Top 10 Gaming Chat Apps And How They are Making Millions in Revenue

3 Different Types of Gaming Chat Apps

Thankfully, we are no longer in the period of time when we used to play mobile games alone and compare our scores with the previous round. The games were unexciting back then and were less fun to play.

However, now, after the addition of various features like real-time text and voice chat, the online gaming experience has improved to a whole new level. We can communicate with other gamers to compare our scores, explore more options, and add more fun to gaming. Based on all these features and functions, gaming apps are categorized into the following categories today:

1. Chatting Apps That Allow Friends to Play Games

These types of apps are the ones whose core feature is letting users communicate via voice or video game chat. However, along with easing communication these apps also let users play games to pass their leisure time. Top examples of such apps include Houseparty and Facebook Gaming which experienced immense success during the lockdown period of COVID-19.

While being stuck at home, users used these types of apps as an escape to social distancing for staying connected with friends and family while having fun by playing several games.

2. Gaming Apps That Allow Text/Video/Audio Chats

These types of apps are for hard-core gamers. And apps that fall in this category have Gaming as the main feature and allow communication through text, voice, or video chat as an additional feature. Some of these apps also have group chat features. These types of gaming chat apps are evergreen and much-loved by the gaming communities. Some of the best examples of such apps include PUBG, Fortnite, and Call of Duty.

3. Mobile Apps to Discuss Games On Chat/Audio/Video

The third and last type is apps that support gaming apps and let users communicate about games in the best possible way. Using these apps, gamers can communicate while playing games on other gaming apps and these apps also allow non-gamers to watch streamed gaming content. Some of the best examples of such apps include Twitch and Discord.

Now that we know the type of gaming apps – let’s move forward and check out the best gaming chat apps available in the market to get some inspiration from their business and revenue models.

Top 10 Most-Used Gaming Chat Apps

Here is the list of the top 10 Gaming Chat Apps for Android and iOS divided by their type and functionality (along with their business models). All these apps have gained immense popularity for themselves within a few months of lockdown by engaging users in innovative ways. Have a look and find all that you should learn from their strategies:

Chatting Apps That Allow Friends to Play Games

1. Houseparty Gaming Chat App

Houseparty is basically a video chat app with built-in games that users can play together from their own homes. It was developed by Life on Air, Inc. (a Silicon Valley startup) in the year 2016 and the app has raised a total of $70.2 Million in funding over 5 rounds.

It has a good selection of games to play with family and friends like Heads Up, Ellen DeGeneres, and Pictionary. The app mainly targets teenagers and young adults by providing them with an all-in-one solution to pass leisure time. It is also called one of the best chat room games because of its seamless chat room feature.

If we talk about How Does Houseparty Works – it operates using a Freemium Business Model. It is free to use for users all around the world. However, it wasn’t at all profitable until Fortnite creator Epic Games acquired it in 2019. This acquisition led to a change in business model and the app started using the freemium model after that only which relies on in-app purchases.

Presently, the users of Houseparty can play a number of games like Heads up in-app. It allows users to play Heads Up’s first three games for free and after that charges $0.99 per game. Alongside this, the new model also includes other in-app purchases while the core function (video chat) of the app remains free.

This small addition resulted in a huge revenue spike for Houseparty and the app became profitable as well as popular worldwide. In March 2020 alone, the app generated $155,000 in revenue. If you too want to develop an app like Houseparty, here is a full-fledged guide for you.

2. Facebook Gaming Chat App

Seeing the increase in demand for the best gaming chat apps, the social-media giant Facebook released its own gaming platform called Facebook Gaming in April which was originally intended to release in June 2020.

The application is explicitly designed to let gamers participate in several online games and live-stream their own gaming content. It also has a feature called Go Live using which users can upload live videos of other mobile games from their device. 

At present, the application operates on a no Ads model. Facebook will make money through it when watchers send “stars” representing total of money, to users who are streaming content, viably taking a commission. The organization said it wants to build its gaming audience before adding other revenue streams to it. This is an amazing strategy adopted by Facebook for many of its products. 

The company’s other product that thrived using the same strategy is Instagram – Check out here how Instagram adopted this strategy and became the global advertising platform from being a promising product first with nothing in revenue.

