In the era of constantly drifting attention span, user-engagement rate is a key element that drives the gaming world. Due to technological advancements, the world of mobile games saw an ascent steep of incorporating raging technologies in different game genres. Hence, game developers are leveraging these technologies to create engaging player experiences.
Hybrid games are one of the emerging trends in mobile gaming apps giving rise to the game app dynamics. This is accredited to incorporating the cutting edge technologies in gaming apps. What makes hybrid games a popular choice is the fact that they boost the average player session time significantly.
Speaking of attention span, Did you know that Hybrid games have grabbed the attention of investors and game publishers for two primary reasons? The first is the profitability factor and the other one is the greater engagement factor. Also, the session time for players in Hybrid games exceeded twice that of Hyper casual games. We know these two reasons are not the sole factor that validates the popularity of Hybrid games, so what’s more let’s find out.
What are Hybrid casual games?
Hybrid casual games are like an extension of Hyper casual games. Playing Hyper casual games gets monotonous after some time. Hence, gamers are bored easily and they need a quick switch. To cater to this derogatory player dynamics, hybrid games entered the gaming market
Hybrid games are a blend of hyper casual and mid-cores modern games. More like the best of both worlds in its offering to keep the interest of the players intact. It offers a simple gaming interface with minimalist graphics and features of the hyper casual games. It also adds a meta layer of complexity and challenges like mid-core modern games.
The idea of adding an immersive layer of depth invokes an interest in the players as it keeps boredom at bay. Furthermore, it allows avid players to make strategic moves rather than indulging in completely mindless games.
- Hybrid casual games are easy to pick up without any prior insight into the game dynamics.
- It offers a better story plot, simple yet immersive game mechanism and other player opponents.
- Hybrid games bring forth a perfect recipe for enhancing player engagement and retention rate
That’s what makes such games a rising star in the latest mobile gaming app trends. To sum up, Hybrid game types combine the core elements of different game genres. For instance, Project makeover is a casual game blended with puzzling levels. Here, the user finds their perfect makeover and is ready to impress the client.
Examples of successful Hybrid casual games
The idea of Hybrid gaming is like delivering the best offerings from both worlds. It incorporates aspects of different game genres to create an intriguing and rich gaming experience. This creates a balance with its ease of use features yet creates an hyper engaging gameplay mechanism that indulges a wide pool of target audiences.
Incorporating leader dashboards and social features keeps the players enticed in the game to keep returning for something unique. This is an example of hyper engaging gameplay. Due to this, there is an exponential rise in the retention rate of players and the number of downloads in the past few years.
Some of all time favorite examples of Hybrid games include
1. Angry bird 2
The iconic sequel to the Angry Birds adds unique elements like characterization, daily scorekeeping and leaderboards. The players can upgrade to bigger birds, upgrade their capabilities with powerplay game dynamics and tough fights with their opponents.
This iconic game incorporates social features and leaderboards to keep the player hooked to their daily scores. And much more beyond that! Seems like a perfect example!
2. Clash Royale
A multiplayer strategy card game that incorporates RPG elements that assist them in deck-building. Once the player builds bigger card decks they begin competing with their opponent players. It is a strategic game that is easy to pick up with.
3. Candy crush Saga
Much talked about Candy Crush Saga, it incorporates elements of brain teasing and hyper casual games, character progression and pets. The entire approach revolves around adding a layer of immersiveness and depth to the game. This allows the player to unlock 100s of levels in the game. Players can compete against each other and participate in the weekly events.
What makes Hybrid games stand out? Core elements
Now let us have a brief overview of the factors that have contributed to its overall success and usability. Let’s evaluate the core features of these games.
1. Hyper casual or Arcade gameplay mechanics
The Hybrid games generally incorporate hyper casual gameplay mechanics that are easy to begin with but complex to master. This follows a really simple and intuitive interface. Furthermore, the easy to use interface with minimalist features makes it really easy. For players, it allows them to pick up the gaming story plot in Swift.
So, in the hyper casual gameplay of the core is an ebay to operate interface. But by unlocking every challenge it unlocks a greater difficulty level. The entire game dynamics in Hybrid games is that it instantly rewards the players after unlocking the different levels in the game.
For instance, Project makeover is the most recent and popular example of a Hybrid casual game. What makes this game a popular one is its storyline. After unlocking different levels, there comes a unique story with a different background story. This game’s mechanics remains the center of attraction as it entices the players to keep gravitating back to the match level to reach the final stages of a makeover.
