15% of monetised players spend more if actively engaged in a community

• Mistplay's How Social & Community Fuels Organic Growth for Mobile Games report presses the importance of social elements of games
• 21% of spending players consider a game’s online community before installing

In the turbulent mobile games market of 2024, loyalty app Mistplay calls retention the "lifeblood of publisher success", and the most important element towards maximising monetisation.

The firm’s latest report, How Social & Community Fuels Organic Growth for Mobile Games argues that social elements play "a key part of the user’s journey" when deciding to download a game, with 21% of spending players considering a game’s online community before installing in the first place.

Among spenders, 15% are willing to spend even more if actively engaged in a community, meanwhile ratings and reviews play an important role to 50% of all potential downloaders.

Mistplay has used its findings as evidence to suggest that spending behaviour can be influenced by social factors, at least in certain segments. And this can apply negatively too - 65% of players who have had a negative customer support interaction stopped playing a connected game.

Ready, set, spend!

According to the report, 42% of mobile gamers participate in online communities to find new games, particularly sports game and casino players. Meanwhile, 45% of players pick up new in-game tips and tricks through online communities, especially in midcore and casual.

And while only 23% of players are active participants in these communities, only 33% don’t participate at all; that leaves the majority of people in the middle - with 44% being passive participants.

Facebook, YouTube and Discord are the most popular channels to engage with online communities, and when it comes to those players who watch games-related media from content creators, more players are interested in Let’s Plays than game reviews - at 69% versus 53%.

"A strong social and community presence are imperative for mobile games because they are a key part of the user’s journey when deciding to download a new title as they provide signals of overall enjoyment, social proof, and relevance," said Mistplay senior director of organic growth Justin Gerrard.

"Games without engaged communities, or those where developers are not perceived to provide adequate user support, can lead to fewer conversions based on concerns about legitimacy.

"In this competitive industry with many similar titles, a focus or lack of focus on these efforts can have a meaningful impact at scale and be the difference between struggling to gain traction and breaking into the top category rankings."

Mistplay's full report delves deeper into the differences between players of particular genres, in a time when RPGs have been dethroned as the king of player spending.