About hyper casual games

In 2014, I wrote a post titled “Casual games for casual players”, analyzing important features a good casual game must have. This category of games had a boom with the rise of mobile media (smartphones and tablets). Probably the most iconic case that we can discuss here is the Angry Birds phenomenon: a beautiful game with rules you can understand in a second, a high level of replay, and available for a cheap price. Angry Birds became a model in the app stores and after that we could observe a great number of casual games that explored different business models using these simple mechanics.



We have many casual games in different platforms today, but there’s a new idea rising strongly: the hyper casual games concept. These categories of games, according to Johannes Heinze are “games that are lightweight and instantly playable”. Note the difference: the hyper casual are instantly playable; this makes a big difference in today’s gaming context.

Companies like Voodoo and Ketchapp Games (both French) are two good examples of how to explore business models using hyper casual games. They are creating very simple and addicting games. You play them and, if you like them, there’s a possibility to buy a premium version of the game without ads, or you can play it and watch the ads.

One good example of this kind of game is the awesome Helix Jump (one of my favorites). Check the gameplay trailer below:



Here in Brazil, companies like Sioux are investing in this gaming category. They launched a very interesting title named Overjump. Do the exercise: watch the video and notice that in the first 8 seconds you already understand the mechanics.



The most important point of this discussion is the rising of hyper casual games parallel to a big triple A titles showing us that we are living a great moment in the gaming industry: a moment full of opportunities.

#GoGamers