My 2024 Kwalee Analysis points out to growth.

My 2024 Kwalee Analysis points out to growth. Cause:-25% on downloads, only 21% Tier 1, and no IAP at all… Signals red flashing lights all over the place. Kwalee’s most downloaded line up is actually not bad.They got a nice momentum on simulation games,Yet they keep ignoring the IAPibility of them.While they havent found new game for a long time,They have few take on popular hypercasual hits.Hits that their competitors actually scaled.With a very low score of IAP per download rate,Kwalee is still in this game and they are HIGHLY depending on Ad Revenue. I think this is very limiting for growth,And they are looking for alternatives.Here is what I think they need to do:Test more games. Get new users. Allocate some budget. Analyze Data.Go back to 2021-2022 strategy.Their T1 downloads are 21% of their overall,Which can mean many things, […]

Gökhan Üzmez November 27

Journal

Data Series: Say Games

If 144M+ downloads is not impressive, Say Games canshow off the variety of subgenres they are scaling. Only thing they are missing is a stronger live ops.Live ops that could change the IAP rates for them.Back to Say Games,We know My Perfect Hotel is doing REALLY good.We don't see similar IAP rates on other games.My guess is as good as yours, Ad Revenue is Skyrocketing and they are up to something big.One thing many publishers struggle with,Maintaining 120M+ downloads per year,Say Games knows how to scale a game.Do you think they can increase IAP?Or do they even need to?Time will tell.

Gökhan Üzmez November 25

Journal

150.000+ Game Designers around the world!

150.000+ Game Designers around the world!7 unique differences you should know about: They all do different things,To accomplish one thing! Its like a construction project. You need different experts to design:Foundation,Landscape,Electrical,Exterior,Statics,Interior,Roof,etc.Each part is equally ‘’important’’and ‘’MUST’’ work together!Game design skills are similar,Different designers focus on different parts:✦ UX Designers,✦ Level Designers,✦ System Designers,✦ Combat Designers,✦ Narrative Designers,✦ Creative Art Designer,✦ Game Economy Designers.Each designer’s job is unique.Together, they make the game work.Also, often we see ‘’one’’ title,That does it all, or connects them,Game Product ManagerProduct Director etc.

Gökhan Üzmez November 25

Journal

Things TRUE Gamers don’t care about!

Things TRUE gamers don't care about: Some game developers learn these the hard way…Don't get me wrong,DLCs, customization etc., they are all great..But they are not what truly matters!Here are 5 key elements that shouldn't matter:1. Early Access↱ Driven by mostly ‘’Fear of Missing Out’’,↱ Most of these are just money grabbing.2. Micro-Transactions↱ Pay extra on top of what you just paid,↱ Just to fast travel in game? No, thank you. 3. Release Date↱ Buggy gameplay mechanics, rushed story,↱ Tons of technical issues, including login issues,↱ Because of profit promises for upper management?↱ We don’t deserve this, we can wait. 4. Character Customization↱ Sure, diversity is great, but tons of cosmetics,↱ Details on eye lid colors and eye lashes? No…5. DLC Promise↱ Why do I pay for a promise that should have,↱ Been in the original game in the first […]

Gökhan Üzmez November 23

Journal

5 Casino Game Trends

5 Casino Game trends can boost your game! Web Store Popularization to clan passes,Competitions to rare card collections.Easy to read and digest,to the point insights.

