According to SocialPeta and their mobile gaming analytics report for the first half of 2022, the Middle East was the region with the highest average of advertising creatives in 2022 at 387 per month. Israeli game companies in the Middle East gaming industry are looking to merge social and gaming, and several have successfully distributed games. For a deep dive into the Israeli mobile games industry, SocialPeta published the report “Israeli Mobile Game Market Review 2022” in conjunction with GameIS, the Israeli game developers’ association.

Israeli game companies specialize in casual games, which have quickly gained popularity after the pandemic and don’t seem to be about to leave the top charts

China is the country that accounts for the largest number of Israeli app downloads — 15% of the total, which is 1% more than the number of downloads by Israeli users. Russian players also account for 12% of downloads, making them the second-highest foreign users of Israeli games. It is worth noting that Israeli games are also very popular in Vietnam, where they account for 8% of downloads, just 1% less than in the US.

The most produced genre in Israel in 2021 was casual/hyper-casual games, followed by RPGs and simulation games. About 74% of people work on developing social/casual games, followed by about 15% on full games.

Israel — home of the best casual games in the world

Israeli game companies are a relatively new entrant to the global gaming scene, but they have made significant strides in a short period of time. Israeli homegrown game companies have gone from obscurity in the early 2000s to global influence in the industry.

Coin Master, a game developed by Moon Active, is a milestone for the casual gaming sector, with a lifespan of more than 11 years and global player spending of $1.3 billion in 2021. In the hyper-casual and social games sector, Israel is also home to global players such as Crazy Labs and Playtika.

SocialPeta
RAID: Shadow Legends
RAID: Shadow Legends has grossed around $1 billion, thanks to amazing creative ideas combined with real people and CG technology

It seems that Israeli makers are only good at casual games and gameplay, but that argument has proven wrong thanks to the emergence of Plarium Global, an Israeli game company founded in 2009 that is one of the most successful video game studios in the industry, with 380 million gamers worldwide and more than 20 released games. These range from Vikings: War of Clans RPGs and the Stormfall series to casual games such as Lost Island: Blast Adventure.

The company’s best-known product is RAID: Shadow Legends. Released in 2019, the game quickly overtook the RPG market in Europe and the US. The game has been downloaded more than 60 million times and grossed around $1 billion thanks to an effective advertising strategy. This year, its average daily number of ad creatives is 1.1k, with 1.6 times more on Android than iOS.

However, there is a clear downward trend in Android advertising, with the average daily number of creatives on iOS devices exceeding the number of ads on Android devices in mid-May. Products are mainly promoted in North America and Europe, with the number of creatives in the US accounting for 7.85% of the total.

In terms of creativity, RAID far exceeds the industry’s high standards. While most RPG game content is still in UE form, the nature of RAID’s creatives has a striking change in facial expression. Additionally, Plarium’s video production department specialises in integrating games with players’ lives. High-quality CG raises high expectations for the game, and the “down-to-earth” storyline also makes players feel more involved.

Conclusion

The full report published by SocialPeta and GameIS provides a detailed analysis of both an overview of the Israeli mobile games market and the companies releasing mobile games. It also provides insight into advertising creative trends for different game genres worldwide.

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