Unity 2021 Gaming Report

Unity 2021 Gaming Report

Unity 2021.3.

https://create.unity3d.com/2021-game-report

Contents

Key takeaways 4

About the data 5

About Unity Operate Solutions 6

2020 in review 7

Mobile monetization in 2020 15

2020 F2P mobile game survey 20

Gaming engagement in 2020 25

Multiplayer games: PC and console 28

Predictions for 2021 32

UNITY FOR GAMES

2021 Gaming Report

We’ve put together this report to help you learn more about how gamer behaviour shifted in a year full of upheaval.

In 2020 we were staggered by the amount the community who use our platforms were able to achieve, despite the challenging circumstances.

Every month, there are 5B downloads of apps built in Unity. There are now 2.8B monthly active end-users who are engaging with content created or operated by Unity solutions in 2020.

This data has formed the bedrock of this paper, giving you insight into how those who engage with content operated by and made in Unity interacted with their games during a year that changed human behavior across the world.

Our key findings are listed below, but be sure to download the full report for much more detail, actionable insights, as well as predictions for 2021 and beyond.

Key takeaways

Unity remains the game engine of choice with 61% of developers surveyed using it, and the second most popular choice as a mobile ad network.

COVID-19 had a notable impact on the way people play video games. The volume of HD gaming (video games on PC, macOS, and other desktop platforms with graphics typically rendered in high definition) rose by over 38% in 2020. Additionally, play has shifted to weekdays, and this trend held well beyond the onset of the pandemic – the difference between weekday and weekend gaming increased by 52%, in weekday gaming’s favor.

Mobile gaming also saw strong positive impact in 2020. When comparing this year’s growth to last year’s, first day microtransaction purchases were up more than 50% year over year, and ad revenues saw over 8% growth. This is on top of already strong baseline growth rates for both in-app purchases (IAP) and ad revenue.

Creating new content to delight and engage players should still be a top priority for game developers. On average, large new content updates for live games resulted in peak concurrent user spikes of over 11%.