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The cost of making mobile games in Japan has grown dramatically over the past 10 years, according to a new study by the Japan Online Game Association (JOGA). The research shows that development budgets have increased by 4.7 times compared to the last ten years.
JOGA’s 2024 mobile game market study as reported by Famitsu, reveals that the average development budget for a mobile game in Japan now stands at 492 million yen (approximately 3.3 million USD). This represents a massive jump from costs seen a decade ago.
The spending doesn’t stop at development. Companies are also investing heavily in getting their games noticed. Annual advertising and promotion expenses have grown four times larger over the same period, with the average company now spending 1.35 billion yen (roughly 9.2 million USD) per year on marketing efforts.
The study, which gathered data through surveys of both developers and players, found that AI tools are becoming essential in Japanese mobile game development. A significant 59% of mobile developers now use ChatGPT in their work processes.
Other popular AI tools include GitHub Copilot and Whisper, each used by 53% of developers, while 43% rely on Adobe Firefly. Many developers use multiple AI tools simultaneously, which explains why these percentages don’t add up to 100%.
Game companies are particularly interested in using AI for three main areas: content planning, analyzing what players like, and predicting how players will behave. Around 70% of surveyed companies want AI to handle these tasks.
While developers embrace AI technology, some players have reservations. About 26.5% of surveyed players worry that AI-assisted games might end up copying copyrighted material without permission.
