Why are Mobile Esports So Attractive to Play?

Particularly in Europe and China, where a large percentage of the increase in mobile esports viewers is centered, the mobile esports business has skyrocketed over the last few years. In 2019, for instance, mobile esports viewers totaled more than 400 million worldwide. For industry members and regular gamers alike, this boom in mobile esports has led many to wonder about the rise of mobile gaming and what makes mobile esports games and tournaments so popular.

What’s So Special About Mobile Esports?

Despite the market’s unique features and attractions, the rise of mobile esports was inevitable. Mobile gaming content has increased for years, reaching $122.6 billion in 2022. Analysts are predicting this figure will hit $155 billion by 2027. Again, Asian countries such as China will be primarily responsible for generating high revenues in the mobile gaming market.

Mobile games have reached almost every genre, even traditional board games like puzzles. For example, in September 2012, the puzzle video game The Room was released on iOS and later on Android and Google Play in 2013. Reception to the mobile game was positive, with The Room winning the best handheld/mobile game at the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2012.

That same year, TIGA awarded The Room the Best Game Design award. Similarly, mobile games have reached industries like the casino and gambling market. Like traditional esports, the gambling industry began as a brick-and-mortar business but has since expanded rapidly — and successfully — online. Today, the mobile casino market is full of different variations of traditional games, including Lightening Blackjack. There are jackpot and slot games with unique themes, such as the NJ casino app PlayStar offering games centered around vikings (Vikings Go Wild) and Egyptian royalty (Cleopatra).

Even with mobile games as the norm, the mobile esports market offers unique advantages that put it in its own category. One example is how the prize pool for mobile esports tournaments is high. For instance, in December 2022, the prize pool for the Call of Duty: Mobile World Championship in North Carolina was $1.7 million. Like other mobile gaming sectors, such as mobile casino games, some mobile esports games are unique to mobile and cannot be accessed in the traditional setting.

Like other mobile games, mobile esports games give players more flexibility to play and battle their friends from anywhere. This attraction has been proven because last year's highest-grossing mobile game was a multiplayer online battle arena game called Tencent Games. One of the top Android gaming apps in the United States in 2022 was Clash of Clans, a mobile strategy game played in several esports tournaments.

The esports market may increase over the next few years, and the mobile segment will play a crucial role in this growth, especially in Asia and Europe. The traditional esports market will still see high figures in attendance and competing gamers, and many people find an appeal in playing esports games through mobile devices. This is partly because prize pools are significant and mobile-unique games are available and can be played flexibly.