The Price Of Mobile Game Development 2022
Insights from mobile game markets are impressive. According to the latest data, about one-third of the world’s population plays games on their phones. Besides, mobile games dominate the AppStore revenue share (66%). So if you’re thinking if mobile game development for smartphone users is still a thing in 2022, be still, it is.
However, if your ultimate goal is to release a highly addictive game that the audience will appreciate, it’s important how profits can correlate with spendings. Here’s an extensive guide on mobile game development cost in 2022.
A Few Calculation Tips
Let’s start with the question that bothers you the most. The price of mobile game development can land at $3 000 and skyrocket up to $150.000. How to know how much you’d have to fork out for your project? Here are a few helpful calculation tips.
Game Genre
This goes pretty simple. The more complex game you want, the harder it would hit your pockets. A hyper casual game like Felix Jump or Flappy Bird with minimum animations and repeated levels will cost about $3 000 – $5 000.
More epic or 3D animated games with complex levels and multiple characters can raise up to ten times.
Multiplayer games with various locations, superb animation, and different interactive elements usually reach above $150 000. These often look like AAA projects but still cost less. One of the brightest examples of such games is Clash of Clans.
AAA games like PUBG mobile demand above-the-clouds development price. The cost of such games can hardly land to $1m.
Scenario Complexity
The mobile game scenario is a massive block of content that has to be additive. It includes character descriptions, locations, cutscenes, soundtracks, and much more. The more levels you create the more complex the scenario becomes. And don’t forget about scalable architecture. Without it, your game will crash very fast.
Animations
The choice is clear: you either opt for 2D or 3D mobile game development. The more 3D-animated elements you opt for, the greater is the final game cost. And think over the functional elements in advance as they’re responsible for the addictiveness of the game.
Testing
Don’t forget any product released to the IT market should be put under a thorough test. This is a must-make step to ensure the vitality and competitiveness of your mobile game.
Just like developers, testers charge an hourly rate. So, the more complex the product is, the more time a tester spends to examine it, and the higher the paycheck gets.
Does Platform Matter?
Not much, actually. Especially if you’re planning to release a cross-platform game. Such technologies as Unity ensure a smooth development process for Android and iOS devices simultaneously using one codebase.
How To Save Costs On Mobile Game Development
Worthy mobile game development is never cheap and you know what main factors contribute to the price. But do you know how to make mobile game development a cost-effective process? Take a look at the following tips.
Try Offshore Development
The best option for companies with a limited budget to get an excellent game is to try outstaffing. Brilliant programmers can reside far beyond the USA. We suggest taking a look at Ukrainian development companies. Besides the budget-friendly cost, an absolute benefit of hiring Ukrainian programmers is their high level of English. Major players in the Ukrainian IT spheres have from intermediate to fluent English.
Start With Simple
The ambitions may be overwhelming but don’t opt for a large-scale mobile game from the very beginning. Especially if this is your first development experience. Focus on a small mobile game and upgrade it with time.
Don’t Try To Save Too Much
Sounds paradoxical but the best way to save money on mobile game development is not to try to save too much. Don’t forget about the price-quality ratio. Make a market research and don’t get tempted by the lowest priced option. Remember that the lowest price is often associated with the highest risks of receiving a low-quality product.
Let’s Calculate
Imagine you opt for a cross-platform simple gameplay 2D animated mobile game development. Who do you need at the beginning? A developer, designer, and a 2D animator.
The hourly rate of Ukrainian gems is $30 (depending on qualification and occupation). They work on your project for 160 hours (which is equal to a month of a full-time job). Thus, the final cost of a mobile game development appears to be $14.400.
You may then add the rate of a tester or any other person involved in development.
Rexsoft Game Developers In Action
The cost of a mobile game is high but with an expert team, you’ll start gaining revenue very soon. Mobile game development company Rexsoft has been successfully operating on the market for more than 9 years. With Rexsoft developers, your audience will get addicted to playing “at least one more level”!