App development is already a financially rewarding technical domain. And let’s talk about gaming applications that have a huge user chunk (professional gamers as well as hobbyists). Investing in game development is the most lucrative business venture. But the success of any IT business depends on two factors. first is the idea second is its right execution.
So, let’s begin with the top game development ideas first:
Play to Earn Games
Play to earn games intrigue user interest because of the monetary reward system. There are different play to earn game types including:
- Crypto play to earn games like Axie Infinity and Zed Run
- NFT play to earn games like Ether Legends and Crypto Kitties
- Cash reward games like Blackout Bingo
- Lottery game apps like Jackpocket Lottery
- Gift card games like Lucky Scratch
These game apps use one or the other financial institution affiliation to transfer cash prizes. Also, these game apps have to follow modern app development standards and provide multiple online payment gateways to receive cash. The NFT and crypto games usually utilize blockchain, and so they either transfer through MetaMask or Coinbase.
Cross Platform Games
Cross platform games do not actually have a specific genre, but this domain is actually a profitable one because you get 2 applications in price of one. A cross platform game is basically an app that has one single codebase, yet performs similarly on both Android and iOS.
For a cross platform app, it is ideal to launch a light-weight game first. Then once it gains traction on both iOS and Android, update with more features and monetize with in-app purchases. Top cross platform game ideas include:
- Shooter game like Battleground
- Fantasy games like Candy Crush and Muffin Knight
- Light crime and adventure game like Among Us
If you wish to go for a high-res game, it is preferable to create a native game rather than cross platform. To manage your native development cost, you can hire an android game development company and create an MVP. If you are more of an iOS enthusiast, you can create an MVP for iOS game first but know that it’s more expensive than native Android.
Healthcare Games
You can choose to launch a health-tech game in domains of diagnosis, mental health, and disease management. Here are trending healthcare game development ideas:
- Relaxing and soothing game like My Oasis
- Meditation game like Windosill
- Physical fitness management game like Zombies, Run
- Healthcare AR game like Pokémon Go
- Calming activity game like Colorfy
Developing a game in health niche is somehow tricky. If you are up for diagnosis or disease management, you’ll have to acquire a HIPAA compliance certificate. A healthcare mobile app development company can help you acquire one while maturing and practically working on your app idea.
Educational Games
Next up in the list are educational games that help students and educators in different ways. The most important reasons behind the popularity of such games is that gamifying a study concept is an ideal learning experience. plus, you can create general to specific educational games for subjects. Here are top ideas:
- General knowledge, vocabulary and IQ building games
- Math problem solving games
- STEM learning games
- Code learning games like Hopscotch
- History learning games with augmented reality
- Geography learning game with virtual reality tours
- Quantum learning apps like Quantum Cats
Educational game apps can be monetized in two different ways. You can either launch a free game with in-app purchases and ads. This is for general concept practicing apps. For specialized subject matter games, you can choose to create licenses for schools, colleges and other institutes. These licenses can be paid monthly, or yearly.
Investment games
Though we do not have a lot of investment games on Google Play and App store at the moment. But, this is a great idea because a lot of beginners might want to learn trading and investment concepts via a gaming experience. Here are trending ideas and example apps for inspiration:
- Stock investment game like Wealthbase
- Real estate investment game like Landlord Real Estate Tycoon
- Crypto investment game like Zed Run
- Entrepreneurship game like Business Empire
Arcade games
Arcade games have endless levels. they have quick rewards, light rules and the progress gets faster after each level. There are different ways to monetize arcade games. Free with in-app purchases is the most common one. Ad-free versions are priced at an average of $4 per month. some examples of popular arcade games include:
- Running game like Subway Surfer
- Arcade story game like Blaze
- Fantasy game like Candy Crush Saga
- Car racing games like Asphalt
- Ball games like Pinball and Bounce
Sports Games
Considering the number of sports enthusiasts in the world, sports gaming apps are widely popular. But there are just so many of them that it’s hard to beat the competition. However, yours can conquer the market with a high-end user experience, a defined target audience and strong app marketing. Here are some sports game niches to consider:
- Football, basketball and cricket games like Nextwave Multimedia
- Archery games like Archery Club
- Swimming games like swim coach
- Marathon games like Marathon Infinity
- Bowling games like Bowling King
- Horse racing games like Horse Racing 3D
What to do when you have a game app idea?
Once you have finally decided on one game niche and its specifics, it’s time to move to the technical development. But there is something you need to do before that. You need to create a game app business plan talking about your game development budget, your expected download rates and revenues in the first year, the platform you want to choose and the arrangement of a development team. Next thing you need to do is write down the game story and features you want to add. Go in detail if you want to add new characters or fantasy environments. Conduct a quick competitor analysis and see if such games exist. If no, you’re good to go. If yes, quickly research and check if they are profitable and making money.
Wrapping Up…
Game development sure is financially rewarding, but it also has a lengthy development procedure. Any new character, new environment, new transition, or feature may prolong the game completion time and increase its cost. But if you can manage all these factors efficiently and you finally launch the game on stores, it will turn into a revenue stream and the foundation of a strong tech startup that will keep yielding business benefits.