Being a new player, Facebook Gaming, as of now is juggling to get its space in the market. But, it has already garnered a position in the heart of its users by offering amazing features. 

Gaming Apps That Allow Text/Video/Audio Chats

3. Ludo King | One of the Best Gaming Chat Apps

Ludo King is a product of an Indian company called Gametion technologies that hit the bull’s eye while the world was under lockdown. It is one of the best gaming chat apps available around the world that is known to engage users using its amazing gamification techniques embedded in-app.

The app has been downloaded over 100 million times globally and holds the #1 position for Ludo games on the Google Play store. The app’s revenue model relied on advertisements only for years. However, seeing the increased demand for such apps, the app introduced in-app purchases as a second source of revenue for Ludo King.

As per the company’s CEO, earlier the ratio of Advertising & In-App Purchase revenue was 80%-20% respectively however after they changed their strategies considering the lockdown affect recently the ratio changed to 60%-40% in just a few months. 

The app, as of now, lets its users communicate using text chat only while the voice or video chat feature in Ludo King is still awaited. The app is surely made in India but caters to a global audience and its 50% of revenue comes mostly from western countries only. If you want to build a gaming chat app in the near future – you must explore the ins and outs of Ludo King once.

4. PUBG | Gaming App with Built-In Voice Chat

PUBG Mobile is a well-known battle royale game in which 100 players are dropped on a deserted island and afterward the gameplay revolves around survival while looting basic things and weapons.

According to a report by Sensor Tower, PUBG Mobile grossed more than $226 million in May which made it the highest-grossing mobile game in the world for May 2020. This is almost 41% growth as compared to last year’s same month in user spending. 

PUBG is one of the best gaming voice chat apps in which voice chat is turned on by default so that gamers can communicate with each other through the smartphone’s microphone. Along with voice chat, the app also provides text chat options to its users.

When it comes to revenue generation, PUBG Mobile doesn’t rely on one source of revenue. It has multiple sources of revenue, for example:

• In-app purchases (It sells costumes, skins, and much more equipment)
• Sponsorship options for big brands
• Tournament Hosting
• Affiliate marketing using in-game hoardings

If you want to develop a gaming app with intuitive features like PUBG, check out how much it will cost you Here. Or, if you want a detailed analysis of your requirements, you can directly contact our experts.

5. Fortnite | Online Game with Microphone Chat

According to a report by SensorTower, just after two years of its launch, the mobile rendition of Fortnite has broken $1 billion in revenue, with the major part of that amount coming from Apple’s App Store.

Fortnite is also a multi-gaming platform like PUBG in which players compete by battling, building, and surviving against 100 players at a single time. It is also called one of the best online games with microphone chat. The main thing that let this game mobile app evolve exponentially is its combination of social and gaming business models. 

It is one of the perfect apps for gamers to meet as it urges players to partner up with friends and play games together. Just like other famous games, Fortnite also lets users play the game for free, but asks for money to make the Fortnite experience more interesting by using the below-mentioned strategies: 

• In-App Purchases

Fortnite chat site and mobile app charge a small fee from users if they want to choose a particular costume or color for the gaming characters, tools, and weapons. A user can purchase all these things in-app to make his/her experience more engaging.

• Battle Pass

Another revenue stream of Fortnite is “Battle Pass” which is a $10 fee that users need to pay every quarter. In return, the game gives users unique access to the system’s updates.

• In-Game Currency

Fortnite players also have the alternative of spending money on in-game currency “V-Bucks” which can be utilized to make in-game purchases. 

The makers of Fortnite have actually figured out how to use the idea of exclusivity by merging it with an out-of-the-box user experience that includes a social sparkle in gaming industry. This amalgamation has proved a winning combination for the makers of the game.

No doubt developing an app like Fortnite is rewarding – but, it is not possible without proven expertise in the Gaming Industry. If you want expert advice on how you can launch a gaming experience to make billions of dollars – Contact Apptunix – recognized as a Top Mobile Game App Development Team by Clutch.

