Hello there, I have a question that is probably more philosophical in nature. I am currently considering developing a strategy game for mobile devices. It will not be a free-to-play game, but rather a one-time purchase. It should be something like Settlers/Stronghold. Now I am wondering why there are so few games like this on the market. I am aware that it is easier to make money through free-to-play models that currently dominate the market. But is the market really so small for strategy games that hardly anyone publishes a paid strategy game, or are there other reasons?

Moved to the Business forum (this isn't a Production or Management question).

Most mobile games are casual games - games you can pick up and fill a couple minutes while waiting for the bus or Lyft to arrive, and you can put down at a moment's notice. Play a couple minutes now, a couple minutes later. Maybe play a little longer on the couch while watching TV. Is your game going to be like that, or is it the kind of game that people would be expected to play for an hour or more at a sitting? There was a mobile version of Farmville, which MIGHT be a little like the game you're contemplating… Have you looked at the games available on the Apple or Google stores to see other strategy games that might be there? Market research is in order.

Thank you for your response. Actually, I'm talking about a full-fledged game like on a PC. I am aware that on the tablet you are still behind in terms of hardware and you should not expect a triple A game. But, with the latest generation of tablets, I see untapped potential for full-fledged games with reduced performance that could entertain for hours. I have seen various studios attempt this over the past 10 years, such as Settlers, Total War, and Tropico, but in my opinion, they have not really established themselves. I thought maybe someone in the forum knows the reasons for this. It doesn't necessarily have to be lack of interest, but hardware issues could also play a role.

I never said your game was going to be a casual game - I said most games on mobile devices are casual games. I SHOULD have said that the mobile platform is MOST SUITED for casual games (and that's WHY most games that succeed on mobile devices are casual games).

If you're going to play a “full-fledged game like on a PC,” but on a tablet (btw, this is the first time you actually used the term “tablet"), your hands and arms are going to get tired from holding it with one hand and pinching/swiping/tapping with the other. If you put the tablet on a table so you don't have to hold it, you may develop neck problems from bending over it. It's a lot better to play full-fledged games like on a PC… ON A PC. It's a better play experience.

The tablet form factor is not conducive to playing that type of time-intensive game. It's not like nobody has tried all kinds of games on all kinds of platforms, but not all platforms are well suited to all kinds of games.

With the casual game part there was probably a comprehension problem on my part. But the points about neck pain and holding positions for too long are very good things that I hadn't thought about before. Thank you for the suggestion.

Strategy is high IQ and mobile is low IQ.

yr8 said:
I am currently considering developing a strategy game for mobile devices. … It should be something like Settlers/Stronghold.

There are lots of “settlers” games, so I'm assuming you mean the Bluebyte / Ubisoft “The Settlers” series, which is a real-time game, and the Stronghold game from Firefly studios back in 2001.

Real time battles are less easily played on a small screen with limited time and limited inputs.

Other “settlers” games, like clones of Settlers of Catan, are quite popular as they are turn-based, when played against computers you can easily put it down at any moment and not miss anything, and you can build up your strategy with as much time as you want.

yr8 said:
Now I am wondering why there are so few games like this on the market.

They exist but are less commonly commercially viable. You'll see them with big budgets and tremendous marketing pushes.

The successful ones — and there are plenty of them if you search — tend to focus less on the real-time elements either by having short bursts of real-time gameplay that you can select as missions or levels, or they can easily be stopped on a whim, easily let you review the board or elements that don't fit on the screen, and easily resumed even from a long break.

yr8 said:
But is the market really so small for strategy games that hardly anyone publishes a paid strategy game, or are there other reasons?

Strategy is fine, and there are many popular strategy games. In particular Go and Chess have enormous followings.

Real-time strategy is less fine, but still has a bunch of major games. Searches for terms like “best mobile strategy games 2023" bring a up a list of commercial successes you can study to see what they did right while trying to avoid survivor's bias.