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There are estimated to be around 4.6 billion people using mobile internet connections, with some 4.0 billion of those doing so via a smartphone. This makes mobile one of the most widely used and accessible platforms in the world.
Further, the market is growing rapidly. In 2021, there were 750 million smartphone users in India. Now, these figures are widely estimated to be at or close to one billion in a population of over 1.4 billion people.
So, it won’t come as a surprise that markets within the mobile industry are valued in the billions. A leading market in this regard is mobile entertainment. Naturally, having a portable entertainment device in your pocket at all times offers incredible convenience and access.
So many mobile entertainment apps are also free to use, while some are subscription-based or offer newcomer promos, which makes the sector more accessible to any given user.
Industry analysis reports point to the mobile entertainment industry climbing to revenues over $209 billion by 2030, having already eclipsed the $112 billion mark in 2024. Set to mark another ten percent jump in revenues in 2025, here, we’re digging deep into the potential supporter behind these developments.
Big Plays from Huge Entertainment IPs
Mobile gaming certainly isn’t unfamiliar with welcoming massive IPs (intellectual properties) into its ranks. After all, when it became unfeasible to continue making home console games linked to shows and movies, developers turned to mobile.
In doing so, the developers were able to create an interactive product for fans much more quickly. If it lands well, the freemium model can also provide the developers and intellectual property holders with a long revenue stream.
Just to name a few, gaming titles like Marvel, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Crash Bandicoot, Monopoly, Star Wars, Middle-earth, Call of Duty, The Simpsons, and several others have entered mobile gaming and have had great success.
One TV show title that hasn’t gained any is Game of Thrones. However, there have been many attempts in the form of browser and mobile app games. However, very few have reached the heights of other major IPs jumping into the scene to develop a full-fledged game of the sequel.
Things might change this year. Leading in charge of what might be several major productions utilizing big IPs, Westeros will come to mobile gaming with more action than ever in Game of Thrones: Kingsroad.
The Kingsroad app game, which will run a closed beta in the second half of January 2025, is advertised as something akin to Genshin Impact. It will also feature the character depictions and voices from the superhit HBO series.
Becoming Increasingly Competitive
Tapping into popular intellectual properties is one way to compete in the app stores. Another way is to offer newcomers boosts, perks, bonuses, or discounts. This will best be demonstrated in the ever-growing mobile entertainment division, mobile casino gaming. All of the top-rated mobile casino apps in one of the world’s largest mobile markets, India, offer bonuses. To compete in such a valuable market, these bonuses have been getting better and more useful than ever.
Some of the standards in this niche are the casino app free spins and mobile casino app matched deposit offers. However, those looking to compete from a different angle have begun to explore cashback bonuses and even no-deposit bonuses.
In most of the scenarios, cashback looks to be the winning formula for customer retention. However, it’s tough to overstate how well-received no-deposit bonuses have become.
Usually, a casino app bonus can only be available and credited after the first initial deposit. That is precisely how the first deposit to play the game is converted into the funds that go further.
On the other hand, cashback also requires money to be deposited first, after which the bet can be triggered. No-deposit bonuses remove this potential barrier to entry.
Now, things are different, as people just need to sign up to try the casino app experience. This makes this part of mobile entertainment much more accessible and simplified for everyone, helping it grow in popularity and attract more users.
Gamifying and Rewarding Ad Strategies
Hybrid-casual games currently dominate the mobile entertainment market and, as could be expected, also dominate the mobile gaming advertising landscape. In 2025, their dominance in all regards is expected to continue.
To advertise these popular apps, the approach will lean toward rewarded video ads. This is a way to push users to stay engaged with the ad. With a reward at the end of the ad, the user won’t instinctively tap the cross to close the ad, but they will be willing to watch more ads.
Rewarded video ads have been deployed for many years. One of the ways that Coin Master became so heavily downloaded was through a similar strategy. Even now, there are rewards for the app game available beyond the app itself. The aim will be to give more reasons and more ways to interact with advertisements so that they feel less like adverts and less interruptive when they pop up.
Concluding Thoughts
In 2025, the mobile entertainment industry will continue to grow even further with the help of major intellectual property that are planning to enter the field. These companies will introduce new formulas to tempt new users into joining the industry, further improving engagement approaches to advertisement and resulting in a bigger and stronger industry.
