Activision-Blizzard Teams Up with NewZoo for Mobile Games Report 'Betting on Billions'

In a surprising =/= not surprising move, Activision-Blizzard Media and NewZoo have teamed up for a new study of mobile gaming called "Betting on Billions: Unlocking the Power of Mobile Gamers". It begins with a discussion of the $148.1 billion that mobile games will generate this year alone and the premise that "this is a massive opportunity for brands". "In this report, we shed light on mobile gamers and their untapped potential for brands and advertisers" the report intro reads.

The report kicks off with four "key takeaways":

• Gaming is the 3rd most popular app category across the board, but in the 18-20 group, it moves to 2nd
• Gaming & music are the most reflective of consumers when it comes to gender, though there are differences in what types of games people prefer
• Gamers have larger purchase influence than non-gamers - up to 23% are "more likely" to influence people they know to make purchases
• Gamers are more receptive to advertising and brands than non-gamers - "more likely to buy things from brands that have ads and they use ads to keep up to date with products and services and to associate advertising with high-quality brands"

The study was conducted in the US, UK, France and Germany and consisted of 12,327 app users from 18-65. It was an invite only initiative that ran from December 10-24, 2018.

Interesting stats:

• 39% of game app users are Millenials and half are males
• 41% of mobile gamers have at least one child
• 23% of mobile gamers can influence others
• 33% of gamers are more likely to spend money during holidays than non-gamers
• 67% of mobile gamers "splurge from time to time
• 18% of gamers are more likely to have a favorable attitude toward global brands

The study even tracked most popular game times, what types of apps are most widely used and that Candy Crush Saga is pretty dang popular.

About a decade ago, the digital world reached an inflection point. For the first time, online publishers saw their mobile users overtake desktop, but many were slow to understand the implications. Brands who identified the trend immediately shifted their marketing and communications strategies, while brands who did not have been playing catch up ever since. A similar trend is evident in the gaming world today, with mobile gaming dominating the industry in both revenue and user count.

This report reinforces that mobile gaming is one of the most-used app experiences today, and mobile gamers reflect the typical consumer more than any other app category (50/50 gender, in their mid-late 30s). At the same time, there is more diversity within the mobile gaming space than anywhere else. Each genre provides a unique experience, attracts a different type of user, and fulfills a very different set of motivations and needs (i.e., relaxation, competition, entertainment, escapism), ones that brands have been hoping to tap into themselves.

Check out the full findings along with some spiffy graphs on the NewZoo site.