Hyper Casual games have become a buzzword in the gaming industry. In 2018, hypercasual games entered the gaming market and spread like wildfire. Hyper Casual mobile games have seen an exponential rise over the years and are still dominating the mobile game market. The term Hyper-Casual gained popularity in 2018 when the popular game Helix Jump became the most downloaded mobile game of the year with over 334 million downloads, overtaking popular AAA game titles like PUBG and Fortnite.
As per statistics, the annual revenue generated from the hypercasual video games genre is close to $2.5 billion. Popular investment firm Goldman Sachs has also shown interest in the genre and invested a staggering $200 million in Voodoo.
Venture Beat conducted a survey where they analyzed over 2.5 billion gamers and found that over 660 million gamers played Hyper casual mobile games. 520 million out of the 660 million played both Hyper casual and IAP games.
We have provided an in-depth guide on Hyper casual games and have also listed the best casual Android games and the best casual games iOS.
Table of Contents
Hyper casual mobile games offer instant gameplay and primarily consist of limited game mechanics like falling, turning, tapping, etc. These types of games require minimal set-up and can be downloaded and instantly played. This is one of the most prominent factors that make it extremely engaging and fun. The simple and limited game mechanics makes these games addictive and have the potential to capture the interest of a large audience and generate revenue.
One of the major features of hyper casual gaming is that they usually have a single mechanic and minimalist interface. Gamers must be able to open casual video games and start playing the game within seconds. This is what makes the game so engaging and addictive. Moreover, these games are not designed for hardcore gamers but targetted towards the audience that plays mobile games for pastime. These games are perfect to be played over several short sessions.
These types of games feature simple hyper casual games mechanics that utilise basic geometry to capture the player’s attention. Take a look at the most common mechanics of hyper casual video games.
Tap Mechanic includes tapping the screen at a specific time to complete a specific task. Over time, the gameplay speed is increased to increase the difficulty of the levels. These games are the latest Hyper Casual Game Trends and the Chrome Dinosaur game that you play when you are disconnected from the internet follows the same gameplay mechanic. Popular games include 1983s Mario Bros. and 1991s Sonic Hedgehog.
An object rises or falls through an environment and the objective is to avoid the obstacles. Popular hyper casual mobile game Helix Jump utilised this mechanic and became the most downloaded mobile game in 2018. Over time, the speed of the environment or the object increases to provide a challenge to users.
This Hyper casual puzzle game mechanic requires players to use strategy and logic to correctly place objects within an environment. These types of games must be perfectly balanced as if the game is too easy or hard, the players will lose interest and get frustrated simultaneously. Game developers can also include tutorials in the initial levels to provide efficient gameplay.
Stacking games include stacking objects on top of one another. Moreover, these games can also include other gameplay mechanics such as rotating the object at a certain degree to get a perfect stack. Popular games like Stack and Skyscraper Stack Builder utilise this hyper-casual game mechanic.
Quite similar to the Timing mechanic, the agility mechanic requires players to repeat a motion with speed and precision. However, don’t confuse this with the timing mechanic. While the timing mechanic requires players to tap the screen at the right time, agility mechanics are about repeating a motion rapidly. Timberman is one popular example of this game mechanic.
These games require players to control a character or object and turn them to avoid obstacles and dead ends. This mechanic is especially popular in driving and racing games where the player is only required to turn the vehicle by tapping the screen. It is quite similar to the Swerving Mechanic which is one of the hardest mechanics in casual games on Android. However, if you are creating a hyper casual mobile game with this mechanic, it is important to simplify the controls to maintain the feel of a hypercasual game.
Similar to Turning Mechanics, Swerving mechanics include controlling an object or character to glide through the environment. These types of casual video games require precision as players have to dodge objects in the game. Service mechanics work well with hypercasual games and provide great satisfaction to players who master them.
Games with growing mechanics are essentially fun to play as you get to gobble up smaller objects and grow in size. Whether it’s a snake, black hole, or crowds, the objective is to increase your size and devour anyone or anything that comes your way. Slither.io is a popular growing mechanic game where you are a snake and grow by absorbing coloured blobs to grow in size.
As the name suggests, these games are all about pushing objects or other players off the map. The main mechanics usually feature player movement but the methods of pushing characters off the map may differ according to the game. Games like Push ’em All, feature knocking players off the map by bumping into them with an object.
This hyper casual game mechanics requires players to remove obstacles out of the way and guide various small objects like balls or liquids to the desired destination. In games like Sand Balls, players just remove sand and find the best route to guide the balls to a container. These games provide a lot of versatility and require strategy and critical thinking to ace.
