Mobile games are one of the healthiest app industries, generating over $50 billion per year in sales. However, app investors know that only 4% of mobile games will earn more than $1 million. On average, mobile games only earn around $3,000. For game app startups seeking investment, competition is extreme. To gain the attention of investors, you’ll need to stand out and a strong game app business plan can give you the edge that you need. 

Game app startups don’t operate the same way as other startups. Providing pure entertainment, these games compete with some of the largest global industries including console games, computer games, and even other entertainment options like film and more. 

Important Game App Statistics

Why would a startup want to produce games? The easy answer is – the potential for revenue is immense. Check out these statistics related to the mobile game app industry:

  • As of 2019, mobile is the fastest-growing games segment.
  • Games represent around 10% of the amount of time spent on apps by users.
  • On average, each U.S. mobile device has 8 mobile games installed and smartphone users play an average of 2 to 5 games per month.

Special considerations that should be made when writing a plan for your beauty tech startup include:

These stats are great for game creators, but even getting to the launch phase can be difficult and expensive. Super simple games can cost up to $50,000 to build while complex games can cost $100,000 or more. This doesn’t even include the cost of marketing the game and acquiring users.

Securing investors can make it much easier to bring your mobile game to life. In this post, we will provide several tips on building a fantastic game app business plan that wins over investors. 

3 Important Game App Business Plan Considerations

Although writing a business plan for a game shares many similarities as writing for apps in other industries, there are some important differences. The following considerations should be made when writing an effective game app business plan. 

Mobile Game vs Mobile Game Startup

Before you start writing about what you’re building, it’s important to decide exactly what you’re building. Developing a mobile game is not the same thing as developing a mobile game app startup. 

A mobile game is a one-off project. It’s built and launched by a game developer, and once it runs its course, it fades away. 

A mobile game startup, however, is a business that produces mobile games. These startups understand what makes games successful and are able to create a viable formula to bring multiple games to success. While one game is at its prime in the market, developers are working on the next game; maintaining a constant flow of new products and developments. 

Every mobile game startup will produce at least one mobile game, but not every publisher of a mobile game is a mobile game startup. Knowing where you fall will help you focus your game app business plan and set the expectation for readers. 

Investors will prefer investing in a mobile game startup, and preferably, one that has already reached some minimal level of traction. If you are only interested in building a single game, however, crowdfunding may be a stronger option! 

Competitive Advantage

Unlike other industries, mobile games typically provide a solution to the same problem – a need to be entertained. While there are many categories of games, varying from type to age group, every game category is highly saturated. 

The majority of games fail to impress. Even if they are able to get downloads, many fail to retain customers for more than a few days. With so many games, consumers have a ton of choices. As a result, the rate of app abandonment for mobile games is significantly higher than other types of apps. 

To stand out among both consumers and investors, your game will need a distinct advantage. Somehow, it needs to be first, better, or different than its closest competitors. Even in a saturated market, investors want to see extreme innovation. How does your game differ from the other millions of games on the market? 

Monetizing Players

Marketing and operating a mobile game can be expensive. To earn a profit, you will need to figure out a way to monetize your game. Investors will be interested to know how you will convert visitors and users into paying customers, so a monetization strategy must be defined in your game app business plan. In general, there are three ways that mobile games are often monetized: 

  • Paid Apps: Some app developers charge a one-time fee for users to download the app. After purchasing, users typically have access to the game forever. This strategy work best for games that are well-known or produced by extremely popular game developers. In general, new game apps find it difficult to monetize through a paid app strategy. 
  • In-App Purchases: Many games offer in-app purchases as a method of monetization. For games with a high stickiness ratio, in-app purchasing can be extremely profitable. Offering additional credits, the opportunity to advance quicker, or other items (weapons, virtual clothing, etc.) game app startups can maximize the value of each and every customer. 
  • Mobile Advertising: In-app advertisements are extremely popular among mobile games, especially free games. Since top games are able to attract hundreds of thousands or even millions of consumers in a short period of time, they are highly attractive to advertisers. In general, consumers have accepted that they are going to have to deal with ads in exchange for using free apps.

Ready To Write Your Game App Business Plan?

Our business plan writers have written hundreds of game app business plans, raising millions of dollars from investors around the world. We’d love to help you, too. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our business plan consultants and get started on your fundraising journey today!