Promote Your iOS Game in Style – New Trends and Tips!

Mobile gaming is at its best moment ever. The quality of mobile apps is getting increasingly advanced, so it’s no surprise that due to the advancement of phones, the gaming industry is getting more interested in creating new and exciting titles. And – due to the fierce competition, developers need mobile game promotion.

Here are a few facts about the mobile gaming industry: In 2024, the global mobile games market is expected to rake in a whopping 98.74 billion dollars in revenue. Yes, that is correct; we did not make a mistake here. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2027) of 6.39%, hitting a projected 118.9 billion dollars by 2027. 

In comparison, as crazy as it may sound, PC market set records in 2023 with highest ever revenues, units sold, peak players online and the number of games released on Steam. In 2023, it was over 9 billion dollars gross full game revenue generated on Steam with 580 million game copies sold and about 14,000 new games released.

Not only that, the user base is also set to expand, reaching a staggering 1.9 billion users by 2027. China is predicted to be the leader in generating money from mobile games, with almost 33 billion dollars in revenue in 2023. 

So, in this article, we will go over how to promote your mobile game for iOS. We will go over the latest trends in gaming and the ways to better present your title to the wider public. Let’s dive in!

What Is an iOS Game?

Let’s start with the obvious thing – what is an iOS game? Well, in short – it’s a game that you can play on your iPhone that you got from the App Store product page. But it’s a bit more complicated than that. 

As you may know, Apple’s iOS platform does not restrict itself to phones, and you can run it on devices like iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. These games are accessible through the Apple App Store, where you can get a vast array of gaming experiences, from something pretty simple and casual to complex strategy titles and adventurous journeys. There are many different things in that department, so that people will have a lot of choice in that regard.

The iOS games have changed a lot regarding complexity and visual depth. Those games used to be those easy, arcade-style games, where you pretty much had to click one button to win, to these high-end graphics titles where you can do pretty much everything you’d set your mind to. 

New Technology

The major development was the high-end phones that got graphics cards and RAM that were on par with or even better than the computers we had a few years ago. The mobile graphics development was massive, and the developers outdid themselves with utilizing those qualities.

Nowadays, they usually use programming languages like Objective-C or Swift to create these games, often incorporating features like touchscreen controls and accelerometer input that are unique to mobile devices. With that feature, they were able to not only create something similar to what we could see on the computer screens but also add to it, making the experience even more enjoyable.

AR/VR

Additionally, specifically for Apple’s products, the devices have gotten much more advanced, and the stunning Retina display of the iPhone or the large screen of the iPad can provide users with visually appealing and immersive gaming experiences. Even more, few of those games have integrated augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) to make them interactive and captivating for users of all ages and genders! With the new Apple Vision Pro, you can bet that those elements will be more prevalent not only for eyewear but for gaming as well.

Let’s now go over the trends for mobile gaming and see what we have in store!

Mobile Games Trends

As the gaming world is evolving at an extremely rapid pace, the only thing we can do is adjust to the changes. Technology is getting more and more advanced, and smartphones and tablets are creating a world where gaming is becoming more easily accessible and widespread than ever before. Hence, mobile games are growing in popularity all over the world.

Of course, the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality titles have been growing in popularity, but we have yet to find something other than Pokemon GO! that captivates audiences all over the world, such as this title. VR technology is also interesting, as it allows you to open yourself to new immersive gaming experiences that will surely be useful in the future. We have seen the use of phones as a screen for a VR set before, and we can only expect it to expand in the future. In the meantime, here are some of the most interesting trends in the mobile gaming industry. Let’s dive in!

Hyper-Casual

Starting with – hyper-casual titles! The hyper-casual games are still at the top of the list. In recent years, they have been gaining popularity, especially since the pandemic. In 2023, the hyper-casual market was worth about USD 16.67 billion. Moving forward, it’s expected to hit about USD 25.96 billion by 2030, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.67%. Although there has been a bit of a hiccup for this kind of game in recent months, we cannot foresee the future without it. In just 2022, the number of downloads of hyper-casual games increased by 50% compared to 2021. 

What are those, then? Well, it would be the most basic games you have ever seen, but it is so fun to play and available for most devices. Those would be such titles as Blob Runner or Base Attack, which you can play in between other activities. Many people found out about them through Reels and YT Shorts, as they are frequent among those platforms.

It’s really a mobile game marketing campaign case study – you create a simple game that is highly addictive, promote it with shorts where a person totally fails, and people start to think that they’d be better at it, turning into… profit. 

And, as they require little to no development process, they are popping up like crazy! It’s the simplest of the interfaces, with no tutorials, and the easiest of the easy. You may not be at the top of the major app review sites, but you will definitely get customers! It’s a free app in most cases, but the app users can buy new lives or cosmetics, and that is how the games are earning their fair share of money. So, if you have a hyper-casual title to promote, you will have a great time all-around!

