Samsung seems to have devised a strategy to establish a distinctive identity in the foldable smartphone market. It plans to offer more exclusive content to the users of its Galaxy Z series foldables. As part of this strategy, the company is working closely with game developers to customize games for these big-screen devices. The firm has teamed up with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Epic Games and Krafton.
Samsung to bring exclusive, customized games to its foldables
Samsung has been making foldable smartphones since 2019. For the first few years, the company hardly had any competition in the market. However, the landscape has changed now. As many as ten OEMs will have a foldable smartphone in the market this year, many of which are available globally. The Korean firm is feeling the heat of this growing competition and reacting quickly to try and maintain its lead in the industry.
According to the Korean media, Samsung’s strategy to achieve this goal is to offer more “foldable-specific content” to consumers. It plans to fend off the challenge from Chinese rivals, which often undercut Galaxy foldables in terms of prices, by bringing exclusive games to the lineup. To do that, Samsung has reportedly set up a Gaming Task Force team in China, South Korea, Ukraine, and the UK under the Samsung Research division.
The company picked these countries because they have the most developed gaming industry among the countries where Samsung Research has offices. The newly formed teams are working with game developers like Fortnite creator Epic Games, PUBG creator Krafton, NCSoft, Nexon, Smilegate, Kakao Games, and Pearl Abyss to create new games as well as optimize existing titles for Galaxy foldables such as the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Samsung believes this will help increase the rate of foldable adoption in the market. These devices have the potential to offer a more immersive and enjoyable mobile gaming experience. Gaming industry experts also echo this sentiment. “Collaboration between Samsung and game companies will play a positive role in expanding the foldable phone market,” a Hankyung report quotes an industry official.
More foldable-specific Android features may also be on the way
TM Roh, the head of Samsung’s mobile division, reportedly visited several companies that can play a key role in improving the foldable experience during his recent foreign trips. Among those is Android maker Google. Roh wants Google to work on more foldable-specific Android features. He says the foldable market will grow faster if users get more exclusive content and features that aren’t available on regular smartphones.
For example, when playing games on foldables, users can have a separate panel for controls without obscuring the gaming content on the screen. There are many other ways where the bigger screens of foldable phones can add more value to the user experience. Samsung seems to be working on all fronts at once to quickly accomplish the target and make the Galaxy Z phones stand out from the crowd.
“Collaboration with content companies is as important as telecommunications companies such as AT&T and distributors such as Best Buy,” a Samsung official explained the company’s recent ties with game developers. Time will tell whether the efforts pay off. The first batch of exclusive games for the Galaxy Z lineup could arrive early next year, with some of the titles possibly being available through Samsung Gaming Hub.