Mobile Game Development Cost in India (2023)

Mobile game development is in demand and seeking growth in the coming future. There will be more than 2.32bn mobile gamers in the world by 2027. Thanks to games like PUBG and Call of Duty which are close to reality. In this guide, we will explore game development costs in India and the USA. We will calculate how much does it cost to make a game app in different categories.

According to reports, in the six months of the PUBG launch, the collected revenue was about half a billion dollars. The industry is booming and creating opportunities for mobile game developers globally. In the year 2023, the revenue collection is expected at around US$286.50bn which was recorded up to 69.7 billion USD In 2015. That’s around 3 times growth within 5 years. The Mobile game development market is booming in countries like India and the USA.

In this digital era, best mobile games like PUBG and Call of Duty are some of the most played games worldwide, due to their addictive nature and class-apart features. Gamers love to play games that involve amazing graphics, multilevel challenges, and outstanding features. And games like PUBG are offering this with the use of innovative technologies like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, which are taking mobile app game development to the next level.

If you are having any idea about mobile game development and want to develop a game that ensures long-term revenue. You need to consider factors that influence mobile game development cost. And consult with the mobile game development company in India or mobile game developers available for hire in the market. It’s important to choose an ideal partner that suits your requirements.

Mobile Game Development Cost Factors

1. Mobile Game Development Platform

Before developing a mobile game it’s important to decide who is your target audience which platform will serve your audience base. The most preferred platforms for mobile game app development are Android, iOS, and Windows. Android and iOS game development are the ones that cover the majority of the market share in mobile gaming.

For your information, the game app development for iOS devices costs higher than the Android devices since the development of payments structure and admin panel is quite expensive comparatively.

On the other hand, if you choose hybrid game app development it will cost even pricier than the native game app. Since it covers a larger market share and earns massive money.

2. Design Layout of Mobile Game

The design layout is a crucial aspect to attract the targeted audience. It consists of game levels, gameplay, and game layout that must be preplanned to bring your graphical imagination into reality. Also, it allows to include additional features to enhance gamers’ interest in the game.

It can only be achieved with the help of a dedicated team for design and development including players like UX, UI designers, game artists, and architects. Each individual charges between $15 to $50 per hour based on their experience and expertise in the domain.

3. Concept And Storylines

To make a mobile game success the storyline and concept should be engaging that can keep users connected until the end of the game. It needed efforts to work on every single detail designing the character, the personality of the character, its dialect, and deciding the tone for different characters and their behavior with the users.

Experts who perform such creative activities ask for payment of $30 to $80 per hour for a project. Such development requires a lot of interaction between the ideators and professional strategists. So it would be good to hire a team of in-house developers or approach near shore mobile game developers for hire if you are getting good pricing for your project development without compromising on quality.

Mobile Game Development Cost in India

After the completion of the planning phase, the next step one takes is the development of the game app. One of the most important and expensive phases in mobile game app development. Also, it helps in deciding the overall mobile game app development cost considering the type of game app you want to develop, a casual gaming app, a social gaming app, or a simulation app.

It is easy to categorize games based on their complexities.

How Much Does it Cost to Make a Mini-Game?

Mini-games are those games that do not require any specific skills to play the game like Ping Pong or Pac-Man. These games share minimal visuals and the endless chase. The Mini mobile game development costs you around $2,000 but the requirement of added graphics may increase your set budget by around $10,000.

How Much Does it Cost to Make a Simple 2D Game?

The games which comprise basic 2D graphics and soundtrack fall in the category of simple 2D games. These games are capable of offering a great user engagement rate which results in increasing business and generating good revenue. To develop such games the cost may range between $10,000 to $20,000. The best examples of simple 2D games are Red Ball and Stack.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop Social Game App?

The games were developed using SDKs provided by social media platforms called Social games. To develop social games, you need to spend an amount ranging from $18000 to $30000. Games like Farmville fall into this category and on social media platforms like Facebook, multiple players can play at a time. As with browser games, social gaming apps require limited data access to enjoy the gameplay.

Mid Level Mobile Game Development Cost

The mobile games which consist of multiple levels, different characters, story, and outstanding graphics falls in the category of mid-level games. Angry Bird is one of the popular examples of mid-level games.

In such games, the variety and depth in the content play a vital role to keep the gamers engaged with the game for a long time and keep on returning. The mobile game app development for mid-level games costs around $10,000 to $50,000.

