How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Mobile Game App?
Mobile Game App has emerged as a leading mobile application industry experiencing unprecedented growth.
iPhone game app development companies are in search of the right opportunities as the number of mobile gamers continues to grow.
However, game app development is not an easy task.
Along with a great idea and detail-oriented app development process, there is a lot that goes into it.
For instance, game development technicalities, sound strategies, and significant investment.
And, from an entrepreneurial point of view, the cost of developing a gaming app is a crucial aspect.
So, if you are wondering how much does it cost to develop a game app, we have an answer for you.
This article gives you the factors that influence the cost of developing a game.
Also, this article would help you with factors to optimize your entire gaming cost.
So, let’s get started.
Factors Influencing the Game Development Cost
To give a ballpark average of the game development cost, it varies as per the type of the game.
A simple gaming app with minimal functionality may cost between $1000 – 1500.
Whereas a high-level game with complex functionalities and intriguing graphics may range between 200 – 250 USD.
However, a noteworthy aspect when it comes to game development cost is subject to several different factors, including:
- The game development process
- Complex technologies, platforms, and languages used
- Game developer’s technical expertise and experience
- The location of a game development team, and more.
Let’s have a detailed look at each of these factors and how it influences the cost of game development.
- The Game Development Process
The process of developing a successful game app includes several steps that ensure effective game development.
From finalizing the gaming idea and creating a game design document to coding and testing.
From analyzing technical standpoints to implementing strong marketing strategies, the gaming process includes everything.
But, how does it impacts the cost?
As mentioned earlier, game development includes several steps and processes itself.
So, talking about finalizing your game app idea, it might not cost you many investments. However, it requires you to put in plenty of effort and time.
When it comes to choosing the right game app idea, conducting thorough market research is essential.
Evaluating existing games on a similar idea, conducting competitor analysis, and evaluating target audiences’ interest’ everything comes along.
So, in terms of numbers (or investments), market research does not cost enough. However, it requires plenty of time.
Next is designing a game design document that includes all the essential information about the game.
From game technicalities to strategies, target audience, and more, everything goes into it.
The next step is where you specify all the game development technicalities. Preferred platform, languages used, database and libraries, and everything else.
Game prototyping is a crucial step in the game development process. And it has a significant impact on the game development cost.
A prototype is like a blueprint of the game that includes minimal yet important functionalities.
From a developer’s point of view, opting for a prototype first approach can help in reducing development anomalies at the start.
An experienced Android or iPhone game development company also emphasizes game prototyping.
And, as specified by a leading game development company, 20% of the entire cost is dependent on prototyping.
So, whether it’s a simple game or a complex triple-A game, prototyping your game costs 20 – 25% of your entire cost.
Next, in line are the coding and testing phases that are highly crucial and technical.
Here, developers must put their best foot forward to avoid any development glitches and anomalies and ensure credible performances.
- Game Technologies, Platform, and Languages Used
Game prototyping and coding are the most technical phase of the entire game development process.
This is where a developer chooses the right game development technologies, languages, and suitable platforms.
The chosen technical specification significantly impacts the development cost.
For instance, the following are the scenarios in which game development costs may differ:
- Whether you wish to develop a native or cross-platform game
- The chosen game development platform has a wide usage and community or not.
- What is the preferred game development language?
- Who is the target audience, and what are the target devices?
And so on.
All these and several other essential technical factors influence the cost of game development.
Following are the commonly preferred gaming engines by developers globally:
- Unity ($40 per month subscription)
- Unreal Engine ($19 per month subscription)
- Game Maker ($49.9 yearly subscription)
- Godot (Free of Cost)
Another noteworthy feature impacting the cost of game development is the number of features in a game.
The greater the number of features, the higher would be the cost and vice versa.
- Expertise level and Experience of the Game Developer
Along with all the technicalities, choosing an experienced mobile game developer for your project also impacts the cost.
There are several factors that play a vital role in choosing the right game developer.
Following are the important factors that influence the game development choice.
Whether they can understand your approach and game idea or not.
- Their technical expertise in the target market.
- Years of experience.
- Market Insights and knowledge about relevant tools.
- Their communication and interpersonal skills.
All these factors help you decide whether you wish to collaborate with a game developer who can offer sound technical expertise. Or you collaborate with a game development company with systematic approaches and strategies.
Subsequently, your decision impacts the cost of developing your game app.
- The location of the Development Team
The next factor that impacts the game development cost is the location of your development team.
Just like the level of expertise and performance capabilities, development cost also varies with the developer’s location.
For instance, the game development cost in Europe may range between $40 – $100 for a simple game app.
However, it may be different in other parts of the world.
In the USA, the per hour game development charges for a simple game may range between $50 – $120 USD, depending on the number of features.
Wrapping Up
Game development has lately emerged as a leading mobile app development industry because of the growing precedence and preference.
Game development is a technology for creating games that describes the design, development, and release of games. This includes concept creation, design, construction, testing, and release. a game developer could be a programmer, sound designer, artist, designer, or many other roles available in the industry.
Game development can be a difficult and painful process, but nothing can match the pure excitement of the first person to experience the game.
We talked to game developers and reduced the game development process to five phases: prototyping, progress, shipping, monitoring, and repetition. Becoming a game designer is as difficult as entering any other career, but there is additional competition and must always be fresh and relevant. But if you push yourself and keep long-term goals in mind, it can be a rewarding and fulfilling career that is easier to achieve than anything else.
People from all around the world, belonging to different professions and industries, and even age groups enjoy gaming apps.
This has opened new doors of opportunities for entrepreneurs and game development companies.
A substantial aspect to consider here is the cost of game development.
This article has summed up some of the important factors influencing game development cost to help you make better decisions.
While here are some of the essential factors influencing the gaming cost, there are several others that depend on your game app’s nature and choice.
