Is it time to rethink the “Game of the Year” award for mobile?
Introduction
Have you ever been sitting in a meeting – or listening to a podcast, perhaps – where the merits of a game were being discussed and the topic of “Game of the Year” was raised?
Like our peers in film, music, and television, the games industry loves to partake in annual celebrations of talent and creativity, culminating in a singular product that stands above the competition as the year’s most outstanding achievement.
Unlike these other formats, however, the games industry produces experiences that can differ vastly from one platform to the next. The Academy Award for Best Picture is essentially the same product whether viewed in the theaters or on a mobile device, but the Game of the Year award is evaluated quite differently for mobile games than it is for PC and console titles.
The Game Awards, perhaps the industry’s most well-known annual awards gala, characterizes the Game of the Year award as “recognizing a game that delivers the absolute best experience across all creative and technical fields.” The Best Mobile Game award, on the other hand, is simply “for the best game playable on a mobile device.”
Of course, the “best experience” or “best game” doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about the success of the title as a product or business. The same is true of other forms of entertainment – otherwise, we might evaluate superhero movies and boy bands much differently. But movies and music do not come with the same expectations of generating consistent cash flow for multiple years post-launch in the way that mobile games are expected to operate as live services or “forever franchises.”
Further, the “best game playable on a mobile device” skips over much of the nuance around mobile games and their perceptions in the market. While mobile games have historically been viewed skeptically by Western audiences and among the English-speaking enthusiast press, in places like Asia and Latin America mobile is the dominant form of interactive entertainment.
Additionally, the lines between “mobile devices” and consoles are increasingly blurring. Hardware like the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch are bringing PC and console quality games on-the-go, services like Xbox Cloud Gaming are streaming HD games to mobile phones, and game publishers are more frequently turning to cross-platform launch strategies for new titles.
So, what are we to make of Game of the Year awards for mobile titles? Should we disregard them entirely? Do we need to rethink the category? Is there value to an underlying game business in winning the award? We took a closer look at a few recent winners to better understand the impact of various Game of the Year awards for mobile games.
GOTY Overview
Before we dive into the data, let’s first understand the awards process and the various purveyors of annual games industry recognition.
In addition to the aforementioned Game Awards, organizations like BAFTA, AIAS (the D.I.C.E. Awards), and GDC all hand out Game of the Year recognition. For mobile games specifically, annual achievements are recognized by PocketGamer, Google, and Apple.
It’s worth noting that many of these awards celebrations are, in large part, marketing vehicles – particularly when it comes to mobile games. Google and Apple each give out awards for their respective devices (congrats to Roblox on their “Best for Chromebooks” award!) and PocketGamer hands out awards to all manner of mobile ecosystem participants (“Best QA & Localisation Service Provider”; “Best Tools Provider”; “Investment Fund of the Year”; etc.).
Nevertheless, there is at least some semblance of objectivity behind the awards. With the exception of the Google Play and Apple App Store Awards (which do not disclose their processes), the various Game of the Year awards are typically determined by some combination of expert panels and public voting:
As with other forms of media, the voting and nomination processes are important determinants in picking winners. For better or worse, fans will always have a different perspective than working professionals or industry insiders. One need look no further than the Golden Globes for evidence of ways that “insider” voting can go awry. Regardless, these different voting blocs will inevitably have varying opinions on what makes a great game. Only game developers and industry practitioners are likely to concern themselves with the underlying business of these games, and even then it will likely be a secondary consideration.
Given the marketing-forward nature of these awards events, it’s also worth noting the varied reach of these awards shows as it relates to any potential downstream impacts on installs. On the broader end of the spectrum are The Game Awards and the D.I.C.E. Awards, which each feature highly produced live streamed presentations similar to what you might expect from The Academy Awards or Emmys. PocketGamer’s Mobile Games Awards sit somewhere in the middle, hosted at an untelevised London-based “VIP gala.” Apple’s and Google’s approach, on the other hand, is more akin to a press release.
To try and make sense of all these factors, we wanted to analyze a few recent Game of the Year award winners on mobile to see if there is any connection between business success and industry recognition. Using data from our friends at data.ai, we took a closer look at three previous case studies from recent years:
Marvel SNAP
Apex Legends Mobile
Genshin Impact
What the Data Shows Us
Marvel SNAP
D.I.C.E. Award for Mobile Game of the Year (Feb. 24, 2023)
The Game Awards Mobile Game of the Year (Dec. 8, 2022)
In many ways, Marvel SNAP is the game that inspired this article. In our anecdotal experience, the game has been a polarizing topic among industry insiders. Nearly everyone praises the game’s fresh take on the card battler genre, its bite-sized matches perfectly suited to shorter mobile play sessions, and its high level of polish. Yet opinions have been mixed on the game’s success as a business, with many criticizing its underwhelming monetization and user acquisition efforts.
