The gaming industry has a lot of scope as it is constantly changing with the advent of technology. With the penetration of smartphones and low-cost data connectivity, online game applications are increasingly mainstream among people, irrespective of age or gender. Until recently, cross platform Game Development meant developing games for consoles and PCs. However, the scenarios have changed and mobile devices have joined the list of game development as more people are interested in playing games via their smartphones.
Today people want this flexibility of playing online games using different hardware. And that has become possible with the development of cross platform games, allowing teams to create a code once and use it wherever possible. Cross platform mobile game development will help you reach millions of screens too with less budget and resources. If you want to achieve high revenue and make your gaming platform accessible and available to a wide range of people via different platforms and devices, here is an exclusive guide for you!
In this blog, we will cover all the aspects related to cross platform mobilegames development such as benefits, cross platform game engines and cost.
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Cross Platform Gaming – Market Overview
Cross platform game frameworks are increasingly adopted by gaming business owners to tap the global population and earn high returns on investment. As per the market analysis, 87% of multiplayer gamers are constantly opting for cross platform titles to play. Moreover, 43% of players wish for an extensive range of cross platform game programming options. Taking your business to the multiple platform games can increase your revenue share from 20% to 40%
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Multiplayer game cross platform development is the concept of creating a game that players can play on multi-gaming platforms at once. Game developers use different tools and methods to build games with common code. Video cross platform game development is complex as compared to other generic mobile game development platforms.
It requires a variety of software tools to build the games from the common codes and art assets. The development needs collaborative efforts of the developers and designers who sit together to develop an end-to-end solution using a common code base, game engines, software library, software development kit, and scripting language.
Why Choose Cross Platform Mobile Game Development?
Unlike normal game development, online multiplayer game cross platform can be developed by developers using different software and a single base code. This means developers don’t need separate code for different platforms. Multi platform game development allows developers to maintain and manage the development process in a seamless and hassle-free manner. The platform allows users to access the application for different screens and devices.
When it comes to system upgradation, developers need to simply make a change and deploy it on all the platforms, helping them save a lot of time, resources and energy. Cross platform game app development might take you longer but it offers a one-stop solution to users and also to creators by saving their money and efforts of deploying a game on different platforms.
Benefits of Multiplatform Game Development
It is quite obvious that with cross platform game engine solutions you can reach more potential users and have maximum impact on the target audience. Moreover, a multiplatform game makes sure that the game remains consistent between different markets and helps you manage your user base in an efficient manner. Multiplatform mobile game development has its own share of advantages that are of utmost value. Some of the most common benefits are:
1. Faster development process
Creating a game directly on multiple platforms is faster and quicker than developing a game and then porting it to the other platforms after the launch. It is like a one-time investment that can help you save a lot of time and effort included in the launching of the game to other platforms.
2. Accessible
Being a suitable game for various platforms, the game will gain popularity among users in a much faster way. Each player prefers to play online games on a different platform. Some people like to play games on Android, while others prefer to play games on a PC or tablet. Hence, best cross platform game engine solutions allow players to enjoy immersive gameplay on different platforms due to their wider accessibility.
3. Maximum Coverage of the Target Audience
Cross platform video game development covers a wider section of users because of its wider accessibility and availability. Most potential gamers use both PC and Consoles to play online games. While others just use their mobile phones to play games. Therefore, it covers a maximum range of target audiences from different parts of the world.
4. A Better User Experience
The platform allows users to enjoy an interactive and immersive gameplay experience by enabling them to play games on whichever platform they want. Such gaming development platforms bring different communities of gamers together and let players play irrespective of the location or the platform.
5. Saves Development Cost
To develop cross platform games, you don’t need to burn a hole in your pocket. It allows you to cover all the costs related to the development cycles required to create a game for different platforms. There is no need to spend money on reaching different sets of target audiences or markets as the game app will be the same.
6. Reduced Maintenance Costs
If the game has a single base code, the updates and regular quality check costs will be comparatively less. That’s the case with cross platform games development as it allows developers to make changes and updates in a single base code, cutting overhead costs or expenditures on maintenance of different platforms. Therefore, bug checking and testing of one base code will be much easier, more efficient and cost-effective for cross platform game developers.
7. Effective Marketing
Video game cross platform games development allows users to do effective marketing as the focus will be on only one gaming content. Therefore, the audience will be the same, and efforts will be more centralized and aligned.
Games that are cross platform are highly complex to develop. Cross platform game development is not an overnight task and definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. It requires the teamwork of designers, developers, and QA engineers who work day in and day out to bring forth the most creative cross platform games. Here is the process we follow while optimizing the best cross platform game engines:
1. Pre-Production
The first and foremost thing we do in the cross platform game development process is to gather the information and resources required to proceed further. In this phase, experts convert the project idea into a vision, including crucial elements like concept art, design, features and graphics that creates a full-fledged structure of the game.