Puzzle Games

Next, we have some puzzle games that are always in! Adding a puzzle aspect to your game can help you out with sales by a lot! People are crazy about puzzle games, and the in-app purchases, like lives that cost little to nothing, will always be in high demand. This is one of the genres that are popping up the highest in the app store search. People love solving puzzles in the meantime, and the app industry is all over those!

Have you ever heard about Candy Crush? One of the most popular Blackberry apps back in the day? Well, then, you know what we are talking about. In many ways, TikTok and YouTube shorts increased the popularity of puzzle games, similar to what we saw in our previous example. Downloads of puzzle games peaked in 2020 as people stayed home during the coronavirus pandemic, but it’s still going strong with a steady 10 billion in revenue each year.

Although the games are pretty similar to each other, it seems that the players are still very much into the world of solving simple mysteries, so if you’re creating this kind of game – you will have a lot of customers coming your way. 

Additionally, thanks to mobile game development, there is a great influx of female gamers, so you can cater your titles to them as well. Just remember to collect relevant customer feedback and not be exactly the same as other existing games.

App Store Impact

Another big thing to consider in mobile gaming trends is the App Store’s impact. The system ranks apps and it’s not that easy to promote them, as there are strict regulations regarding Apple’s use of IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers). Small developers just could not keep up with the changes, and creating a game that is only available for the Google Play Store is not the optimal solution, for sure. 

Thus, every game publisher had to find new ways of advertising, as Apple’s standards for clear tracking and monitoring were a bit too high for some of them. We will mention some of those later in this article, like a free giveaway contest, creating a paid app to earn money, or an in-app purchase that can benefit the developer’s budget.

Game publishers oftentimes create also in-app events so that people would log in more often and be even more into this kind of gaming.

Indie Games

Next, we have the indie gaming community filling the indie app’s niche. Because of European legislation, indie gaming became a lot more popular. What was the regulation? Well, as it turns out, Europe does not like monopolies and definitely enjoys sharing. So, the Apple App Store and Google Play Store were forced to allow the gaming community to create apps with cross-promotion, based on the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit in the US.

That move made it possible for companies to monetize their apps outside of the app store listing and without having to depend on Google or Apple for the commission they would be providing them with. Smart developers took advantage of it and marketed their apps on various platforms. It’s a great way to reach people, as those games are getting more and more popular each day. Hence, there is a need to become independent from the giants and start working for yourself rather than being chained to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

So, you will see a large number of success stories with new apps coming out every now and then that have their whole community, with social media groups, web-based development, and a lot of downloads, that’s for sure.

Social Element

And finally, we have the social element that’s in high demand in the gaming world. Although mobile gaming may not be as developed as the consoles or PCs with their Discord apps and whatnot, it’s getting better and better. And, because the mobile gaming market is so diverse, the natural conclusion was to make it more social-media-like than anything else!

As usual, the main reason for that development was the pandemic, where people could not leave their homes and played many games on their phones and tablets, craving any friends or even human interaction. App Stores noticed that and provided them with such a service.

However, the pandemic definitively showed game studios that players were hungry for more communication with fellow players. So, developers began adding more communication features to mobile games, among other things. Nowadays, two-thirds of the top 50 mobile games have a feature that allows users to communicate with each other.

Developers are adding it whenever they can, and the game icon for chatting is getting more and more popular. Of course, some other games are still mute, but with big hitters like Call of Duty: Mobile or Roblox implementing those features as well – we can count on the other developers going their way pretty soon.

It’s all about monetization, so the only logical solution to this problem would be to take the customer’s ideas into account. In the end, it’s a product like any other, so you can expect a lot of development in that department. So, if you’re planning to create a game that you would like to be reachable by more people – it is definitely a good idea to add this functionality to it.

How to Promote Your iOS Game?

So, now that we know what the trends in the industry are let’s see some of the best ways to promote your game. Of course, mobile game marketing is a topic that you can actually write plenty of books on, as people have, so we will be only scratching the surface. For more information, be sure to check out other articles on our site that will show you different aspects of digital marketing and how to use it to your benefit.

Here, we will focus on the basics of promoting an iOS game and how you can use different strategies to grow your conversion rate and rank higher in the App Store. So, with that in mind, let’s go over some main elements to keep an eye out for!

App Store Optimization (ASO)

Starting with the App Store Optimization. It’s one of the crucial elements to get to your customer base and an essential part of any iOS marketing strategy. There are a couple of factors you need to consider if you want to advertise your game properly. App Store optimization is a process during which Apple will judge whether your app is up to their standards. The optimization is not an easy task, as there are millions of apps all over the store, but if you want to show up in search results, you will need to work on your place in the ranks.

