The SuperData MMO And MOBA 2016 Market Report Is Here

I love MMO market reports. There's always a new epiphany to be found in the data. Unfortunately, I don't have $2,499 for the full report but SuperData was kind enough to include some interesting tidbits within their free sample.

MMO players choose from countless free-to-play titles, so developers must differentiate their games to lure in new users. -SuperData Market Report

MMOs earned $19.8 billion in 2016, which is 60% of all digital PC game revenue. That's nuts. And free-to-play is killing it.

What's not surprising is that 61% of players player MMOs to play with friends, which reinforces my belief that most MMOs are engaged thanks to peer pressure, "if my friends start playing classic RuneScape tomorrow I'm hopping on board."

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Look at that chart. My god: "Six of the top 10-grossing MMOs are free-to-play games," with League of Legends sitting smug on the throne, raking in $150 million a month, "Yo Riot! Let me get that ;)"

MMO players overwhelmingly use word of mouth to find new games.

Some Western players are addicted to complaining about Asian MMOs but the numbers don't lie; Asian companies dominate with 7/10 top MMOs. Keep in mind many free-to-play MMOs are popular because many people around the world—China—can't afford gaming PCs and subscriptions. An interesting question might be, if everyone had the same standard of living would free-to-play games still be as popular?

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User-generated content is on the rise. Players don't want strictly defined constraints in their game worlds; they want to manipulate their environments and push boundaries—thanks Minecraft. SuperData estimates that 25% of a playerbase leaves an MMO because they have seen all of the game's content, but the addition of user-generated content creates a constant stream that increases retention rate.

There's plenty of data not available in the free sample market report but it's well worth reading over if you have an intrerest in MMO and Moba market analyses. Download your free copy by visiting SuperData's website.