According to a paper published by Statista, “smartphone games accounted for 45 percent of video gaming revenue worldwide”, making it the most profitable gaming platform in existence. And there are no signs this growth will stop any time soon!
In less than 15 years, mobile gaming went from a spark, a platform that showed potential to the widespread behemoth it is. It’s not that shocking when you realize almost everyone you know owns a smartphone nowadays, but accounting for almost half of the gaming industry revenue is quite the feat.
Unsurprisingly, all this success got thousands of people interested in making mobile games. One of the best ways to get into game development is to use Unity, a game engine best-known for being friendly for beginners. Speaking of it, did you know that around half of all mobile games are made with Unity?
In this post, we will list 6 incredible games for smartphones that were made with the Unity game engine, talking a little bit about their features, gameplay, graphics and revenue, showcasing how powerful and versatile Unity is as a game engine.
Let’s get started!
1. Alto’s Adventure
Made by Snowman and distributed by Noodlecake Studios, Alto’s Adventure was an instant success when deployed to the Apple App Store. Then, it was only a matter of time until it happened again – but within the Android gamers community instead. It’s such a successful game that it was later ported to Linux and Windows.
This mobile game built with Unity has a very simple premise: it’s an endless runner, with its main point being rescuing runaway llamas while avoiding obstacles. Yeah, it’s another one of those games that are easy to learn, but hard to master.
With over a hundred goals to conquer and multiple characters to unlock, this game is sure to entertain you for dozens of hours.
For a 2D game, the graphics are stunning. Alto’s Adventure makes excellent use of parallax and minimalist landscape backgrounds to convey a sense of depth, which it does masterfully. Really, it’s insane how aesthetically pleasing this 2D game looks.
This title generates revenue through ads and in-app purchases. The game is also a pay-to-play title for iOS users, but it’s 100% free for Android users.
2. Monument Valley 2
Made by ustwo games following the huge success of its first iteration, Monument Valley 2 follows the same guiding principles that made the first game awesome and expands it even further, bringing a collection of new puzzles and challenges to tackle on as a player.
Its minimalistic isometric visuals and wonderfully atmospheric soundtrack help the player get immersed by the game’s story, which is pretty simple, but gets tense at times. Monument Valley 2 is a puzzle game that makes players deal with impossible objects (like the Penrose stairs), mazes and optical illusions in order to beat the game.
All the revenue this game generates comes from their sales. It currently costs $4.99 on Google’s Play Store and comes free with a Google Play Pass subscription.
3. Orbit
Orbit is another simple game that was created using the Unity game engine. According to the developers, it “is a gravity simulator at the heart of a puzzle game”.
Orbit’s premise is as simple as its flat-colored visuals: you are asked to launch small planets around black holes, but there’s a catch. The planets must NOT get sucked into the black hole, and they aren’t allowed to collide with each other.
If you have a grasp on how gravity works, you probably understand how hard this game can get when we’re talking about two or more black holes. This game really makes you appreciate how beautiful unpredictable, chaotic systems can be.
Orbit makes its revenue from in-app purchases and ads.
4. Crossy Road
Developed and published by Hipster Whale, Crossy Road is the modern recreation of a classic arcade game called “Frogger”. The goal is simple: all you have to do is cross the road as a chicken.
Yeah, it’s yet another endless runner (like Alto’s Adventure), but at least it puts an end to the centuries-old conundrum: “why did the chicken cross the road?”
The answer is coins! You can use them to unlock special characters (known in game as “mascots”) with the Prize Machine. As of this post, there are 260+ playable mascots that can be unlocked through varying methods. Some of those will also add different visual elements to the game, increasing Crossy Road’s replayability.
Speaking of the visuals, it’s a 3d game with simple, but visually appealing voxel art for everything. It comes with a simple shading system, which does wonders for performance, allowing most smartphones to run it with no stuttering issues.
Crossy Road generates income from video ads (which players can watch for coins) and character sales.
5. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
From the same company that brought World of Warcraft and Overwatch to the world, Hearthstone is yet another banger by Blizzard Entertainment. This game is their take on a digital collectible card game (DCCG) and it’s arguably one of the most known titles in the genre along with Legends of Runeterra and Magic: The Gathering Arena.
Despite having its reputation tarnished by Blizzard’s greed, it’s still considered one of the best turn-based games currently in existence for mobile games, being the golden standard for card games despite being several years old now.
The company behind the game made use of World of Warcraft’s well-known universe as the base for cards, gathering the attention of both new and veteran players alike. With lore this deep and iconic characters, game developers capitalized on this and added custom voice lines for all cards, making Hearthstone a strangely immersive experience.
Blizzard’s DCCG releases three expansions every year, which add new cards for all 10 existing classes and a new mechanic (keyword) to the game, shaking up the meta and keeping the game fresh for current players.
Hearthstone generates most of its income through the sale of bundles (which mostly happens when an expansion is just around the corner), card packs and battle passes.
6. Axie Infinity
The recent boom of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) made ripples that resounded throughout the gaming industry, leading to the creation of NFT games. Axie Infinity is one of those games, which also happens to currently be one of the most popular in the genre.
It is a pay-to-play game that is also play-to-earn, so you will have to invest a bit in order to start earning some money back. Axie Infinity takes inspiration on titles like Pokémon, as you have to raise your fantastical creatures (called Axies) in order to go to battle with them. Axies can also be traded freely with other players.
Furthermore, it’s possible to buy and win tokens and NFT assets by beating other players in game, which can then be sold to other players in digital marketplaces.
Mobile games made with Unity: wrapping it up
As you have noticed, Unity is a surprisingly versatile game engine. It acts as a catalyst for game developers to create the gaming experience of their dreams in 2D and 3D – no matter how simple or complex it is – and this list is proof of Unity’s versatility.
In addition, Unity is an extremely beginner-friendly game engine, being our recommendation for those who want to get into game development and secure a career in the field, which is growing more than ever before.
However, if you don’t have the time to learn how to create a game of your own, then working alongside qualified professionals is the best way to guarantee your product will follow the highest quality standards in the game development industry.
As such, consider contacting us at Main Leaf. We have been creating fantastic games on demand for our clients since 2010, and we would be delighted to do the same for you. With 70+ professionals in our staff, we will cover the entire game design and development processes to ensure you will have a high-quality game in your hands.
If you are interested in working with us, head to the top of this page and request a game quote right now – we will get back to you within 24 hours!