• Create a good title – the first step of any gaming optimization is to create an eye-catching title; it’s important to create something that will not only be a good profit idea like “THE BEST GAME EVER” but also somewhat connected to what you’re actually doing in the game; that way, you will be able to reach your target audience, and get even greater download volume; hence – making your game ranking higher in the App Store; make sure that it reflects what is in the game, but it’s also a unique one that stand out in the crowd; additionally – don’t overdo it; a long title does not mean a better title, so try to keep it concise and precise;
• Keywords – make sure to find the right keywords that will be relevant to your particular game; new ideas are sometimes hard to advertise, but people search for all kinds of stuff, so with the right digital marketing company (like GamerSEO – the #1 Video Game Marketing Agency!) or with a tool such as Ahrefs or SEMrush;
• Description – another big element to keep in mind is the description of your game; it needs to be concise and informative, highlighting the most important elements, but not boring and overly descriptive; be sure to sprinkle some marketing magic all over it in order to create something interesting but not too overwhelming;
• Visuals – finally, we have the visuals that can be pretty important when optimizing your iOS game for App Store purposes; be sure to create some that is eye-catching and clear; don’t make your icon too crowded, as it will feel just like a big blob, where nothing is visible;

SEO Optimization

SEO is great when it comes to optimizing the visibility of your iOS app. Game developers know that and use it to their advantage. There are plenty of ways you can utilize Search Engine Optimization in your iOS game promotion. For starters, you can create a title and a description that is filled with relevant keywords that people are actually looking for in Google. Of course, don’t make it too heavy, as your rank will drop. The times when the shady tactics work wonders are long gone, nowadays – it’s all about creative and innovative content for Google. So, if people are searching for a puzzle game – add this to your description – A puzzle game other than anything you’ve ever seen! 

Social Media Marketing

Another great way of promoting your games is social media. This is where it gets serious. As all of us have seen – the video ads on social media are extremely effective. Who has not seen this black-haired knight character dying because the person playing did something extremely stupid?

Another example could be the neverending platformers, where instead of going for the obvious choice, the player shown in the trailer decided to just die for no reason. Well, there is a reason why it happens, and it’s because – it’s extremely effective! As the data shows, an average person uses 6.7 different social networks per month, with 5.17 billion people currency using some kind of social media. Considering that social media usage is around 143 minutes per day for a person (which is 10% of each day and you can’t use Facebook while you’re sleeping), the potential of reach is astronomical. 

Whether it’s YouTube, Facebook, or TikTok – those ads are some of the most effective ways of promoting your game on the internet! You just have to do it better than the player shown, but you’re also intrigued by the challenges the game may force upon you. It’s a great way of showing people your content while also not getting too promotional. Of course, some of those videos are fake, and you will not create a good user base that way.

Influencers

Next, we have the influencers aspect of it all. Of course, getting influencers involved in your mobile game is something that cannot be underestimated. Those are some of the most interesting people for many young players, and the impact it has on them is something that can make or break the company. Of course, you need to select someone who is actually willing to play the game and engage with the content rather than simply going over the basics and just leaving it be. 

Is it effective, though? Well, let’s break down some numbers. For starters, in the most “hot” demographics – Millennials and Gen Z, it’s the influencers that are leading the media offensive. For example, 50% of Millennials trust product recommendations from influencers, while 33% of Gen Z-ers have bought a product because an influencer recommended it. And, as they are pretty into gaming quite a lot, it’s only understandable that iOS games are right up their alley.

Community-Based Advertising

Finally, we have community-based advertising, where you start with creating the official forms of communication, participating in Discord chats, asking for feedback from the players, and getting involved overall. People do appreciate it greatly if you are able to make the necessary improvements to the game when you listen to their needs and get the best out of the game you all participate in.

If you want to be visible on the app’s radar, it’s not like you will just have to create a video ad, and that’s everything you’ll ever need when it comes to marketing. Every new game needs some cross-promotion, so utilizing many different strategies is essential in ensuring that you will actually promote your game successfully.

Promote Your iOS Game – Conclusion

Whether it’s influencer marketing, Apple search ads, social media marketing, or anything in between – iOS marketing can be troublesome. With the right approach, you will be able to get a lot of traction for your game. Of course, it will not be an easy task, considering how many people are actually creating new apps every day. But it’s definitely worth the while, as the mobile gaming industry is getting bigger each year. The piece of pie is getting larger, so getting your game out there is not the worst idea, especially if you have a good idea of how to do it.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out other articles on our site if you want to find out more about digital marketing and ways you can improve your advertising efforts.