Market Challenges: Concerns around in-app purchases and microtransactions

One of the major challenges currently seen in the global instant games market is increasing concerns around in-app purchases and microtransactions within mobile games. Over the last couple of years, there have been numerous instances where gamers, especially younger audiences have ended up spending large amounts of money on in-game purchases without realizing it. With laws and regulations on these microtransactions expected to get tighter going forward, it poses a threat to the business models of many companies. They would need to shift to alternative models that are less reliant on recurrent in-app spending in order to comply with new policies. Unless addressed properly through more transparent practices, this issue can negatively impact the revenue growth trajectories of market participants.

Market Opportunities: Integration with AR/VR technologies

A significant opportunity for the global instant games market in the coming years will be deeper integration with augmented reality and virtual reality technologies. As AR/VR headsets become more accessible to consumers and their functionality improves, game developers can leverage these mediums to enhance the gaming experience for certain types of real-time and interactive games. Titles that allow virtual interactions between players or incorporate aspects of the real world into gameplay have strong potential to engage audiences. Leveraging immersive virtual environments can also help instant games stand out in increasingly crowded app store landscapes. If powerful brands are able to effectively harness the interactive capabilities of AR/VR, it can drive new user acquisition and unlock additional monetization channels for sustainable growth of the market.