• Paul Blake
• App Development
• 21 May, 2020

Mobile Game Outsourcing

The question that how much does mobile game development cost could have many answers, but the most genuine is ‘it depends. Now, we at Coding Pixel mobile app development company believe when we talk about mobile game development, it is not one plain story to tell, rather it has so many aspects to it that are taken into consideration. For instance, what kind of Mobile game app? Low level, medium level, or higher level of complexity? What type of design? What type of characters? 2D/3D? Android platform or IOS or another? How many devices can support it? So, yes there are various questions that have to be answered in order to answer this one simple question; how much does mobile game development cost?

Virtual reality and augmented reality have changed the whole game. Now, mobile games can be extremely advanced with these added dimensions. Which definitely alters the costs as well.

Mobile game development costs are estimated in two stages. One is the planning phase, where the whole map of the idea of your mobile game is made. That is usually done with the help of a game designer or a strategist. The second is the practical transformation of the idea into a reality. Where the idea is executed, and the games are made

1) Planning Stage

   This stage is strenuous and if your idea of creating a mobile app involves complexity, you’ll definitely need a mobile game strategist. The whole design idea and the setting of Each map for the choice of characters and plots requires a whole lot of time and expertise. As each type of development uses various types of technicalities.

• Setting your target audience
• The languages your mobile game will use
• How many levels do you choose for your mobile game
• The tones of the characters and the setting/background of the game.

All of the above involves planning. Now, it can be done with the help of professionals, whose cost ranges between $30 to $80 per hour. It is better to avail the inshore developers for the purpose, cause they can interpret your idea more genuinely and convert it into a tangible medium.

2) Practical Transformation

This is the real deal. You have your whole idea mapped to the point. Now, you have to set a budget and choose among various levels of mobile game complexities, which costs accordingly.

Outsourcing for game development is highly preferred owing to the low costs abroad as compared to the costs in the US or Europe, where costs are the highest. Countries like Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine offer low costs with great expertise in coding and visual design. Their hourly rates range from $25 to $50. The quality is also never compromised and meets the highest standards.

Basic Games

These are mini basic games. Ones that demand the lowest investment. Around $5,00 to $50,000. Ping-pong and card solitaire are such examples. Although, they cost less if the graphics are done right and the right audience is a hit. It can prove very beneficial.

Simple 2D Games

Costs around $50,000 to $100,000. The success of these games depends too. Games like Red Ball and Stack were able to hit high. As they are one step above the basic games, they require more professionalism in their development.

Mildly Complex Games

Angry Birds took a start right from here. They cost around $100,000 to up to $700,000. Its range is wide. It involves various social games and business games as well.

The social games on Facebook, for instance, Farmville, costs around $100,000 up to $250,000. These are the games that comprise the initial sphere of the mildly complex games. They have more intense graphics, ploy, characters, and languages. Business games are also trending in the market. These games are multiplayer and are usually created to enhance the positive environment of the offices. It improves connectivity and thus leads to more productivity eventually.

Such games cost highly as they demand highly skilled developers for creating cross-platform interactions and complex animation. As it’s all about engaging the professionals! They cost around $250,000 to $550,000. These games are usually used by enterprises to brand the company itself as well. So I need more thoughts and effort to be put in.

Highly Complex Games

It’s obvious. They cost way too much. $400,000 to $1,000,000 to develop a highly complex game. The investments are risky but the rewards are also huge. If you manage to hit the right audience in the right way. Also, it requires years to be completed. Angry Birds later releases were highly complex forms of games. The graphics and the vibe set use high technicalities.

Pricing doesn’t stop here!

Once, the game is made. Then comes the post-maintenance costs. It isn’t enough to create a game, you have to influence the audience in order to sell the game. You have to make your way to the market.

It constitutes two things. One is Marketing and the other is testing the game.

Marketing

You’ve made a great game. Invested a high budget but unless and until the right marketing isn’t done, the game won’t breed rewards. For that purpose, high investments in the advertising industry are needed. You will make the brand name through a social media campaign.

App Store Optimization is a thing. This is done through campaigning for your game on different platforms so it could reach in the rankings of an Apple store or Android store.

Testing

While some game app development companies include the testing phase in the entire project as well. Others don’t. So you should set aside some budget for it. It’s all about removing the bugs! No one appreciates a slow and buggy game. So it is highly imperative to get the mobile game app tested to avoid any negative experience for any user. That influences the trajectory of the game’s yield’ or ‘seal’ a lot.

 Is Mobile Game Development a profitable business?

Currently, in Europe, there are 178 million users of mobile games, which subsequently yields a total revenue of US$6,019m according to Statista.com. Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (2020-2024) of 1.5%, resulting in a market volume of US$6,386m by 2024.

In the US, there are over 203 million users of mobile games. Our mobile game revenue constitutes 50 percent of the total revenue. The total Mobile game market revenue will hit $ 106 billion by 2021. More than half of the population has mobile games on their phones and more than half of them spend on mobile games.

Mobile game usage is intensely high, it keeps on rising because of the Covid-19 scenario. Games like PokemonGo and PubG have a huge impact on market growth. User penetration is already at 21% in Mobile game usage in 2020, and it will further expand to 22.4% by 2024. ( statistics source: statista.com). That implies that mobile app development is a very profitable business, as it has such high demand and an extensive market.

Aside from the fact that there are thousands of mobile games residing in Google Play Stores or Apple stores, still it has a high scope of providing revenues that keep on expanding.

How do you find the right Mobile game development company?

Google search engine provides links to various companies. Visit the site of each and every company to provide the details of their services and the estimated prices for each. You’ll know whether they provide services for iOS game development, Android game development, AR game development, VR game development, and the types of 2D/3D game development which includes various game types. For instance, racing games, adventure games, action games, board games, simulator games, etc.

These companies have professional teams. You share your vision with them, they come up with so many ideas to expand your idea. And they are always one click away! If you are looking for mobile game development, reach out to our app developers.