6. Call Of Duty | Mobile Game with Voice Chat

Call of Duty mobile is again a free-to-use gamer chat app created by TiMi Studios for iOS and Android. It was launched on October 1, 2019, and saw one of the biggest mobile game releases ever, generating over $327M with 250M+ downloads by June 2020. 

It is exclusive to mobile-only and doesn’t offer any cross-play with customary computer game consoles. In spite of the fact that the game offers a portion of similar content as the console release, it’s obviously designed as a free-to-play model in mind and depends on micro-transactions to generate revenue. The app lets users communicate using voice chat only.

Mobile Apps to Talk About Games On Chat/Audio/Video

7. Twitch | One of the Best Voice Chat Apps for Gaming

Twitch is an application to Livestream gaming content, Esports, and any IRL broadcast on Android devices. Basically, the app offers three main features that are mentioned below:

• Users can watch gamers play popular games like Fortnite, PUBG, and many more on Twitch
• Live chat during any gaming, Esports, and IRL broadcast. It is one of the best live chat apps for gamers. 
• Let users broadcast gaming content to earn money

The application makes money by means of subscription and advertising charges. However, a basic Twitch membership is free that permits users to see a wide range of content, chat on individuals’ streams, and broadcast gameplay. Advertisements will run when you initially go to a channel, and occasionally all through the stream. 

According to a report by Nielson SuperData, Twitch’s 2019 revenue was $1.54 billion that was generated using this simple yet effective revenue model.

8. Discord | Best Video Chat App For Gamers

Discord app is a one-stop solution for gamers around the world using which they can communicate via text, voice, or video chats while playing games. This free application focuses on providing a seamless voice and text chat experience to users.

The app has around 87 million users and is planning to lead over the $1.7 billion voice chat app market very soon. It is totally free-to-use for users and the team behind it has no plans to charge money for its core feature anytime soon.

However, the app has recently launched its subscription plan that costs $4.99 per month called Nitro, which empowers subscribed users to get add-ons like custom emojis, avatars, high-quality screen shares, and much more.

Another revenue stream of Discord is its merchandise store where it sells its own shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, caps, and several other items. The organization is now valued at around $700 million and the number is still growing each day.

Mobile Games with Chat Feature In-Game

9. Free Fire | A Perfect Game with Chat Feature

Free Fire is a Singapore-based second most downloaded gaming mobile application of 2019 with over 250 Million downloads. The game has a big fan base and its daily active users are more than 60 Million. It is much similar to the PUBG mobile app. Players are left on an island where they fight against the other 49 players.

The app is most loved by users because of its amazing graphics experience, sound optimizations, rendering, and built-in chat feature. The chat feature is added to the app to build a sense of community among players. It allows users to chat with their friends while playing the game to provide an amazing and connected user experience. 

The Free Fire is a Game Chat Application that follows a freemium business model and offers two types of subscriptions. You can either choose weekly (to claim 60 diamonds per week) or monthly (to claim instant access to 100 diamonds and other tools). Players can also purchase skin or other tools using in-game currency to improve their visual experience.

10. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

Mobile Legends Bang Bang is again one of the most popular game apps. It is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena game created and launched by Moonton, a sister concern of ByteDance. Launched in 2016, the game is popular globally today and most importantly in Southeast Asia. Recently, it crossed the 1 Billion download mark with 100 Million monthly active users. 

In 2021, it gained an all-time gross of 1 Billion Dollars with 44% of its revenue coming from outside Asia, making it the most popular and profitable game mobile app with a global appeal. The game is free to download and play and its monetization model is only based on in-game purchases like skins and characters. Every player can control a character called a “Hero” with unique traits and abilities.

So, that was all about most-popular gaming chat apps and how they are making money in millions and billions of dollars. If you too want to grab the share of this market, then launch your innovative gaming chat solution today. 

It’s a Wrap 

The Gaming world has seen major disruption in the past few months – particularly during the lockdown period. Also, because of the easy accessibility of high-speed internet, quality mics, and cameras in the market, the new-gen gamers want to make the most of their games and perform better while having the option to communicate and see their competitors.

So, if you have any idea of launching your startup in the gaming industry – keep all these things at the top of your mind. Want the help of experts in optimizing the gaming experience for your users? Contact Apptunix – a top-notch Game App Development Company.