When it comes to multiplayer / .io games there was probably no bigger trend that washed over the App Store.

Now, whilst we’ve bundled these genres together, and there’s certainly some dovetailing and overlap, there are mild distinctions between the two.

Of course, both have the multiplayer gameplay aspect deep within the concept, however there are some game feel differences.

We like to think of it like this:
.IO games are essentially a “Battle Royale”.
Multiplayer games are typically “Race” or “Co-op”.

It is a fine line for sure and there’s really no need to get caught up in semantics. In reality, it’s a label that nobody really cares about and most likely only true hardcore “.IO” fans will benefit from having that in the title. Maybe.

Games such as agar.io released way way back in 2015, slither.io released in March 2016 and later with the likes of Hole.io, are true “.IO” games at their core.

Broadly speaking, the definition of an .IO would be a game that is free to play, traditionally browser-based, casual game which has a multiplayer component. They have very few mechanisms and minimal, clearly defined graphics.

Now when it comes to the App Stores, sure they’re still free to play, albeit monetised by the usual hyper casual ads, but developers and publishers upped their games by introducing 3D graphics and fancier environments to satisfy the players.

For multiplayer games the list is quite remarkable. In hyper casual, Aquapark.io ( wait what? .io? ) Fun Race 3D and Shortcut Run are definitely more aligned to a traditional race to the finish line vibe.

All have the multiplayer deeply seated in their game intention, where it’s beat the bots and travel faster than everyone else.

So is this genre dead and buried?

The trend of late has moved away from multiplayer / .io and you won’t have seen them flood the Store like in the past, however, there’s one game in particular that really caught my eye and we play through that in search for potential opportunities.

In a year where the feminine theme, auto walkers and body morphing games have dominated the charts is there a place for these types of games? Well, don’t forget about Among Us!

Timing always plays a huge part and isn’t widely spoke about so maybe, just maybe, the market is ready for a shake up and something fresh yet widely familiar.