How to reduce the cost of mobile game development?

There is a wealth of information available on the internet, predicting the growth of the mobile app gaming business. One such prediction says the mobile game industry is about to generate $100 billion in revenue in 2020. 

It could be very lucrative to entrepreneurs and mobile game developers, but one more figure may silence their expectations. The development cost of high-end mobile games is estimated at around 1-2 million dollars or even more. 

The app development cost is the primary concern of developers, and they persistently try to keep them down without compromising the quality of the game.

The cost of developing a game app depends on the types or genres of mobile games that you are planning to launch as well as upon the features. Not just gaming apps, but even regular apps could shoot up to millions of dollars.  So what are the ways a developer can reduce the cost of the app? 

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Ways to reduce the cost of mobile game development 

1)  Thorough requirement gathering

Gathering the requirements and putting them in the form of documentation allows the development team to have a clear picture of the client’s business purposes. Later the business requirements are translated into tech requirements for the developers to work on, making sure that there’s no misinterpretation between what they will design and what is actually needed. It keeps the client and developer on the same page and reduces the cost behind debugging an app. It also saves a lot of development time as the process gets into momentum. s

2) Cut down the features - MVP/ MUP ( Minimal Usable Product)

In a quest to create exceptional games, sometimes clients often pack the app with too many features.  It will not only increase the development cost but also makes the app slow. The client can sit with developers and narrow down the necessary features that could save the cost and improve the game’s performance. The alternate and best way is to use MVP/MUP. The technique lets you analyze the market demand for your product and determine whether or not customers are willing to pay for it. If they are not, they can opt to remove or simplify that feature. It’s reasonable to launch the first version of your product with minimum functionality by using MVP/MUP. 

3) Cross platform development

It is true that native apps can optimize speed, results, and performance of the app, but it is also true that developing an app for multiple platforms such as iOS, Android, Windows can increase your mobile app development cost.  So try to build your gaming app for the cross-platform instead of the native app. 

4) Outsource mobile game app development project

Would you believe if I say that a Francisco-based studio can cost, on average, 22% more than an agency based out of New York City, which in turn is about 19% more than what you can find in Rochester, New York. The idea behind mentioning these metrics is that even if you onshore your game development project, there is a huge price variation. Then imagine how much it will save you if you outshore them to other countries.

5) Avoid using custom graphics

It will always cost you more if you are going for a custom user interface and animations for your mobile app. It is a best practice to go for standard interface and animation rather than custom features.   

6) Smart use of technology stack

The choice of technology stack could make a significant difference in the overall app development cost.  For example, developers can use a backend tool such as Firebase. These types of tools enable you to create a database and authentication in no time. Developers can also use a reactive native framework that helps to reduce the app development time and hence the app development cost.  Other tools you can consider are Flutter SDK, Unity 3D, and Ionic. Likewise, you can even use free cloud services, free APIs, etc.

7) Simple UI/ UX design

For some, it is difficult to believe, but it is true that the key to successful apps lies in a simple UI/UX design.  Minimalism is always bound to give out the better user experience and helps to lower the development cost.

Though the above tips may help to reduce the cost of mobile app games significantly, having an expert around indeed makes a difference.