Mobile Gamers Expect to Install and Play More Games This Holiday Season, Tapjoy Research Finds

Three-quarters of mobile gamers say they are likely to download a new game during the holidays; a majority are also more likely to engage with rewarded ads

This holiday season should be a busy one for mobile gamers. A new study of over 20,000 mobile gamers in the US and Europe conducted by Tapjoy, the Maximum Impact Platform™ for mobile advertisers and app developers, found that most mobile gamers plan to spend this holiday season playing games more often, downloading more new games, and engaging more frequently with in-app rewarded ads. Findings from the study were released today in a research report titled “The Modern Mobile Gamer: The Marketer’s Guide to Holiday Gaming Trends.”

Nearly three-quarters of mobile gamers (72 percent) said they intend to download at least one new game during the upcoming holiday season, while 80 percent reported that they expect to spend more time playing games during the holidays.

This spike in user activity presents a boon for advertisers. Engagement with in-app ads is also expected to climb this holiday season, with 57 percent of gamers reporting that they are more likely to watch rewarded videos and complete other rewarded offers during the holidays. These findings are validated by Tapjoy’s user behavior data: during Q4 2016, the ad platform experienced a four percent lift in the total number of monthly unique ad views between October and November, and a 13 percent lift between November and December.

“This study validates why the the mobile gaming audience presents such a great opportunity for performance and brand advertisers alike — particularly during the holidays,” said Shannon Jessup, chief revenue officer of Tapjoy. “Mobile gamers are already a uniquely engaged audience, but holiday downtime means that they spend even more time in-app, are more curious to try new games, and are more likely to engage with in-app advertising, making it the perfect time for advertisers to drive value for their campaigns.”

Other key findings from the study include:

• Mobile gamers will play more hours per day during the holidays. While 8 out of 10 mobile gamers say they’ll play more often during the holiday season, 30 percent estimate they’ll play an additional three or more hours per day. Eleven percent report they’ll play an additional five or more hours per day.
• Three-quarters of mobile gamers will download a new game. Seventy-two percent of mobile gamers intend to download at least one new game during the holiday season, and nearly half (43 percent) will download two or more games. Twelve percent will download five or more games.
• Gamers are most likely to download Action titles. Gamers said they were most likely to download Action titles this holiday season, followed by Puzzle games, Adventure games, Strategy games, Simulation games and Casino or Card games.
• Holidays drive lift in in-app ad engagement. Fifty-seven percent of gamers cited that they are more likely to watch video ads and complete other rewarded offers during the holiday season.
• Rewarded video ads and surveys appeal most to gamers. When asked what type of rewarded ad offers they were most likely to complete this holiday season, mobile gamers cited watching videos as their top choice, followed by offers for surveys, app installs, downloading and completing the first level of a new app, and signing up for a new service, respectively.
• Gamers are most interested in ads for movie trailers and entertainment. When asked what type of advertisers interested them most during the holiday season, mobile gamers reported that were most likely to click on ads from entertainment brands, mobile games, retailers, food & grocery sellers, and children’s toys makers, respectively.

The complete report, “The Modern Mobile Gamer: The Marketer’s Guide to Holiday Gaming Trends,” can be downloaded at: tapjoy.com/ModernMobileGamer