Indie Mobile Game Platform
An increasing number of local mobile game developers are working to create their own game distribution platforms. Gaming companies are launching their own mobile games distribution channels without going through intermediaries like app markets or mobile messaging platforms.
According to industry sources on June 9, Gamevil and Com2uS are going to release their mobile game channeling platform that combines Gamevil’s platform “GAMEVIL CIRCLE” and Com2uS’s game channel “Com2uS Hub” as early as July. An industry source said, “The global network of Gamevil and Com2uS is expected to give them an advantage over their rivals.”
NHN Entertainment is reportedly scheduled to showcase its own platform as early as the latter half of this year. An NHN Entertainment official remarked, “We are carrying out an overall review of the creation of a platform by analyzing data at the moment.”
The reason for game developers’ efforts to build their own platforms lies in the fact that the complex distribution channel structure of mobile games is aggravating their profit structure.
Currently, app markets and mobile messaging platforms collect nearly 50 percent of the total profits as a toll charge. When using distributors, mobile gaming companies make only 24.5 percent of the total game revenue. Hence, this kind of distribution channel structure inevitably brings about either a big success or a total failure in the mobile gaming industry. A growing number of people in the industry are thus raising questions about whether or not game developers’ own platforms will ever be successful.
First of all, the already-created platform market is very solid. Google’s and Apple’s app markets and the KakaoTalk platform are dominating the local mobile gaming platform. On top of that, large IT enterprises at home and abroad such as Naver’s Band, Facebook, and Tencent have already launched their own gaming platforms to curb KakaoTalk’s influence.
The fact that there was a failure case in the past is a big burden for game developers. Nexon rolled out FIFA Online 3 M, along with its mobile gaming platform “Launchpad.” But the company recently discontinued the service for its platform.