Business Mobile Game Development Cost

Business game applications are majorly focused on engaging a large group of people. Currently, these games are being developed by modern-day businesses to improve their team-building efforts. Using these applications companies are improving communication, enhancing creativity among their employees by offering them a fun and engaging work environment.

In fact, business game applications are multiplayer games that are compatible with cross-platforms. They involve an amazing storyline, graphics, animation, game levels, and soundtrack. From enterprise companies to small and mid-sized businesses are using these game applications for branding their businesses in a unique way and getting benefitted with lead generation and closing of more sales.

The mobile game app development for business game applications requires expenditure somewhere in between $5000 to $1,00,000. So before spending such a huge amount, it’s vital to choose an expert mobile game developer for hire or a renowned mobile game app development company that can deliver a customized business solution to fulfill all your requirements.

High-Level Games

The games with a comprehensive plan, strategy, and complex design fall in the category of high-level games. The development of high-level games requires a huge amount. However, once the game hits the right audience and gets popular, it’s easier to generate volume.

So choosing an ideal partner for the development of such high-level games is a must, since you are going to spend a huge amount of time and money on the project. The development of high-level games and their release sometimes takes more than a year. While the expenditure may vary from $10,000 to $1,00,000 to develop high-end mobile games.

Mobile Game Development Tools/Engines

1. Unity

Unity game development in the gaming industry is the most popular and highly preferable mobile game development tool among game developers. It is because this outstanding game creation tool from Unity Technologies allows developers to build visually amazing 2D and 3D games with top-notch features. Also, developers can team up to work on a single project or multiple projects simultaneously using this tool. In case, there is a need for importing assets to make your creation more attention-worthy, you are free to purchase different assets from Unity’s store.

This easy-to-use and notorious game creation software-Unity supports the development of games for the following platforms.

• Android
• iOS
• Windows Phone
• Fire OS
• Tizen OS

Some most popular games developed using Unity Software are:

Pokemon Go, Lara Croft Go, Angry Birds 2, etc.

Unity Subscription Plans

• Students/Beginners: Free
• Plus Edition: $40/Month
• Pro-Edition: $150/Month
• Enterprise Edition: $200/Month

2. Titanium

In the list of most popular mobile game development tools, Titanium managed to reserve its place on the second spot, due to its facilities like modular programming and development of a single code base for different mobile devices. Thanks to such convenience offered by the Appcelerator developed tool, game developers do not require to invest much time in coding and simply can create mobile games without juggling among different toolkits and languages. An aids of more than 5000 APIs also make game development much easier using the Titanium platform.

Game apps developed using Titanium supports are listed below platforms:

• Android
• iOS
• HTML5
• Hybrid

Whereas, the most popular games rolled out using Titanium are:

• Crash Trilogy
• Prototype 1 & 2

Titanium Subscription Plans

• Indie Version (Basic): Free
• Pro Version: $199/ month
• Enterprise Version: Custom pricing

3. Cocos2d-X

As the name suggests, Cocos2d-X is a 2D game development tool that enables developers to perform all the game development-associated tasks in a single place. Likewise, resource management, game debugging, previewing, multi-platform publishing, etc. This game development suite is an offering from the Social Media giant, Facebook. That’s why the platform enjoys large community support and detailed documentation, which makes it easier for beginners or experienced ones to develop 2D games effortlessly.

Using Cocos2d-X, developers can build mobile games for different platforms like-

• Android
• iOS
• HTML5
• Windows
• Mac

Some of the most popular games rolled out using Cocos2d-X are:

Clash of Kings, Brave Frontier, and Angry Birds Fight.

Cocos2d-X Subscription Plan:

It is available free to use.

4. Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine is a game development tool that comes with user-friendly features that end up the need for making changes to existing code or crafting a section. That’s why Unreal Engine is highly preferable as it did not require any sort of expert knowledge in coding game apps. And beginners can effortlessly craft and test a successful mobile game using the framework’s outstanding features. Unreal Engine allows the creation of impressive 3D graphics that easily manages to hold the users to the game.

Unreal Engine Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Linux
• Windows PC
• Mac OS X
• SteamOS
• VR platforms
• Sony PlayStation 4
• Xbox One
• HTML5

Examples of most popular games built using Unreal Engine

Lineage II: Revolution, ABC Augmented Reality and Heart at Attack

Unreal Engine Subscription Plan

For Beginners and startups: it’s free
Business with gross revenue $1,000,000 or more: Asks payment of 5% royalty.

