Author: Mintel Group Ltd.
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Mobile Gaming: Inc Impact of COVID-19 - UK - October 2020
Overview
 
What you need to know
Some 35% of mobile gamers would buy an accessory to improve gaming on their device and 34% would be interested in buying a dedicated gaming smartphone or tablet. This represents a group of serious gamers who want the best possible gaming experience on their mobile device and are willing to pay to get it. The growing popularity of esports and increasing use of smartphones by esports gamers presents opportunities for manufacturers to forge direct links with players and teams for the design and promotion of their devices to mobile gamers.

Habits during the COVID-19 lockdown helped boost the popularity of the already growing mobile gaming industry. With consumers trying to stay entertained at home, 39% of mobile gamers have played more since the pandemic. The impact of the lockdown was not as significant as with dedicated gaming consoles, though, with mobile gamers still showing some reluctance towards purchasing in-game content and paying to download games.

One major problem that iOS users in particular face is the lack of game streaming for the foreseeable future. With Apple wanting to review each individual game instead of Google Stadia or Xbox Game Pass as a whole, Microsoft says it cannot bring the platform to Apple devices as it stands. This presents a significant advantage for Android manufacturers to convince consumers to switch away from the iPhone, particularly Generation Z and Millennials who are the most interested in game streaming.

Some 31% of mobile gamers use or would use gaming apps which feature video calling, like Bunch or Houseparty. The next stage for these apps should be the ability to record the gameplay and player reactions and share it to social media. This is likely to grow the audience for these apps as social-media viewers will be more inclined to download the app having seen friends and family enjoying it.

Key issues covered in this Report
●	The short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on mobile gaming including changes in usage and spending habits.
●	Which type of games consumers play and how genres can suggest what kind of gamer the person is.
●	Whether people have used a game streaming service over the last year and which platform it was.
●	The interest in gaming accessories for mobile devices and dedicated gaming smartphones/tablets, amid the growing market of mobile gaming within esports.

COVID-19: market context
The first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the UK at the end of January, with a small number of cases in February. The government focused on the ‘contain’ stage of its strategy, with the country continuing to operate much as normal. As the case level rose, the government ordered the closure of non-essential stores on 20 March.

A wider lockdown requiring people to stay at home except for essential shopping, exercise and work ‘if absolutely necessary’ followed on 23 March. Initially, a three-week timeframe was put on the measures, which was extended in mid-April for another three weeks.

The Health Protection Regulations 2020 came into effect on 15 June allowing the reopening of all non-essential stores in England as well as the mandatory use of face coverings on public transport. Pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers were able to reopen on 4 July, with many beauty businesses following on 13 July.

From 24 July, it became mandatory to wear face coverings in shops and supermarkets.

On 9 September, new guidelines were announced in England as a reaction to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. The major change was a tightening of restrictions on social contact, with people only allowed to socialise with groups of up to six people who they don’t live with.

On 22 September, the government announced a further tightening of restrictions coming into effect from 24 September, stipulating that pubs, bars and restaurants must close at 10pm, while plans to allow fans to return to sports events were paused. People were also told they should work from home wherever possible.

On 13 October, in response to rising daily cases, the government introduced a three-tier system for the country, ranging from ‘medium’, ‘high’ to ‘very high’. Regions in the latter two tiers were banned from meeting people from other households indoors.

On 31 October, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that England would be going into a second national lockdown on 5 November for four weeks. People have been advised to stay at home and non-essential retail stores will be closed. However, schools, colleges and universities will remain open.

Economic and other assumptions
Mintel’s economic assumptions are based on the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR)’s central scenario included in its July 2020 Fiscal Sustainability Report. The scenario suggests that UK gross domestic product (GDP) could fall by 12.4% in 2020, recovering by 8.7% in 2021, and that unemployment will reach 11.9% by the end of 2020, falling to 8.8% by the end of 2021.

The current uncertainty means that there is wide variation on the range of forecasts however, and this is reflected in the OBR’s own scenarios. In its upside scenario, economic activity returns to pre-COVID-19 levels by Q1 2021. Its more negative scenario, by contrast, would mean that GDP doesn’t recover until Q3 2024.

Products covered in this Report
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:

This Report looks at the games available on mobile devices (ie smartphones and tablets). Games on handheld consoles (eg Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita) are not within the scope of this Report.

Market size data represents the consumer spend on app purchases made through Apple’s App Store and Google’s Google Play app store, plus the value of in-app purchases made through those apps, based on data supplied by app analytics firm App Annie.

Some data in this Report is supplied by App Annie. App Annie is a mobile data and analytics platform which is committed to delivering a complete mobile performance offering, with more than 1,100 enterprise clients and 1 million registered users across the globe, and spanning all industries. It is headquartered in San Francisco with 12 offices worldwide. For more information from App Annie please email contact@appannie.com or visit its website https://www.appannie.com.

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