How has mobile gaming security awareness changed in 2022?

Let’s face it, mobile gaming apps are not just convenient – they are social and loaded with fun features. Every day, more than 90% of gamers worldwide play video games on their mobile devices. That is almost 2.8 billion players we are talking about!

But as a game developer, you know that mitigating security issues in mobile games isn’t a quick fix, right? To clarify just how widespread this knowledge is, we conducted two surveys – one in January, with 70 and another in October, with 200 mobile game developers. The results, keep reading to learn all about them!

How worried are game developers about cheating and tampering in their mobile games?

Cheating and tampering top the worry-chart for game developers. In our survey from January 2022, 70% of all game developers expressed worries about cheating. And 84% of them were worried about tampering and piracy. However, when we asked mobile developers, 79% found cheating to be a prominent concern, with tampering and piracy, following closely at 76%.

How concerned are mobile game devs about cheating?

Apart from the huge player population, mobile games are a cheater’s target for the clear reason that circumventing in-game currency and accessing items for free is an easy way in. It’s no surprise that this was a prominent game security concern throughout 2022, particularly since mobile games are highly dependent on in-game microtransactions. Closely behind this issue is Player Versus Player (PVP) cheating, particularly for game devs who are utilizing cross-platform play.

What is the top business challenge for mobile game devs?

User retention has taken center stage as a top challenge in 2022. When comparing previous statistics from our latest survey from January, it’s clear that despite a drop of 15%, more than half of the responding mobile game developers still consider this a top concern. Since most anti-cheat solutions out there are made to catch easy cheats, to combat this, devs need an all-round effective one that offers you the right features which can help retain players.

What effect does cheating, tampering and piracy have on revenue?

In our first survey, 20% of mobile game developers said at least 6% of their revenue was at risk due to piracy and cheating. This number has risen dramatically over 2022! Now, almost 33% of mobile game developers have reported a moderate to significant impact on revenue caused by cheating, tampering and piracy. Additionally, more than 30% say they are not equipped to solve this problem.

Do mobile gaming developers trust existing cybersecurity solutions?

When asked in January, not all mobile game developers were convinced that existing cybersecurity solutions were able to address their worries successfully – almost 55%. That number has now gone down to… only 1% – which means protective solutions have finally managed to prove their benefits!

What is the takeaway for mobile game developers?

The mobile game industry is growing at full speed while threats are circling around it like hawks. What can you do about it?

If you haven’t figured it out already, let us spell it out: the industry is taking this problem more seriously. Developers are doing their homework and choosing an effective anti-cheat and anti-piracy solution to protect their titles. If you’d like to join this crowd but are unsure how to get started, give us a shout!