Nevertheless, Marvel SNAP was able to snag Game of the Year awards from arguably the two largest and most widely-viewed gaming awards shows in the 2022 cohort: The D.I.C.E. Awards and The Game Awards. This proved to be an interesting contrast to the awards given out by Apple and Google in the same year, which both went to our next case study, Apex Legends Mobile.
As you’ll see in the charts below, it’s tough to discern any concrete evidence of a spike in downloads or revenue as a result of any awards won. If anything, the spikes in revenue appear more closely aligned with new season releases and card drops.
For context, “The Power Cosmic” season dropped just three days before The Game Awards, and The D.I.C.E. Awards fell between the “Into the Quantum Realm” and “Days of Future Past” seasons, released on Feb. 6th and Mar. 6th, respectively.
While we do observe a roughly 30% increase in both Total Downloads and Organic Downloads from Dec. 8th (the day of The Game Awards) to Dec. 9th, we also see a similar increase from the same period one day earlier and one day later, implying that the game was already on an upward trajectory of downloads and that the award win was at best additive to an existing trend, rather than the cause of a new trend in and of itself. In terms of revenue KPIs, we actually see steady single-digit declines in the days following The Game Awards.
Suffice it to say that the business results following a couple of high-profile Game of the Year awards for Marvel SNAP are relatively unconvincing. But what of SNAP’s rival Game of the Year winner, Apex Legends Mobile? How do business results differ with platform-specific awards? Let’s take a closer look.
Apex Legends Mobile
Apple App Store Award - iPhone Game of the Year (Nov. 28, 2022)
Google Play - Best Overall Game (Nov. 30, 2022)
Because Apex Legends Mobile received its two Game of the Year awards from Apple and Google, respectively, it is a great case study to add more of a platform perspective to this discussion. As mentioned above, Apex lost out to Marvel SNAP in the D.I.C.E. Awards and The Game Awards, but managed to bring home awards from both major mobile app stores – each of which presumably came with some amount of featuring from the respective storefronts.
Apex Legends Mobile also snagged the User’s Choice Award on Google Play, which adds another interesting wrinkle to the discussion of how these awards are selected, given that the other awards shows that also incorporate fan votes revealed very different results:
The Game Awards, which uses a 10% weight on fan votes, gave Mobile Game of the Year to Marvel SNAP
PocketGamer split its 100% publicly-determined Game of the Year award between Marvel SNAP and Subway Surfers Tag.*
* Interestingly, it appears that Apex Legends Mobile may have been disqualified from all PG awards, as its cancellation announcement in early February 2023 came before the PocketGamer Awards took place in late April 2023 and it is not even listed as a nominee for any other awards.
Nevertheless, it’s worth taking a closer look at the data to see if we can glean any further insights. Fortunately, both Apple and Google unveiled their award winners within a few short days of one another, which would (in theory) provide a pretty clear result. However, the data is further muddied by the fact that Apex decided to launch a new Season at nearly the exact same time:
Season 3.5, titled “Underworld,” was unveiled on November 29th, sandwiched right between the two awards wins. This season introduced the character Revenant (a mainstay on the PC and Console versions of Apex), among other updates. Sadly, this would be the game’s final season before it was shut down.
It would appear that the timing of all this was no accident, however, as the Apex team also ran a “We Are the Champions!” login event to coincide with the awards. This obviously would have required some amount of advance notice on behalf of Google or Apple, giving further credence to the marketing-centric approach of these particular awards.
While there is clearly a spike in both downloads and revenue immediately following the two awards, it’s impossible to isolate any impact these may have had separate from the new season launch. We might potentially point to the spike in downloads on Apple as a directional signal, given that it is so much more pronounced than other new season release dates (perhaps the additional Game of the Year featuring resulted in a surge of downloads?), but again, it is difficult to say with any certainty.
Genshin Impact
PocketGamer Mobile Games Awards Game of the Year (Jul. 20, 2021)
The Game Awards Mobile Game of the Year (Dec. 9, 2021)
For our final case study, let’s rewind the clocks to 2021 and take a closer look at Genshin Impact. Genshin took home top honors from both The Game Awards and PocketGamer that year, despite being released in September 2020. Interestingly, it did manage to also win the 2020 awards from both Apple and Google, based upon just a few months of success up to that point.
Interestingly, in the case of the PocketGamer Awards, Genshin Impact somehow missed out on the PocketGamer People’s Choice Award to Tilting Point’s SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off, despite also being nominated. Other also-rans in that category included League of Legends: Wild Rift (winner of that year’s iPhone Game of the Year award) and Slay the Spire (a game whose PC version has won numerous awards), among others. Further reason to ignore the fan vote, perhaps?
