Choosing a name for your new mobile game is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. Like all business names, a good app name should be easy to say, memorable, and reflective of the game you are creating. You want to hint towards what your game is without being too obvious. Most importantly, the name of the game must be appealing enough to convince users to download it. Take a look at what this developer did when he had an app name idea.
The mobile game company in this PickFu poll wanted to know, based solely on the app name, which option respondents would more likely to download. The developer polled 50 users, all of whom self-identified as mobile gamers.
Option A was Idle Realm, while Option B was Idle Domain. Can you guess which mobile game name was more popular with the gamers in this poll?
Which name won the poll?
The winner of the poll was Option A, Idle Realm. Option A had an easy win here, beating out Option B with 39 votes to 11. Why did Option A win by so much? Let’s dig into the written feedback from respondents, and see what we can learn about how to pick the perfect app name.
How to pick the perfect app name: Watch out for different interpretations
In Option A, the word realm refers to a royal kingdom, which makes perfect sense in a mobile game. In Option B, the word domain refers to a territory controlled by one ruler. However, in our internet-obsessed age, many of the voters thought of domain as a website address instead.
- “Idle Domain sounds like there should be an internet error code assigned to it.”
- “Idle Domain sounds like a website that hasn’t been claimed.”
- “Option B’s Idle Domain makes me think of an inactive computer site.”
While the name Idle Domain may have been clear in the developer’s mind when brainstorming game names, it had a completely different meaning to many of the people polled. When users are scrolling through different games to download, a misleading name could instantly turn them away. Watch out for names that can have different interpretations than intended.
Use your game title to create intrigue
The name you choose for your mobile game can create a sense of intrigue for users, causing them to want to know more about the game. Whatever you choose should hint towards the gameplay, atmosphere, and style of your game.
Option A, Idle Realm, did the trick with this audience:
- “Realm to me sounds like it’s evil or mean – like an Evil Kingdom. I like it best.”
- “Realm sounds medieval, which I think is cool.”
- “It sounds more like a fantasy game which happens to interest me more right now.”
- “Idle Realm makes me think it’s some type of RPG or strategy game.”
On top of this feedback, many other voters used words like interesting, intrigue, and mysterious in their written feedback when explaining why they voted for Option A.
Looking at your potential names, do any of them hint towards the feel of the game or create curiosity in users?
How to pick the perfect app name: Key takeaways
- As you create your mobile app game and pick a name for it, remember to keep it simple and memorable.
- Use the name to hint at the type of gameplay and feel of your game.
- Think about the name from an outsider’s perspective and make sure it doesn’t have any unintended meanings.
- As you narrow down your choices, use PickFu to test potential app names and see which ones do better with a real audience. You can even limit the scope of your poll by iOS or Android users, people who play mobile games, how much they’ve spent in the App Store, or other targeting parameters that make them likely to fall into your target market.
Free download: PickFu/Utopia Analytics report on
toxic behavior in online gaming
