Mobile Hyper-Casual Game Development
Hyper-casual—one mechanic, one button, zero onboarding. Voodoo, Kwalee, Crazy Labs ship in 2–4 weeks from idea to publication. Speed of iteration matters more than perfection: 80% hyper-casual prototypes fail CPI test, normal.
How It Works Technically
Stack. Unity—industry standard. LeanTween or DOTween for animations. One scene, minimal assets, ProBuilder for quick prototyping without 3D editor.
Core loop. Tap → action → visual feedback → progress → next tap. Input.GetMouseButtonDown(0) or Touchscreen.current.primaryTouch.press.isPressed (New Input System)—every frame in Update(). Haptic feedback via Handheld.Vibrate() or CoreHaptics (iOS) for response strength.
Progress level. Linear progress bar, counter, timer—anything simple. PlayerPrefs.GetInt("level", 1) for progress storage. For hyper-casual sufficient—no Hive, SQLite, complex persistence.
Monetization
Ads only—IAP barely works in hyper-casual (ARPU too low for paying audience). Banner + interstitials between levels.
MAX Mediation from AppLovin—standard for hyper-casual. Combines AdMob, Unity Ads, ironSource, Meta Audience Network in one waterfall. Initialization:
MaxSdkCallbacks.OnSdkInitializedEvent += sdkConfig => {
MaxSdk.ShowMediationDebugger(); // for testing
InterstitialManager.Instance.LoadInterstitial();
};
MaxSdk.InitializeSdk();
Interstitial not every level—minimum every 2 levels, max once per 60 seconds. Otherwise App Store review rejects for 4.3 Spam.
CPI Testing Before Full Development
Main hyper-casual principle—don't develop full game without idea test. Prototype in 3–5 days → fake store page → Facebook/TikTok Ads → measure CPI (Cost Per Install). Target hyper-casual CPI: < $0.20–0.30. Higher—mechanic doesn't hook, change idea.
Only after CPI test passes—full development with polish, 20–30 levels, analytics.
Timeline
Prototype for CPI test: 1–3 weeks. Full hyper-casual after successful test: 4–8 weeks. Cost calculated individually after mechanic discussion.