UPDATE (April 21 @ 2:35 PM) It seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding in the original interview, because 40% of cloud Minecraft Dungeon Players use touch controls exclusively – not 40% of all Minecraft Dungeons Players.
Original story below
Minecraft Dungeons is one of many games on Xbox Game Pass that offers touch controls on mobile. It turns out that adding these on-screen buttons was a wise move by Mojang, since nearly 40% of the Minecraft Dungeons community plays the game exclusively through on-screen controls.
The startling information was revealed during an interview with Windows Central, which sat down with David Nisshagen – executive producer at Mojang Studios – to talk about the game’s success. adding touch controls to Minecraft Dungeons, which opened up the title to a whole new audience.
“About 40% of gamers who play Minecraft Dungeons do so exclusively on their phone with touch,” Nisshagen said. “That’s 40% of gamers who never have to touch a controller. I was like, that’s a dream number. That was above the target that we set for ourselves. And the coolest thing is that we’re not alone in this either.”
Nisshagen goes on to discuss other games that have found success with touch controls, including Hellblade and Tell Me Why.
The ability to access AAA titles on your smartphone without a controller is a huge reason developers love adding touch controls to Xbox Game Pass titles, and Nisshagen thinks the trend will continue to grow. While many gamers love the feedback a controller provides, there is a whole generation of gamers who grew up playing games on smartphones. For them, touch controls are not secondary to controllers or mouse and keyboard:
“Younger children often tend to play with touch. To some extent, this could be a sign of the times. We have a whole generation who grew up with touch as their main input. It’s the norm. For them , maybe the controllers feel weird. It’s something that happens – a change for gamers growing up. They’ve been playing games on their iPhone since the very first iPhone came out.
Then there’s the fact that Xbox Game Pass titles can be played on almost any mobile device, regardless of age. By including touch controls, millions of smartphone users around the world have instant access to any given title without the need for a Bluetooth controller.
“We’re in the early stages of understanding the potential market right now, but if you think about the number – the number of these devices – there are billions of mobile devices. Billions. Suddenly you can go beyond- beyond the combined install base of all consoles in history – there are probably even more phones.To be able to reach that audience is great.
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