Flash games are still generating strong traffic and revenue growth for developers

The Flash game market is thriving. Developers have sprouted up around the world. They’re creating mobile games based on their Flash web games, and they are making more money and getting stronger traffic, according to a survey of more than 1,000 Flash game developers by Mochi Media.

More than 60 percent of Flash game developers saw an increase in traffic and revenue in 2011 compared to 2010. The growth has been enabled by improved monetization and a better understanding of the best practices for Flash games and development platforms.

The 2011 Flash Games Market Survey says that 80 percent of Flash game developers reside outside the U.S. now. Developers in the U.S., Great Britain and Canada accounted for about 56 percent of all Flash developers two years ago but only make up 37 percent of respondents this year.

Russia accounts for 6 percent, India 3 percent, Italy 3 percent, Ukraine 3 percent, and Brazil 3 percent.

And while Adobe has discontinued the development of a mobile version of Flash to run on mobile phone web browsers, developers are still adapting their Flash games so that they run on mobile devices via native apps.

About 62 percent of developers use app sales to monetize their games. About 38 percent use ads, and 11 percent use micro-transactions. That latter figure is growing but it is still an unusual way to make money from games, said Colin Cupp, product marketing manager at Mochi, in an interview.

“Flash is becoming more mature with more ways to monetize games,” he said.

About 60 percent of Flash developers say they make an online web game first to gauge market response before developing for mobile platforms. Android was the top target for mobile development, at 72 percent, followed by Apple’s iOS, at 67 percent.

Cupp said that developers are interested in Flash games with 3D graphics using new technologies. Most of the Flash developers who don’t work on it full time are students, and about 80 percent of them want to make games on a full-time basis.

The survey of 1,075 developers and publishers was conducted by Mochi Media, Adobe and FlashGameLicense.com.

Mochi Media will sponsor a Flash Gaming Summit 2012 in San Francisco in March 4. Early bird passes are on sale until Dec. 31.

Mochi Media offers an ad network, analytics, and monetization tools for Flash games with more than 150 million monthly active users, 55,000 games and 60,000 publishers. Mochi is based in San Francisco and is owned by Shanda Games in China.