According to TechCrunch, the gaming app market is estimated to be worth 68.5 billion US dollars, accounting for 45% of the global gaming market. Thus, people tend to invest in it more and more. Among several factors affecting people’s consideration when building a gaming app, the development cost is usually one of the very first ones. In this article, we will point out 4 main factors that need to be considered while developing a mobile game app.

1. Game Plot and Characters

The game plot and characters play an important role in attracting and keeping people engaged with the game app until the end of the game. There are a lot of things involving: the story, the characters’ personalities, the interactions among characters or their interaction with players. That’s why this phase requires a highly engaged and closed discussion, which costs between $30 ~ $60 per hour. This cost will also have some variants depending on the technology and skill of developers.

2. Game functionality/Complexity

An app’s complexity decides how much time you need to develop it as well as how much it will cost. There are three basic categories when it comes to the complexity of a mobile game app:

a. Simple games

Simple games or minigames often have simple 2D graphics and basic soundtracks. There are no specific skills required from users to play these games. Some examples of simple games are Flappy Bird or Just Arcade game with no online system, The estimated cost for developing a simple game app is around $5,000 to $25,000 depends on time, and graphic resources we need. We recommend you contact us to get a professional quote for your game project since every project has different focused aspects.

b. Complex games

Complex games (or mid-level complexity games) require more information from users than simple ones such as emails, social networks or even banking information. There are also cooler factors. They have a clear game story, characters, 3D graphics design, and high-level soundtrack. Angry Bird is one of the specific examples. The budget required for building a complex game app might be around $15,000 to $50,000.

c. High-level games (large apps)

To develop a high-level game app, there are also a lot of factors required. An engaging high-level game must have an exciting plot, different characters with sophisticated personality, animation, graphic and also cross-platform compatibility. $30,000 or up might be the budget you have to pay for creating one high-level game app.

3. Game Design

The more complex the design, the more expensive your application becomes. Similar to the game complexity, the design complexity is also categorized as 3 main levels:

Simple 2D icons and styles

 

Detailed icons and styles with different layouts and shadow

 

Complex icons and styles with different layouts and shadow

4. The final factor: Game App Testing

The testing process is as important as the developing process to keep users engaging with your game app. Things like bugs or slow speed will cause a very bad impression on users. These are the reasons for trust and sales lost for your business. To make sure your gaming app runs smoothly and deliver rich user experience, you need some budget aside for the testing service. Digital Unicorn offers a really good price, which around $50/day/tester.

So What Is the Exact Cost of Developing a Game App?

Besides these 4 main points, there are also other important factors that you need to consider such as choosing the platform, marketing your game app and choosing the development company to work with. That's why there is no exact cost to develop a game app, it depends on your demands. Are you going to develop your very first game app? Are you looking for an app development company to work with? Are you worry about the high cost that you have to spend? Digital Unicorn will ease your concerns and together create a game app that your users would love. Tell us what you have in mind!