The Evolution of Portable Play
Portable play truly kicked off in the late eighties and early nineties with the launch of the Game Boy and Tetris, selling over 118 million units globally and producing classics that kicked off massive gaming franchises like Pokémon Red & Blue, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Super Mario Land, and Metroid II, which are all still extremely strong gaming IPs today.
With 10-15 hours of gameplay and powered by 4 AA batteries, the Game Boy gave millions of people the option to play on the go, no matter where they found themselves. It moved gaming out of the home and into the rest of the world, changing the way we play forever. It also kicked off a long line of Nintendo handheld consoles that continue to this day, with the next in the line-up set to launch in June.
Gaming on the go hasn’t gone anywhere, and arguably, it’s grown even more popular, especially with the rise of mobile, the popularity of Nintendo’s Switch, which gave players the option to seamlessly play AAA titles both on big screens and on the go for the first time. Since then, we’ve seen a myriad of companies push portable gaming consoles.
Smartphones, Streaming, and Shifting Expectations
The most important development in portable gaming was the launch of the smartphone and, more specifically, the arrival of the iPhone and the app store. Today, mobile dominates the industry, creating billions in revenue each year and reaching players across the entire planet with titles spanning every genre and play style imaginable.
Technological advances in hardware, software, and connectivity are also reshaping how and where we play and have made it possible to get console/PC gaming experiences on mobile. For example, it’s now possible to stream console titles straight to your mobile device using apps from PlayStation and Xbox. While these experiences aren’t quite there yet, they are improving rapidly.
Many of the globe’s biggest gaming publishers, traditionally synonymous with PC and console gaming, have also moved into the mobile gaming space, launching titles that, in some cases, have performed better than the mainline series. This year alone, we’re expecting to see new mobile titles from classic IPs, including Sonic, Tom Clancy, The Division, Assassin’s Creed, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Death Stranding.
The Influence of Mobile on Game Design
Another trend we’ve begun to see in recent years is games made for gaming on the go being re-made for console and PC. Some classic examples are Monument Valley, which was ported to PC and the Apple Arcade on Mac, Among Us, which started out on Mobile and became a huge PC and console hit during the pandemic, and Angry Birds, which began on iOS and has been ported to PC, PlayStation, Apple TV, and VR platforms.
There are also a number of indie titles that have been breakout hits for PC and console over the past few years and feel like mobile games, indicating that the popularity of mobile gaming is changing the way developers create games, with many creating for console and PC with a mobile hat on. Some great examples here include Balatro, which recently won Game of the Year at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2025; Vampire Survivors, which won Best Game at the BAFTA Game Awards 2023; Dave the Diver, which won Best Independent Game at both The Game Awards and the Golden Joystick Awards 2023; and Stardew Valley, which, although now nine years old, continues to remain one of the most popular indie games, having sold over 41 million copies globally.
With the Switch 2 coming in June, rumors that the PlayStation and Xbox are exploring new handheld consoles, and some of the biggest companies in the world, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, and Meta, pouring billions into portable gaming each year, it’s clear that portable gaming has a bright and exciting future.
Addressing the Problem of Premium
Although this is all incredibly exciting, there is a big problem for many game developers. The evolution of portable gaming over the past few decades has led us to a place where players expect high-quality premium experiences on the go. When it comes to mobile, many expect to get them for free or for a few dollars. However, the cost of producing, marketing, and launching games continues to rise, especially with many of the gaming platforms taking a chunk of the sales.
The mobile ads of yesterday simply don’t work for the premium games we now have in our hands. Players want uninterrupted experiences, and with so many titles to choose from, there’s a risk that if you get this wrong, they will just leave for another game. Interruptive formats and clunky ad placements simply don’t belong in this new world of premium, portable play.
That’s where intrinsic in-game advertising comes in. Seamlessly woven into the game environment, these placements not only avoid disruption but also enhance realism, giving developers a new revenue stream without compromising the player experience. And because they work across platforms—PC, console, and mobile—they bring consistency and scale to monetization strategies.
If mobile and portable gaming are the future, then ad monetization must evolve to match. It must be built for the medium, respectful of the player, and ready for what’s next.
Learn more here about monetizing your games with intrinsic in-game ads.