An interesting fact about Hyper casual games is that they are generally free and don’t feature in-app purchases. Microtransactions are generally targeted towards hardcore gamers where there is a large game world and a number of opportunities and alternative story options. This business model doesn’t fit well into casual video games. However, there are still some business models that work well with the best casual games iOS and Android.
One of the most popular monetization strategies for any video game is advertising. You can place ads in between levels to generate extra revenue from your Android hyper casual game. It works better than microtransactions and can be varied. There are generally three types of advertisements in a mobile game-
Rewarded Video Ads: As the name suggests, users can get additional rewards after watching these advertisements. This is a small investment on the player’s part as it only takes 15 to 30 seconds and provides users with power ups or extra game coins.
Banner Ads: Banner Ads are displayed during the gameplay and don’t cover the game screen so the gameplay experience remains seamless. These are the most popular types of ads used in the best casual games for iPhone & Android.
Interstitial Ads: These ads are generally displayed at the end of each level and take up the entire screen. They can be skipped after a while and can be in the form of a video, image, or playable ad.
Since Hyper casual mobile games generally contain ads, you can use the freemium model to your advantage and ask players to pay a small one-time fee to remove all advertisements from the game. This model also fits well with the Hyper casual genre as players are often frustrated with recurring advertisements and are likely to pay a small amount for a seamless gaming experience.
You can promote your application in another game and promote their game on your application in return. Both mobile game apps display each other’s advertisements which results in an extended userbase which is directly linked to better profits.
Read More:- Cross Platform Game Development: What You Need and How It Works
You might have heard that the cost of development depends on many factors. However, it’s true, many factors come together to determine the overall cost of developing a hyper casual video game. The level of game mechanics and features are two of the major factors that contribute to the cost. But, Hyper casual games are generally a lot cheaper than some other game genres.
You don’t require a team of professionals to build casual games on Android or iOS. Moreover, it only takes a few months to create a casual video game from scratch. Let’s take a look at the process of development and the cost associated with it.
Prototyping: You can test the mechanics of the game and polish any loose ends to refine your gaming product. The average cost is around $5000
Hyper Casual Game Design: All the graphics and animations including levels, characters, backgrounds, menus, interfaces, etc are created in this phase. The average cost is approximately $5000
Development: Hyper casual game developers leverage advanced game engines like Unity to build your video game. They integrate the necessary features and game mechanics into the game. The cost comes to around $20,000
Miscellaneous Expenses: Testing, Quality Assurance, Sound Testing, Promotion, etc. are included in miscellaneous expenses. Add another $10,000 to your budget for these expenses.
| Prototyping | $5,000 |
| Hyper Casual Game Design | $5,000 |
| Development | $20,000 |
| Miscellaneous Expenses | $10,000 |
| Total Cost | $40,000 |
The average development cost of a hyper casual game ranges from $40,000 to $50,000. However, this is an approximate cost and the actual cost may differ according to your requirements.
Read Blog: The Ultimate Guide to Hyper Casual Game Development
The best casual games for iPhone have dominated the platform, leaving behind popular AAA game titles. Ever since 2018, many casual iPad games have been launched in this genre. Have a look at the best casual games iOS in 2023.
Much like the iOS platform, the best hyper casual games for Android have been receiving a lot of audiences and are the perfect pastime for the casual gamer. If you want to kill time or enjoy relaxing gameplay, these Android casual games are some of the best on the Google Play Store.
These are the most played and the best android Casual games in the Hyper casual genre. Want to earn hefty returns from a hyper casual gaming platform, you can contact BR Softech and leverage hyper casual game to increase your profits.
The Hypercasual genre received a lot of hype in 2018 and since then has become one of the most dominating genres in the mobile gaming industry. These types of games are fairly easy to develop and thanks to the ultimate hyper-casual guide with Unity, you don’t even require coding knowledge to create a hypercasual game for Android or iOS. If you want to invest in a mobile gaming business, Hyper casual games require the least investment and provide hefty monetary benefits to operators with various revenue streams. Leverage cutting-edge Hyper Casual Games iOS & Android Services with BR Softech and sustain a thriving mobile gaming business.
Yes, the hypercasual game genre receives a lot of audience and is highly profitable. You can generate hefty profits with various monetization strategies available in hypercasual gaming platforms.
Yes, we provide highly personalized hypercasual game development solutions that is bespoke and tailored to the client’s requirements.
It takes around 1-2 months to develop the best casual games for Android.
