3 factors to make your mobile game go viral

If you want your mobile game to go viral, here are 3 things you can keep in mind while developing one 👇🏻

Over the past few days, I analyzed a few mobile games that went viral, including:

-Dumb Ways to Die
-Bacon the game
-Cats & Soup
-Like a Dino!
-Among us

Going viral here refers to getting a huge boost in organic downloads in a short period of time.

1️⃣ 2𝐃 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
Most viral mobile games have a 2D character as the protagonist.
Why? It’s in the art.
2D games allow for quirky, cute, and unique characters that integrate with fun mechanics/story and captivate a broad audience.

2️⃣ 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭

Remember ‘Dumb Ways to Die’? A decade-old game, yet it recently surged back to the top.
Similarly, ‘Among Us’, though released in 2018, gained massive popularity during the COVID era.

Their secret? Content that resonates with platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

For ‘Dumb Ways to Die’, their catchy soundtrack became a TikTok trend.
‘Among Us’ intrigued players with its engaging setting, characters, and spaceship.

3️⃣ 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞

Games like ‘Bacon The Game’ and ‘Cats & Soup’ integrate social sharing features via a button in the win screen.

While players shared quirky images of bacon in unexpected places on Twitter from the former, the latter lets users post pictures of farm cats on platforms like Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter.

Such in-game sharing features naturally amplify the game’s reach, bringing in a genuine and organic audience.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
What game are you making? Steam or Mobile? Comment below👇🏻
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
I am Anul 👋
👨🏻‍💻 I post insights, memes, and how-to’s around the games industry
🎮 Follow to level up your game development & design