5. Solar2D

Last, on the list, we curated for the most popular game development tool is Solar2D. Solar2D is a cross-platform game development tool that is also known as “Corona SDK”. This platform is a 2D game engine that uses Lua scripting language for coding. An easy programming language that a beginner can also learn and build a 2D game on its own. Additionally, a real-simulation feature of Solar2D among others helps developers to see how the app will look after making changes. Large community support, clear documentation and availability of numerous plugins in the Corona Market place, makes Solar2D, one of the most preferred game development tools globally.

Solar2D Supported Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• Mac OS
• tvOS
• Android TV
• HTML5
• Linux

Some examples of popular games built using Solar2D: I love Hue, Grow Beets Clicker

Solar2D Subscription Plan

Free to use

Mobile Game App Testing

Game app testing is an important part of mobile game development. So always keep a separate amount for mobile game app testing. Since no one likes games with bugs and slow performance.

While the testing process ensures game development with no issue, outstanding performance, and rich user experience. However, the game development companies mostly provide testing services as a part of the entire project lifecycle. But it would be better if you keep a certain amount aside for the testing of the mobile game app.

Mobile Game App Marketing

No matter how awesome a product you have launched in the market. Your product is not going to be popular on its own. You have to market your mobile game app to make it viral. Marketing is very important after the development of the mobile game in countries like India and the USA.

Also, you need to have a certain amount and strategy to market the product timely. It helps increase visibility and rankings in the Apple and Google Play store. This strategy for online marketing of the apps is known as App Store Optimization.

Why Choose NineHertz? Best Mobile Game Development Company

There are many reasons why you should choose NineHertz as your mobile game development Studio. We have a team of experienced and passionate game developers who are dedicated to delivering high-quality mobile games. We use the latest cutting-edge technologies to develop interactive and engaging games that will keep you glued to your screens.

We have a proven track record in developing successful mobile games. Our games have been downloaded millions of times and have received critical acclaim from both users and industry experts. We are constantly innovating and pushing the boundaries of mobile game development to create new gaming experiences for our players.

We offer a complete suite of services for mobile game development, from concept to launch. We will work with you to understand your vision and requirements and create a game that will exceed your expectations. We offer end-to-end mobile game development services, including game design, development, testing, deployment, and support.

• 12+ years of experience
• 1789+ projects delivered
• 450+ clients worldwide
• 575+ dedicated professionals
• 15+ countries served
• 100% quality assurance
• 100% client satisfaction

Conclusion: Mobile Game Development Cost in India

Extended use of smartphones for entertainment has increased the demand for mobile app game development. Once the game hits the right audience it ensures long-term revenue generation. But there is always a question in the mind of the person wishing to develop a mobile game app that how much it would cost to develop a mobile game app.

Therefore, it is crucial to consult the above-mentioned factors that affect the pricing of mobile app game development. With the mobile game development company or mobile game developers going to hire for your project. Here is a complete guide on how to hire mobile game developers.

Hope this blog will help you understand the factors that influence the pricing of mobile game app development.

FAQ’s on Game App Development Cost in India

1. How Much Does it Cost to Develop a Mobile Game?

Mobile game development is a rapidly growing industry. With emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), their numbers will only increase. Mobile games are the most downloaded app. Estimating the mobile game development cost depends on many factors including type, design, story, testing, etc. You may have to spend anywhere from $3000 to $100000 to develop the game.

2. How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Game Developer?

Game development is a process of using the latest technology and trends, to develop a successful game; one must have a vision, creativity, talent, and practical experience. The role of a developer is important for attracting and making any game successful. The hourly cost to hire a game app developer is $ 20 to $ 30.00 depending on project specifications. It can also vary according to employment policies.

3. How Much Does It Cost to Make a Game Like Pubg?

PUBG is a high-level mobile gaming app with many features. Such games are usually developed by experienced professionals and involve high development costs. These games include an amazing level of detail. Developing games of this standard requires intensive efforts over designing, planning, and even at least a one-year timeframe. The total estimated cost to develop an entire game like PUBG is around $ 100k to $ 150k.

4. What is the Mobile Game Development Process?

You have to follow them one by one to turn the mobile game development idea into reality. Mobile game development process –

• Choose a game idea
• Create an attractive game concept
• Prepare a game design document
• Plan for wireframing
• Write code
• Testing
• Release the game app
• Take care of support and maintenance

5. Which is the Best Game Development Company in India?

India is progressing well in parallel with other countries in digital gaming and gaming technology. If you have an innovative gaming idea in mind, India is making some outstanding contributions to the gaming market globally. There is no dearth of reputed gaming industry companies in India catering to the growing demand for interactive games, but the top game app development company in India is The NineHertz.