From hyper to hybrid in 2023: Tenjin’s new report aims to smoothen the transition

As the game industry is undergoing a transition from hypercasual to hybrid games, mobile marketing measurement firm Tenjin has released a brand new report providing developers with insights into both advertising and ad monetization to help smoothen this process. 

Tenjin said that the hyper-casual business has experienced profound changes, with profits no longer as robust as before. Apple’s controversial App Tracking Transparency framework on iOS, shifts in user behavior following the pandemic, and several other factors have resulted in a significant decrease in ad revenue, which has led many hyper game developers to shift their focus to hybrid titles.

The ‘’From Hyper to Hybrid in 2023’’ report, which aims to smoothen this transition, has revealed that both ad impressions and eCPMs declined for Android and iOS in 2022. However, there was an upward trend in the number of in-app purchases on both platforms at the same time.

Other key findings from the report include:

• iOS: Ad impressions decreased by 20% throughout 2022
• Android:  eCPM decreased by 28% throughout 2022
• Android: # of in-app purchases increased by 37% throughout 2022
• India ranked #1 in the category of countries with the highest number of installs on Android

Also Read: Measure SKAdNetwork campaigns for free with Tenjin

In a statement to Mobile Marketing Reads: Tenjin’s Marketing Director Roman Garbar said: 

‘’If you ask industry experts to define hybrid-casual, you’ll likely get a range of different answers. With no clear consensus on the new “hottest genre” or business model. What is clear, however, is that a hybrid storm is coming.’’

‘’Casual developers are integrating hyper-casual components and rewarded videos into their games, while hyper-casual developers are adding more in-app purchases and improving retention. But with advertising and monetization becoming increasingly difficult in 2023, developers will need to be strategic in their approach,’’ Garbar added. ‘’We hope that these industry rankings and trends will help guide developers through this hybrid shift.’’

Feel free to check out Tenjin’s latest report for more details. Meanwhile, according to a previous report from the company, Android apps generated more advertising revenue than iOS apps in the second quarter of 2022.