As an aside, we found it a bit odd that PocketGamer bestows its awards just over halfway through the year, while the other major mobile games awards all occur at either the end of the year or start of the following year. This results in some weird timing discrepancies, such as awarding Call of Duty: Mobile with Game of the Year in 2020, despite an October 2019 release date. But, we digress…
At first glance, Genshin’s two Game of the Year awards in 2021 seem to coincide with meaningful spikes in both downloads and revenue:
However, upon closer examination, we can quickly dismiss any potential impact of the PocketGamer Awards by tying it to the release of Version 2.0 just a day later (a major game update with a variety of new characters, weapons, events, and more). As for The Game Awards, the picture is less clear: there is no major version release at that time (the award falls between Version 2.3 in November and 2.4 in January), but there are a couple of events running during that time period (“Shadows Amidst Snowstorms,” a Flagship Event, and another Event titled “Bantan Sango Case Files: The Warrior Dog”). While there is no immediate revenue impact noticeable following The Game Awards, Genshin does appear to be riding an upward wave of downloads that may or may not be related.
Takeaways
Hopefully, it’s clear by now that the connection between mobile gaming awards recognition and games business success is tenuous, at best. While it is possible that there may be some marketing-related benefit to winning a coveted “Game of the Year” award, potentially driving some additional downloads, meaningful impacts to business KPIs are far from guaranteed.
So, where does that leave us? This is obviously not a scientific study, but the case studies are telling. As businesspeople, should we just ignore year-end awards entirely?
We believe that there should certainly be a place for recognizing creative and artistic achievements in mobile gaming. It has been our experience that the people working in mobile games are just as dedicated to their craft as those working on any other platform. Showcasing the impressive work of teams like Second Dinner, Respawn, and HoYoverse (formally miHoYo and operated by Cognosphere Pte., Ltd.) is important not only to acknowledge their achievements, but to continue to combat the negative stereotypes associated with mobile games as somehow subpar or lesser than their PC and Console counterparts.
However, we must also acknowledge that creative recognition will almost always be divorced from business success. How, then, should we honor commercial success in a meaningful way that doesn’t devolve into a simple calculation of who made the most money in a given year?
As a fun thought exercise, we decided to put our own spin on what the Deconstructor of Fun Gaming Awards should look like, given all that we’ve discussed above.
The Deconstructor of Fun Gaming Awards
If anything, “Game of the Year” awards are a catalyst for conversations and debates amongst an opinionated industry of players and game makers. From platforms to media outlets, each group has picked their “lane” in how they approach awards.
Maybe there’s no right or wrong way to approach awards, but we’re fairly confident there’s at least an “on brand,” Deconstructor of Fun way to approach awards. The DoF newsletter and This Week in Games (TWiG) podcast gives out their feedback and deconstructions on a weekly basis, but perhaps it’s time to update the DoF Gaming Awards and carve out our own niche in the gaming awards space?
In an effort to capture the lively spirit, snarky tone, and harsh criticism of the TWiG podcast and newsletter, as well as celebrate both the creativity and business acumen of the games industry, here are a few recommendations for the categories for the annual DoF Gaming Awards.
The Talk of the Year (news or trend)
Correction of the Year (what we got wrong BIGLY)
Most Damage Received (Company, platform, genre that took a hit)
You Crushed It! Game Award (Creative and Business success)
Most Disappointing Game
Mice Nuts (the small game we liked to play)
Skeptical and Brilliant Move (Investment, acquisition, talent, etc)
Astute readers will likely have a few questions that immediately come to mind upon reading this list, so allow us to pre-empt with some additional rationale:
You’ll notice that all of the awards are platform-agnostic. We wanted to encourage a relatively level playing field and include nominees from across the ecosystem.
You’ll also notice that we have awards that recognize failure and underachievement. It simply wouldn’t be a DoF awards show without throwing a little shade, and it’s important that we, as an industry, are able to learn from our mistakes.
The “You Crushed It! Game Award” and “Most Disappointing Game” attempt to acknowledge both the business and creative performance of a set of games. Importantly, these awards should be derived relative to a title’s hype and expectations, rather than a straight calculation of which game sold the most units.
As for nominations and voting methodology, the Deconstructor of Fun community has a convenient (albeit, loosely-upheld) gating mechanism (“five years or more experience in the games industry”) that ensures strong representation of industry insiders. This allows for a setup similar to that of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, which runs the D.I.C.E. Awards. Our suggestion would be to open nominations up to the DoF community for all categories, with final nominees and award winners chosen by an expert panel of DoF contributors. We’d also recommend awarding a 100% community-decided “People’s Choice” version of the “Best All-Around Game of the Year (Creative + Business)” award.
By bringing a new perspective to annual awards shows that incorporates business results and eliminates platform distinctions, our hope is to inject greater nuance into the industry discourse about what truly constitutes a successful product in today’s competitive market. Hopefully, in doing so, we can lend a bit more credence and respect to the title of “Game of the Year Winner.”
Written by Matt Dion and Jen Donahoe
Jen Donahoe is a co-host on the Deconstructor of Fun :This Week in Games Podcast. She’s also a Fractional CMO Consultant at JadeInferno Consulting specializing in publishing and marketing strategy services for the game industry.
Matt Dion is the founder of Always Scheming, a research consultancy focused on the future of interactive entertainment. He also writes a newsletter called Dark Tunnels, dedicated to the emerging ecosystem of fully on-chain games.
