2026: The Breakthrough Year for Mobile Games?
Stage 2 - Mobile Track | Confex Level 1
Panel
~All~BusinessCultureMobile
Information
Mobile games are integral to the global games industry, engaging 3 billion players and generating nearly half of all industry revenue. Yet, despite their cultural and creative impact, mobile games are too often sidelined from major awards and critical recognition - even as they drive innovation, accessibility, and new forms of storytelling.
Join a panel of games professionals as they discuss the biases holding mobile back and chart a path toward a more inclusive, celebrated future for the medium.
Target Audiences
Professionals outside of mobile who may not seen the potential/influence of the mobile gaming sector (studio heads, directors, founders)
Experience Level
Intermediate
Key Take Aways
- Mobile games deserve better. As an industry, we do not recognise this vital part of gaming.
- At the recent UK BAFTA Game Awards, not a single mobile-first or mobile-exclusive game was listed as a winner or nominee.
- Of the world’s 3.42 billion gamers, 3 billion play mobile games. They are the most popular, most played games there are.
- Titles like Gubbins, Assemble With Care, 80 Days, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery, Year Walk, Rymdkapsel, Alto's Adventure, and Sneaky Sasquatch – these have had successful ports to console and mobile, or been important to their genre.
- Industry voices tell mobile developers: ‘your work doesn’t count’ and ‘mobile games aren’t the real thing’. This is wrong.
- Are there too many mobile games with aggressive monetisation methods? Yes. Here at Midjiwan, we made The Battle of Polytopia as a direct response to just that. But there are also many console and PC releases built to aggressively monetise. We’re not alone.
- And yet we celebrate the best from those worlds. So let’s do the same for mobile. Then we will see creativity blossom, support IPs that grow beyond games, and advocate for studios that are skilling up future creatives.
Session Type
Panel
