From Between Us to Impact Genshin, mobile games are quietly exploding

Mobile games are great for keeping us distracted by uncomfortable time slots in our schedule, from daily trips to waiting in line for seats at a restaurant, to the few conscious minutes before finally napping in bed. Instead of keeping players stuck for long hours in a row, most are designed for short, quick bursts of play. See the absurdly captivating game of watching cats Neko Atsume, or the quick-fire rounds of the successful deception game Among us – most sessions take less than 15 minutes.

But now that staying at home and avoiding crowds is crucial to keeping a global pandemic in check, mobile games are itching a different kind of itch. They are seeing increasing popularity, even among major gaming circles. More than just the waste of meaningless time from the past, today’s mobile games are not only fun, but also valuable social experiences: they allow players to avoid the double stroke of isolation and fatigue “always online”.

No other game has announced the arrival of mobile games as a “central” genre more than the meteoric rise of Impact Genshin. A free RPG in line with its most obvious inspiration –The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild–Impact Genshin it is notable for being an extremely complex mobile title that is full of activities, from finding ingredients to cook to completing a multitude of missions and adding new heroes to your list of groups. At a time when many players are confined at home, it is a game tailored to long periods of play.

But Impact Genshin it is not a meaningless loop of repetitive content. In stark contrast to the cyclic tap-tap-tap cadence of reaping your rewards in other mobile games, it also tells a deeply fascinating story that not only found an audience outside the typical mobile gaming demographic, but also among new ones. players without the hardware to play more conventional and resource-consuming RPGs. In its first week, Impact Genshin saw 23 million mobile downloads. Perhaps soon we can see a similar success in this year’s abundant crop of AAA mobile experiences: the giant powers like Diablo Immortal or Nier: Reincarnation, the latter being so popular in Japan that it is already the highest-grossing title on the iPhone since its launch on February 18.

Even though it is basically an experience for a player, there is also a social aspect to Impact Genshin, allowing players to embark on looting and hacking missions with friends. With the pandemic hovering over us, recent titles are clinging even more tightly to these social features, allowing players to express themselves beyond customizable avatars and weapon skins.

One of those titles is Epic Games’ Fifteen days. Before it was banned from the App Store and Google Play in August last year, it was downloaded more than 129 million times in those markets. Furthermore, its virtual world has evolved into an expansive and extensive metaverse, in addition to its real battle and survival modes. This is where players can blow each other to pieces or vibrate with shows by names like Marshmello, Travis Scott and Deadmau5 – a development that follows the rise in popularity around virtual shows and broadcast on platforms like Twitch and Facebook. Travis Scott’s virtual show in Fifteen days, for example, was watched by more than 12 million players.

Along with the social elements of these games is a growing community lexicon of words and expressions, some of which are influenced and infiltrated popular culture. See the wild popularity of Fifteen days emotes, which have become a form of personal expression for players, as well as the most recognizable, but controversial, symbols of the game – often appropriated without credit to the original artists. These emotes can be used as a victory dance to insult defeated players or, in the case of rarer emotes like the “Rock Out” and “The Floss” moves, they serve as a bragging rights for players who have played since the very beginning days. Its popularity was even exploited by Epic Games for an emoticon competition, which encouraged Tiktok users to create dances that can be forever immortalized as a Fifteen days emote.

A similar lexicon can be seen in Heaven: Sons of Light by Thatgamecompany, the studio behind the critically acclaimed art game, Journey. But on the contrary Fifteen days, Sky it is predominantly centered on “expressions” – collectable actions that allow players to communicate silently, from ordinary ones, such as obeisances, to time-limited expressions, such as tousling their hair and playing fighting. Its popularity is evident in the 35 million downloads since its launch on Android last year.

And, of course, there is “sus” in Among us, used to slander an innocent crew member or bring up the most heinous crime in the game: rampant murder. The catchphrase captures the essence of the mobile game: a convenient abbreviation for the word “suspect” and a meme that revolves around some of the funniest moments in the game. It became popular with Among us’ focus on social interaction and cooperation, coupled with simple, straightforward mechanics that make the game incredibly easy to learn. The result is a title that skyrocketed in popularity to become the most played game of all time, with around 500 million monthly users in November.

Like Sky and Fifteen days, Among us it looks like a game made for this era: a balm for self-isolation and tiredness online. These mobile games meet the social connection needs of their players in the midst of the pandemic.

But a game is succeeding, despite these global changes. Conventional wisdom suggests that the pre-pandemic popularity of PokIt ismon Go, a game that explicitly aims to bring people together to explore every nook and cranny of the urban jungle, would have collapsed today. However, 2020 was the year with the biggest gains so far. Developer Niantic has adjusted its features to allow players to hunt for Pokémon from the comfort of their sofas, while helping players connect via remote attacks. It is the exception that confirms the rule: mobile games are thriving because they are crucial to making and maintaining personal connections, while being agile enough to adapt to monumental changes in the zeitgeist.

2020 looked like The flag year for mobile games. As they undergo phases of reinvention or see renewed popularity during this period of self-isolation, they are likely to continue on this trajectory, exploding in popularity for years to come. You will soon see elements of Among us’ bluff feature in a console game or find more social aspects in future RPGs. Its ubiquity – and its cultural impact – can no longer be ignored.