The technical and business value of running mini-games in Apps are significant: through mini-program container technology, diverse mini-games can be hosted and run in own Apps, realizing cross-platform game resource sharing and reducing purchase costs. To "reduce costs". Furthermore, multiple mini-game applications are quickly introduced into the App to provide users with diversified content to improve the user experience and retention rate within the App and enhance user participation. This is called "efficiency enhancement." In 2023, the development of mini games will be affected by many aspects, such as the introduction of new technologies, new players participating in mini games, and fierce competition in the game market. First, new technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and robotics can all bring novel gaming experiences. Secondly, the number of participants in the mini-game industry continues to expand, further broadening the audience for mini-games. In addition, with the development of technology, some large companies have also invested a lot of money to change the market structure. As the so-called "opportunities and challenges coexist", this provides small game developers with opportunities to open up potential sales in the market and broaden market opportunities. At the same time, it also challenges The core advantages of some large game companies.
In this article, we will have a basic understanding of small game distribution platforms, and learn from some technologically forward-looking companies. How do they broaden their traffic entrances?
Large-scale mini-game distribution platform
1. WeChat mini game platform
Thanks to the development of mini program technology and WeChat mini game ecology, the WeChat mini game platform has developed rapidly in recent years and has suddenly become the platform with the largest traffic volume! It is also the most complete platform for mini-game ecology. Judging from the recently released "2022 WeChat Mini-Game Growth White Paper", the current number of WeChat mini-game developers has reached 100,000+, and the number of games with monthly sales of tens of millions has increased by 50% year-on-year. above. Compared with the same period last year, the active duration of small game users in 2022 increased by more than 10%, and the number of games per capita and active retention of users also increased by 5% year-on-year. At the same time, the commercial scale of mini-games is accelerating, and the number of high-quality products with over one million users or tens of millions of sales has increased significantly.
2. Douyin mini game
Byte entered the mini-game game relatively late. In February 2019, it launched its first mini-game "Yinyue Qiuqiu" and only opened the Douyin mini-game platform to developers in 2020. However, Byte's mini-game business has developed very rapidly in recent years. As of April 2022, the number of monthly active users of Douyin reached 680 million, and Douyin has become a huge source of traffic for the mini-game business ecosystem.
3. QQ light games
The QQ light game platform is upgraded from the "CM Game Open Platform" and "Wanyiwan Platform" launched in 2017, opening up mobile QQ and QQ Space. In 2022, QQ's monthly active users on mobile terminals have reached 574 million. Compared with the WeChat platform, the QQ platform is more commercial, but also more homogeneous. It is also a game platform under Tencent Group. Under certain market choices, there will be market elimination in the near future.
A popular publishing platform for global mini-games
In addition to some large domestic game platforms for game developers to choose from, some popular and global platforms are also one of the paths that small game developers can choose to expand their business.
1. Itch.io
Itch.io is a game distribution platform for independent developers. Whether you are just getting started or a seasoned veteran, you can publish your mini-game here. Itch.io offers flexible customization options, you can set the price of the game, or you can choose to release it for free. At the same time, Itch.io's community is very active, giving your game a chance to be discovered by players.
2. Game Jolt
Game Jolt is another popular indie game publishing platform. It provides developers with easy-to-use tools that allow you to easily upload, publish and manage your games. Game Jolt has a very active community. There are many game enthusiasts and developers here. You can share your gaming experience and participate in community activities.
3. Congregation
Kongregate is a platform dedicated to mini-games that brings together various types of games. Here you can upload your mini-games to attract players from all over the world. Kongregate provides achievements, rankings and other functions to increase the interactivity of the game.
4. Newgrounds
Newgrounds is an old mini-game and animation platform with a high reputation. Although it started with animation, it also welcomes developers of small games. Publish your little game here and have a chance to get attention and comments from many game enthusiasts.
How to expand the distribution channels of small games without being limited to large platforms?
Games are essentially a content industry. In addition to making products with high playability and excellent creativity, the distribution of games is also a crucial part. How to expand high-quality distribution channels and obtain high-quality and reasonably priced traffic are all Issues that operators need to consider.
In the first half of 2023, the overall launch of WeChat mini games performed strongly, with a month-on-month increase of 5 times. In addition to the fact that the purchase cost of mini-games is generally lower than that of apps, game developers or studios are more inclined to develop lightweight mini-program games, which is also worthy of the attention of industry insiders. Judging from some public data on the WeChat mini-game platform, there are close to 10,000 products under investment in the first half of 2023, and the market is in a rough wave stage. In terms of the number of games launched, there is still a gap between it and mobile game APPs, but the growth rate is stable.
In addition to the above distribution channels backed by large platforms, developers or operators can also use mini program container technology to expand the distribution channels of mini games. For example, by integrating the FinClip mini program container, the channel APP has the ability to run mini programs. This means that mini program games can not only be put on big platforms such as WeChat, QQ, and Douyin, but also any channel APP that has traffic and is willing to cooperate.
At the same time, taking advantage of the FinClip mini program container's compatibility with WeChat syntax, mini games that have been developed before can be put on multiple channels such as self-owned APPs and partner APPs without secondary development. While saving development costs, it also Maximize mini-game revenue. Currently, the official is holding an internal test of mini-game support, and interested friends can check it out.
This new gameplay brings many benefits:
First of all, by embedding WeChat mini-games into its own App, it is possible to integrate different functional modules and provide a richer user experience. When using the app, users can not only enjoy the entertainment brought by mini-games, but also conveniently perform other operations on the same platform without the need to frequently switch apps, which improves user stickiness and retention rates.
Secondly, it is not limited to WeChat, but through more mature purchase channels to attract people to play games, which can effectively increase the exposure and user volume of small games through multiple channels and multiple ways of playing. By introducing WeChat mini-games into its own App, existing user traffic can be imported into the game, saving purchase costs while also increasing user participation. This method of attracting traffic is not only a more cost-effective promotion method for game developers, but also allows users to inadvertently come into contact with more interesting content, increasing user stickiness.