Adjust: Installations of hyper-casual games in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 49% in 2021

Adjust has presented a detailed report on the main trends in the mobile market of the Asia-Pacific region (APR) in 2021. We have selected basic information about the games. Key metrics include downloads, installation cost, game session length, and retention.Note: In its study, Adjust used data for the period from January 1, 2019 to May 31, 2021.

Among the tracked countries are India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The company also divides mobile games into hyper-casual and non-hyper-casual (all others).

Installation dataThe largest increase in installations in annual terms was demonstrated by hypercausal titles — by 66% and 49% in 2020 and the first half of 2021, respectively.

• Downloads of other mobile games increased by 23% and 4% over the same periods.Growth of mobile app installations in the Asia-Pacific region in 2020 and 2021

The most installations of non-hyper-casual games in the first half of 2021 increased in Singapore (80% year-on-year), Vietnam (51%) and Japan (41%).

• In general, all the countries that showed good growth last year continued to grow.Growth of installations of non-hypercausal games in the Asia-Pacific region

But with hypercausal titles, the situation is a little different.

• Over the past year, the largest increase in installations against the background of lockdowns occurred in Singapore (112%), Indonesia (101%) and Thailand (74%). In 2021, Indonesia (64%), India (61%) and Thailand (56%) became the leaders in the growth of installations.The growth of installations of hyper-casual games in the Asia-Pacific region

Installation cost

The average effective installation price (eCPI) for mobile applications, taking into account paid and viral installations, was $0.74 in the first quarter of 2021.

• This is significantly cheaper than a year earlier — $ 1.49.The lowest eCPI in the first quarter was demonstrated by hypercausal titles — only $0.2.
• For the rest of the games, this figure is close to $ 1.eCPI indicator for mobile apps in the Asia-Pacific region by quarter

The highest ratio of paid installations to organic ones is observed in hypercausal titles.

• In the first quarter of 2021, it was at the level of about 2.7, and a year earlier — 2.93.For the rest of the games, the number of paid installations per organic in the first quarter of 2021 was slightly below 0.5. A year earlier, this figure was at 0.37.
• The number of paid installations for each organic installation for mobile applications in the Asia-Pacific region by quarter

Gaming sessions and retention

Against the background of last year’s lockdowns, people started playing hyper-casual titles much more.

• In 2020, the length of sessions in this segment increased the most in Singapore (108% year-on-year), Japan (99%), Indonesia (84%) and Thailand (52%).In 2021, the length of gaming sessions continued to increase.
• The largest growth is observed in Thailand (22% in annual terms) and Singapore (21%).As for the rest of mobile games, in 2020, the largest annual growth was observed in Japan (42%) and Indonesia (26%).
• And in 2021, Singapore (151% in annual terms) and Vietnam (62%) became the leaders in this indicator.Average session length in mobile apps in the Asia-Pacific region (in minutes)

At the same time, it is much more difficult for hyper-casual titles to retain players.

• If, immediately after installation, an active user enters them on average 2 times a day, then on the 30th day this indicator falls below 1.5 times.For comparison, for other mobile games, the number of gaming sessions per active user, on the contrary, is growing — from 2 to almost 2.5 per day over the same period.
• Number of gaming sessions per day per active user in the fourth quarter of 2020

In the first quarter of 2021, each user spent an average of 24 minutes in a non-hyper-casual game immediately after its first launch.

• On the 30th day after installation, this indicator increased to 47 minutes. Hypercausal games have the opposite situation.
• In the first quarter, users spent an average of 9 minutes in such titles after the first launch. The next day the time increased to 16 minutes a day, but on the 30th day it dropped to 7 minutes.The number of minutes that users from the Asia-Pacific region spent on average in mobile applications in the first quarter of 2021

To calculate the average retention, Adjust took data for the fourth quarter of 2020.

• During this period, the retention of 30 days for non—hypercasual games was 5.64%, and for hypercasual titles – only 1.69%.Average retention of mobile applications in the Asia-Pacific region for the fourth quarter of 2020