Are mobile action games headed for extinction?

Last month, a client retention-tested a VERY fun, hybrid-casual RTS game.

It was fresh.

It playtested great.

It was mechanically accessible.

It was tuned to hit our difficulty, win-loss targets.

The problem? Retention was AWFUL.

Why?

I had a hunch, but needed to be sure.

After the research, I found the results worth sharing.

Turns out, our gameplay (5-8 min. focused action per round) was, more often than not, incompatible with the split-attention play patterns of our target audience.

This may be obvious to many of you, but was less so to me until last week.

As gamers and game developers, the mobile experience we often assume (playing with undivided attention) seems on-track to becoming an artifact of history.

Today, based on data below, I now assume that significantly more playtime occurs while watching TV than in 'focused attention' mode.

During a casual player's avg. session, I now assume

If true, this play pattern gives turn-based experiences, or realtime action games with very short (1-2 minute) loops a serious advantage, when targeting broad-market (casual or hybrid-casual) audiences.

While there isn't data to *prove definitively that 'split-attention' mobile gameplay has increased from 2015 to 2025 (few surveys ask this specific question), available data paints a compelling picture.

If you have data suggesting otherwise, please share!

Data highlights

HABBY as a case-study in riding this trend

In summary,

Mass-market mobile games in '25 should be second-screen compatible!

May the odds be ever in your favor.

(Downloads data from AppMagic Market Segment Dashboard)