The gaming industry has come to a greater extent and all thanks to the innovative technologies that have taken place in the game development tools, mobile industries, mobile platforms. These advancements have made creating and developing games a cakewalk.
Mobile games are the most downloaded apps. Although there are thousands of games available on the app stores, developing a mobile game app still provides a long-term revenue generation opportunity. So how much does it cost to develop a mobile game? Well, the game development cost estimation depends on several factors including the type, design, story, testing, and soon.Factors Affecting The Mobile Game Development Cost
Table of Content:
1. Game Story, Plot, and Characters
If you want to keep the player engaged until the end of the game, you need an attractive plot and character. It involves designing the personality, dialect, and tone of various characters and their interaction with the player.
This process involves a lot of communication between the game ideators and professional strategists. That’s why it’s a good idea to hire an in-house or near-shore developer for these tasks. An experienced game planner would charge anywhere between $100 to $150 an hour.
2. Design
The mobile game design is a multilayer process. In this phase, the game levels, target users, gameplay, and game environment are planned. This is a crucial phase and needs to be done carefully.
There are many professionals involved in the complete design and development cycle including game artists, architecture, UX and UI designers, etc. Based on the experience and capabilities, these professionals can charge between $150 to $250 per hour.
3. Game Categories and Genres
The cost of the mobile game app largely depends on whether you’re developing a casual gaming app, a social gaming app, or a simulation app. Depending on their complexity, game apps can be categorized as:
Mini Games
Mini-games or casual games are simple solitary games that do not require any specific skills to play. Simple games like the Spin Wheel game, Mix & Match game as well as the Scratch to Win game.
Casual 2D Games
These are small-budget games that involve basic 2D graphics and a soundtrack. Even though these are simple 2D games, they offer a great user engagement rate and opportunity for scale-up.
Social Games
These games are played by multiple users on social media sites like Facebook. The social gaming apps are similar to browser games and access limited user data.
These games are usually built with SDKs that are provided by social media platforms. A social media game like AR filter: facade / gamification for IG and FB
Mid-level Games
Some very well-known games Angry Birds fall under this category. These mobile games involve different levels, characters, story, and good graphics. The variety and depth in the content improve the replayability and engage players for longer durations.
Business Game Applications
Modern-day businesses are using mobile games as an internal tool to enhance communication, encourage creativity, and make the overall work environment more fun and engaging.
The business game applications are thoughtfully developed to engage a large group of people. These are multiplayer games that have an exciting storyline, graphics, animation, game levels, soundtrack, and cross-platform compatibility. You need an expert mobile app development company to get these types of games developed.
High-level Games
These games require a huge budget, but if you can hit the right audience, you can earn great rewards. These games require careful design, strategy, and a comprehensive plan. As the cost involved in developing these games is quite high, you should hire experienced developers.
4. Game App Testing
When it comes to mobile game apps, the testing process is as important as development. Nobody likes a buggy, slow game. That’s why it is important to make sure that the game runs smoothly, without any issues, and offers a rich user experience. You will have to remember to keep some budget aside for testing.
5. Marketing Your App
You’ll need to budget accordingly to properly market your mobile game app in order to increase the visibility and rankings in the Apple and Google Play stores, which is also known as App Store Optimization (APO).
Are you set to develop your first mobile game application?
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