2. Character power progression
The character progression is one of the core factors that make hybrid games dramatically engaging and worth enticing for. The reward system motivates the player to upgrade to every level. It hooks the players to make strategic moves and critical thinking to excel in the game.
For example, if a player is stuck amidst a level, he can leverage these bonus points, live ops and time to finish the particular levels. This allows the players to take fair and doable actions to pave their way higher, Eventually it increases the retention rate of players in the game.
Adding RPG elements fosters a sense of willingness to play for longer periods. It makes them indulge in the competitive environment to upgrade their skills and enhance their performance. For this, there has to be a lot of content and levels for power progression.
3. Social features and live ops
Social features and live events in hybrid games are integrating messaging features, creating a friend list and sending friend requests to other players. It allows players to share their progress and badges on the social media platforms. Integrating social features will allow community building of players with similar interests. For instance, establishing weekly virtual events where they can share or receive virtual gifts creates a community of like minded individuals on social media platforms.
Furthermore, adding dynamic features like leaderboards and social tournaments gives a competitive edge to the players. What this does is it creates that tingle of excitement amongst players elevating their engagement and retention rate. Live ops in such games allows developers to analyze the player behavior thoroughly. This further assists game developers in learning about player preferences and behaviors. Based on user analytics, game developers can make significant improvisations to enhance their game design and development process. This helps in creating seamless and upgraded user experiences.
4. Additional features & Meta layers
One of the most important layers for Hybrid games. This is a crucial layer that differentiates Hybrid casual games from Casual and hyper casual games. It adds more depth to the game while leveraging elements from casual games, Hyper casual games and mid core games.
- Customization – Customization is key to delivering personalized experiences. Adding a layer of customization like a particular theme, background music or character modifications. What customization does is that it caters to the diverse interests of players. Therefore, it appeals to a wider range of audience.
- Narrative storytelling– A unique narrative creates the base for indulging a diverse user base. Narrative storytelling creates a subversive plot that attracts players to keep drifting back for more. It adds a layer of meaningful player progression.
- Ease of use with skills difficult to master – The Hybrid games offer an interface with minimalist features. Therefore, it becomes very easy to learn about it as it has easy to control navigation features.
Monetization strategies for Hybrid games
One of the key features of why hybrid game categories are widely adopted amongst game developers is their ability to monetize. As the number of games accelerates in the gaming app market, it becomes imperative to create monetization opportunities.
More so, it is about striking a balance between attracting more players to put their chips on the game without pushing the edge. Creating a monetization model for a hybrid game category is quite a strategic move. The reason is that those games open doors to plenty of potential opportunities for you to make money. One can say they are pretty compatible with profitable engagements and earnings while entertaining a huge user base.
The monetization model in hybrid games incorporates the following features:-
In-app purchases- The monetization model allows the players to purchase in-app features like customization features cosmetics or seasoned passes. Again, this doesn’t have any interruption in the core gameplay.
Some of the convenient features include eliminating the ads removal subscription, resources boosters for a seamless player experience.
Game currencies – The in-app game currencies allow players to purchase the game coins with real word money. Quite a lucrative move! This eases the player by upgrading them to higher levels when they’re stuck.
Premium features – Offers a range of premium features like early passes of weekly events, access to premium features that make their gaming experience more intriguing and fun. But Again, this doesn’t mess up the core gameplay dynamics.
Advertising for extra boosts The ads display is great for showcasing sponsored content on the app. This feature delivers boosts of game currencies or extra points in exchange for watching ads on the platforms. This model provided free coins and leveraged the gaming platforms by running sponsored content in the form of targeted advertising.
What’s next
Hybrid casual games emerged with the need for creating better engagement and fun experiences for players. The evolution of casual games and hyper casual games gave rise to this distinctive game genre.
Undeniably, hybrid casual games are a trendsetter in the gaming industry and are likely to thrive in the coming years. However, developing a Hybrid casual game requires a strategic game design and development process. It is a tricky move as it needs game development with high expertise and experience working across multiple game genres. Game developers need to have an in-depth experience and a knowledge base.
How can Yudiz help you deliver exceptional Hybrid Casual Games?
Yudiz is a prominent player as it is the leading Hybrid game development company delivering end-to-end game development solutions. We have a widely diverse gaming portfolio with extended expertise in games of different genres. Our top-tier game developers can help you carve a smoother game development journey.
Do you wanna build a gaming app with an easy to comprehend user interface? Do you wish to develop a game with added meta layers of depth and a narrative story plot? Look no further! Allow us to brainstorm your ideas to help you ace your Hybrid game development journey.
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