameplay was built around an already iconic game, collectible, and TV franchise is what made it so successful.

Unlocking potential, beyond in-app ads

This emerging genre of mobile games creates an opportunity to create fan engagement-focused hybrid games - maybe we call them "Playable Media" opportunities!? - by attaching popular IP in sports to a hybrid casual mobile game (players, teams, etc.). While game developers are motivated by monetization through in-app ads and purchases, sports rights holders may benefit from other commercial avenues within this new platform.

Commercial Model for the Playable Media Activations:

  • Sports teams and leagues lend their IP to a hybrid game to deliver a fan engagement campaign or an always-on game to drive 1st-party data capture.

  • Sponsors use a hybrid game within a campaign to activate a sponsorship, thus returning value to the fans (through fun!) plus earning all the same 1st-party data capture opportunities a team might have.

  • Any partner may benefit from the marketing reach a major IP holder/rights owner can offer to a game title. This marketing capacity would make the hybrid game more attractive to a games publisher who would, in turn, deliver the 'traditional' monetization channels…

    Everybody all together now: 🎶 In-app advertising, in-app purchases, and subscriptions! 🎶

Challenges to this approach are most likely to appear around Rights Holders' expectation to receive a minimum guarantee and/or revenue share to use their IP. While I know most mobile game studios cannot afford to pay MGs to a European football club (for instance), I do think a revenue share could and should be mutually agreeable.

Let's make this happen

I am actively looking to build a game concept to market and distribute in this way to Football (soccer) clubs in Europe.

The first step is building a proof of concept of the game to test gameplay and user feedback. From there, we can refine the game to truly deliver the attributes around ease-of-play, fun, addictiveness, and retention.

To add further value and stickiness to a project, I would introduce a Happy Fan as a data-analytics partner to the project, to provide a high-end but low-cost data analytics platform for rights holders to capture, measure, and utilize the 1st-party data that the hybrid game generates for its partner(s). Happy Fan would help in the backend of a game to organize data captured and ensure that any client could derive the right value and return from an activation.

The evolution of mobile gaming is witnessing the rise of hybrid casual games, blending the simplicity of hypercasual titles with the engagement of mid-core experiences. As we explore the untapped potential of combining these games with iconic intellectual properties, the gaming industry stands at the threshold of a significant breakthrough. By creatively integrating beloved IP into the world of hybrid casual gaming, we can usher in a new era of fan engagement and monetization opportunities, bridging the gap between sports, entertainment, and interactive experiences.

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