Atomik Research has published a report for SuperScale on the life cycle of mobile games. Its title, Good Games Don't Die, reads as ironic given the data.
The key numbers
The study is based on a survey of 500 developers in the UK and the US:
- 83% of launched mobile games shut down in under three years.
- 43% of projects are cancelled during development.
- 76% reach peak revenue in their first year; only 4% peak in their second.
- 38% receive no regular updates, and only 5% are still supported seven years on.
More than half of studios say they support their games, but fewer than half release monthly updates.
An industry under pressure
Even so, 78% of developers would rather keep working on mobile. Still, more than a third say industry uncertainty is holding back new projects, 30% think the market is too hard, and two in three studios have had to lay off staff or cut budgets.
Recent examples
Niantic hasn't managed to repeat the success of Pokémon GO: in 2023 it cut about a quarter of its staff and cancelled Marvel World of Heroes. Rovio, meanwhile, pulled the original Angry Birds from Google Play, reportedly because of its impact on the company's less profitable projects.
For players, the lesson is simple: before putting time or money into a new game, check whether it gets regular updates.