Behind the Scenes: Hidden Costs of Mobile Game Development.
Top-tier mobile game publishers are investing heavily in internal technology and tooling, with a startling $21 million going toward these initiatives. A recent study conducted by Metaplay shed light on the impact of this investment, highlighting hidden expenses that are sometimes overlooked.
The Financial Impact
According to the findings, large publishers invest an average of $21,662,784 in the development and maintenance of their backend technology. This significant financial commitment reflects the increased complexity of mobile game production and the demand for improved tools to enable it. In addition, the study discovered that the average compensation of an individual working on internal technology at these publishers is $138,864, underscoring the resources allocated to
The Human Toll
While the financial ramifications are considerable, the study also investigated the human costs of developing backend technologies in-house. A staggering 74% of respondents said their game programmers had been reassigned to work on internal technology rather than gaming content. This shift in focus had a negative impact, with 41% reporting a slowdown in game development, 34% reporting more work pressure, and 34% seeing higher employee turnover rates.
Industry Insights
Industry specialists such as Teemu Haila and Matt Wilson provide more insights into the problems that mobile game creators face. Haila emphasized the hazards involved with such large investments, underlining the need for a more balanced approach to backend technology development. Wilson shared these thoughts, pointing out the distraction produced by internal technology projects and calling for a stronger emphasis on product development.
Other major findings from the study shed insight on the types of games generated by top-tier studios, as well as their outsourcing strategies for specific parts of game production. The study’s whitepaper provides detailed insights into these findings, and a hard copy version is accessible for individuals who want to dig deeper into the data.