Why Mobile Gaming Has Seen Such Explosive Growth in a Decade

The statistics are remarkable: Scopely, the mobile gaming powerhouse, recorded a staggering 5 billion hours of gameplay within just 12 months. This figure underscores the substantial economic impact of mobile gaming, epitomized by popular titles such as “Monopoly Go!” and “Pokémon Go.”

Tim O’Brien, the Chief Revenue Officer at Scopely, delineated the evolution of mobile gaming as not only a formidable economic force but also as a gateway for consumers exploring video games as a primary form of entertainment.

The inception of mobile gaming is often marked by the launch of the iPhone in 2007, although gaming applications were in existence prior to this milestone, O’Brien explained in an interview with Jennifer Maas, senior business writer at Variety.

“The mobile gaming revolution truly began with [Steve] Jobs and Apple unveiling the original iPhone in 2007. Remarkably, there was no app store at that time. During that initial year, a group of coders managed to jailbreak the phone,” O’Brien reminisced. “What was astonishing during that period is that many regular consumers, who were neither engineers nor hackers, started jailbreaking their devices. The games developed in that era by small teams—often consisting of two to four people—saw downloads in the hundreds of thousands.”

By 2008, Apple recognized the immense potential and launched the App Store. The introduction of accessible, free-to-play games specifically designed for mobile screens became a catalyst for the entire gaming industry at a crucial juncture, according to O’Brien.

“Statistics reveal that while only 15% of individuals self-identify as gamers, a remarkable 50% of people worldwide engage in mobile gaming. This discrepancy highlights the transformative power of mobile gaming within the entertainment sector, establishing it as the preferred medium for many consumers. In the last 12 months alone, the Scopely portfolio of games amassed an incredible 5 billion hours of gameplay,” he emphasized.

In 2014, shortly after O’Brien joined Scopely, he successfully negotiated a deal with Hasbro to create a mobile game based on the classic board game Yahtzee. The initial business forecast anticipated generating $2 million in in-game purchases during the first year. “We achieved that milestone within just 30 days,” O’Brien stated. “We then became the largest Yahtzee product ever produced by Hasbro.”

Recently, Scopely was honored by Variety as a Billion Dollar Brand, underscoring its impact and success in the gaming industry.