2. Production
In this phase, cross platform game developers work day in and day out to implement the best cross platform game engines and tools to create an interactive UI/UX of the game app. We make the best use of professional programming languages and tech stack to offer clients the most responsive and creative cross platform game development services.
3. Testing & Deployment
Once we are done with our multigaming platform app development, we ensure to test the features and functionalities of the app to remove all the possible bugs, glitches, and loopholes that may have occurred while development. We follow tactics like performance testing and integration testing to make a platform highly reliable and scalable.
4. Post-Release
Our responsibilities don’t end after the successful launch. After cross platform gaming development and deployment, we ensure to enhance the user experience by providing clients with periodic patches, updates, and fixes. Our expert team aims to collect feedback from all the stakeholders to fix the loopholes or update the same.
Creating a game on several platforms is not an easy task and hence requires an advanced tech stack and technical expertise besides generic knowledge and skills. Most cross platform game developers prefer the programming language C++ to develop multiplatform games. However, the development cost in C++ will be comparatively higher as it is difficult and complex to use as compared to other programming languages.
Here is the list of best cross platform game engines that can be of great use.
Unity is a supreme C++-based cross platform mobile game engine that works great for a wide range of platforms, including mobiles, consoles, and PCs. This game engine doesn’t give its source code to the users and hence they don’t have to suffer a lot because of that. The Unity 3D uses C++, Unityscript, or Boo as the scripting API for the game and features an interactive interface and easy setup for multiplayer game cross platform development.
Unity game engine is used by most gaming entrepreneurs, small and medium gaming companies, and indie studios. Moreover, this game engine offers a huge number of 3D and 2D resources optimized for mobile devices.
Unreal game engine cross platform consists of a built-in visual scripting tool blueprint, that can be used to create game visuals targeting different hardware. Most developers use unreal engine cross-platform development to support games on PCs, Consoles, and PCs. Therefore, most often, this game engine becomes a top priority of many companies developing many projects for multiplayer mode.
HTML5 is the fifth version of HTML that extends, enhances, and rationalizes document markup, suitable for multiplatform games development. More than half of the games are developed using HTML5 combined with javascript and CSS. As a result, you will receive a responsive game on different platforms like smartphones or desktops.
4. Godot
Godot is a feature-packed open-source programming language that supports cross platform 2D and 3D game development. It has built-in nodes and a user-friendly visual editor that simplifies and fastens the game development process. Godot is a relatively easy-to-learn-and-use cross platform game engine. Both experienced and beginner developers can use this engine to do wonders because of its user-friendly features and easy-to-operate functions.
How Much Does it Cost To Develop a Cross-Platform Game?
It is very difficult to define the exact cost to develop cross-platform games until and unless we don’t know each and every detail and specification of your project. Most gaming entrepreneurs hire experienced mobile game app developers multiplatform for the development of NFT games. On average, cross platform game app development costs around $35,000 to $50,000. The cost may shoot up to $60,000 if you want to integrate more advanced features, graphics, and technical aspects into the platform.
There are different factors affecting the cost of overall cross platform game engines solutions such as:-
The location of the developers
Cross platform game development company
The level of the graphics
Technology stack
The complexity of the features
Application size
Here is an estimated cost of different development phases that can help you create a budget in advance.
Multi platform game development is not an overnight task and hence requires expert knowledge and guidance of a development company, having hands-on experience in NFT, blockchain-based and metaverse game development. In order to stay ahead of the cut-throat competition, make sure to leverage the latest technology and cross platform game development engines to develop future-ready cross platform solutions.
The main objective of cross platform mobile game development is to reach wider segments of society with less investment possible. And thanks to cross platform video game development that allows creators to reach millions of screens with fewer investments, and resources. Choose BR Softech as a cross platform game development company for your next project partner to get scalable, reliable, and high-performance services.
Cross-platform game engine app development is a process by which you can make an application accessible on different platforms. Read More
Q.2 How to develop a multi platform game application?
The multiplatform game development process is not as easy as it looks. You need to follow a predefined set of stages to develop an end-to-end application with high-quality features. These steps include the pre-development, development, and post-development phases. These stages include various steps such as research planning, UI/UX design, development, testing, QA, marketing and launching.
Q.3 What Are The Most Preferable Cross Platform Game Engines?
Cryengine, Godot engine, LibGDX, and Game Maker Studio are the most preferable and best cross platform game engines among developers worldwide. Choose BR Softech to get end-to-end cross platform game development services.
I am Nitin Garg Founder of BR Softech PVT LTD - an Award-winning mobile game development company. We are armed with 180+ geeks & 2753 clients worldwide, I have driven by the spirit of entrepreneurship and dream to build a billion-dollar-company.