Apex Legend Mobile was released globally on May 17. A new competitor was born (well sort of reborn) in the battle royale market, but this time on the mobile side.
Apex Legends Mobile created a colossal explosion and excitement. After the game was released in 145 countries on the App Store, it topped the free game charts in 47 countries/regions, including the United States and Japan. It also entered the free game charts of 46 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, from ranks 2-10.
What makes this game special?
Apex Legends was officially released during the 2019 Spring Festival. Battle Royale games were booming back then, and Apex Legends was a unique experience. With no excessive promotional activities after its release, the game gained an excellent reputation and increased its popularity among shooter game fans with its unique gameplay and exciting battles.
The first month after its release, the game grossed $92 million and reached over 50 million registered players. In April 2021, it surpassed 100 million global players. Such a brilliant market performance laid a solid foundation for the game’s mobile version.
The mobile version of the game, developed by Tencent-owned Lightspeed and Quantum Studios, began its first testing period in April last year and expanded its testing areas to Peru, Colombia, Indonesia, Egypt, and Lebanon in July.
Apex Legends Mobile is a classic Tencent game. The most outstanding features of the PC version of Apex include a diverse cast of characters and “hyperactive” combat mechanics. The game has been adapted to mobile devices and has many mobile shortcuts such as automatic loot, quick loot, and quick mark.
Apex Legends Mobile has a more straightforward user interface and mechanics than the PC version. But the most significant difference is that Apex Legends Mobile’s advertising strategy is much more intense than the PC version. As more and more PC games are brought to mobile platforms, a combination of advertising and product quality is the best way for a game to be a big hit.
Media domination
According to data obtained by SocialPeta, Apex Legends Mobile started its advertising work on March 8, 2022, 70 days before the open beta. During the period, it delivered 4,100 deduplicated creatives across iOS and Android, meaning it delivered an average of 59 creatives each day to grab the attention of more players.
Of all countries/regions, the game focused on advertising in Southeast Asia, South America, Oceania, and North America, with the Philippines being the most advertised region, accounting for 13% of total creatives.
Most of Apex Legends Mobile’s creatives are video at 96%, mainly about how similar the game is to the PC version. The trailer for the game shows how intense and fierce the game battles are. All these rapidly changing views and actions on creatives are perfect for telling people how exciting the game is, but as a whole, it’s not that perfectly smooth and needs improvement.
Another advantage of the game came with releasing a new hero named Fade (Ignacio Huamaní). While the hero will be available in the PC version, it’s limited and exclusive to the mobile version.
Diablo Immortal’s designers announced in a past interview that the game is scheduled to be released in 2022. It was reported that the mobile version of Battlefield would begin Alpha testing in May and is scheduled for official release this year.
Publishing mobile versions have become an effective way to groundbreaking classic PC game franchises. PC gaming companies will need to change their marketing strategy and learn how to acquire mobile gamers.
SocialPeta noticed the following details during the analysis of successful mobile versions of PC games:
Keeping existing users with classics from the main titles
Many mobile versions of PC games will focus on advertising content perfectly copied from the PC versions. But how can you attract and acquire PC gamers through advertising strategies?
Classic maps, game mascots, weapons, classic in-game characters, etc. It is more effective to use traditional elements in a game to attract PC gamers, such as
For example, Call of Duty: Mobile’s mascot is the famous “Ghost” character from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Differentiated advertising is essential for games of the same genre
There are many successful games in the Battle Royale game market. While the best games have the most players, their growing popularity will also increase the market’s well-being as a whole. Therefore, it is a more effective way for a game to focus on advertising its differentiated features to attract more players. The mix of hero skills highlighted in Apex Legends Mobile’s creative and rapidly changing cutscenes of intense battles is a direct example of differentiated marketing.
Mobile players may prefer casual content
Most mobile game players may prefer more social or casual games than console or PC gamers. That’s why game marketing needs to take into account not-so-hardcore players. Challenging games may use comics, comic scripts, or other casual content in their ads to attract casual players.
With the rapid development and updates of mobile devices, more players will play AAA-type games on their mobile phones. Mobile games are the highest-grossing games on the market. We may see more portable versions of excellent PC games in the future.