Gökhan Üzmez November 20

Journal

Mobile Game Publisher Insights: Homa Games

Homa is ‘’scaling’’ many games, yet hypercasual’sstar, puzzle, is NOT one of them. Insights: I am going to cut to the chase.They make money on Action games, gamesThat are ‘’almost’’ copy cat of each other.It looks like sometimes they dont even botherTo change the assets. Why? Because obviously, it works! They raised $100M in 2020 on Series B round,And by looking at the games they are scaling:They are either running out of fund for marketing,Or saving cost to scale other subgenres in 2025. Either way, their low IAP revenue is not a good sign.My prediction on them is that they are going to:—> Try to scale 2 ‘’non’’ action games (Puzzle?),—> Continue to iterate (copy) Action games,—> Working on a midcore action game (secretly)

Gökhan Üzmez November 19

Journal

Mobile Gaming: My 27 success proven tools list

My 27 success proven tools list is your must have for mobile game development. Repost to help new developers! Mobile Games hold almost 50%,of the entire video games market.Thats +$90B a year.Check out the tools that guides you to success:↳Measurement Partners✦Adjust ✦AppsFlyer ✦Singular↳Mediation✦AppLovin ✦Unity Google ✦AdMob↳Game Analytics✦Dive ✦devtodev ✦Amplitude↳Market Intel✦AppMagic ✦Sensor Tower ✦GameAnalytics↳Ad Intelligence✦AppGrowing ✦SocialPeta Ltd ✦Apptica↳LTV Prediction✦AppNava ✦Voyantis ✦Sociaro↳Appstore Optimization✦AppTweak ✦MobileAction ✦ShyftUp↳User Acquisition✦adjoe ✦Mistplay ✦Gamelight↳Competitive Intel✦Playliner ✦GameRefinery ✦Apptopia Inc.Use them wisely!What do you use?Cheers! PS: I am still learning a new one every week! Special thanks to Yağız Gür and Ömer Yakabagi for helping me to put together this list. I will try to highlight these and similar companies on what they do so keep an eye for it! #videogames #mobilegames

Gökhan Üzmez November 14

Journal

Born To Play: Gen Alpha on Gaming

Spending time with my nephews on our common ground: Playing VIDEO GAMES: Here’s What Game Developers Need to Know. Summary: Gen Alpha is shaping up to be a generation like no other, defined by their comfort with technology, love for diverse gameplay, and highly social nature. By designing games that cater to their unique habits and preferences, developers can create experiences that resonate deeply with this emerging audience. By embracing cross-platform compatibility, prioritizing customization, enabling user-generated content, and catering to their broad genre interests, game developers can build games that not only capture Gen Alpha’s attention but also foster lasting engagement. This is a generation eager to learn, explore, and create ,a dynamic that opens up countless possibilities for innovative, adaptive game design. Generation Alpha, born after 2010 and often called the “iPad generation,” is the first cohort to grow […]

Gökhan Üzmez November 13

Journal

3 things Lion Studios doing right in 2024.

3 things Lion Studios doing right in 2024. Hexa - Sort and, Puzzle. Cause it looks like that’s all they need. Looking at the overall downloads on their portfolio,Lion doesn’t look like they are trying new games,Or working on something new, at all.Because they figured out one of the bestPuzzle games of recent years, and how to monetize it properly. Hexa Sort is making more than $14M a monthWith over 30M downloads around the world.Double congrats to Yunus and gamebra.inThis game ‘’inspired’’ 77 other ‘’Hexa’’ puzzles,While the closest got only 5M downloadsWhile Lion Studios is below on downloads list,They do monetize what they get, very well.Hybrid Monetization and concentration on 4-5 games,They could be one of the most profitable mobile gameCompanies in 2024 in terms of execution-revenue.

Gökhan Üzmez November 12

Journal

Harsh truth for puzzle game developers:

Harsh truth for puzzle game developers: ✦ You can assemble a ‘’top-tier’’ team,✦ You can analyze the market inside and out,✦ You can utilize the ‘’state-of-art’’ mechanic,✦ You can produce a ‘’decent-polished’’ game,But if you aren’t:✧ Acquiring enough new users,✧ Monetizing aggressively without notice,✧ Using multiple networks for certain time,✧ Keeping your UA campaigns up for long time,You won’t get the results you expect.Take a moment to look at Appmagic Analytic link:https://lnkd.in/dGmX8jJ7There is not a single 2024 Puzzle Release on top.It all looks like ‘’big’’ players are making money.They all started from the bottom though.In today’s puzzle environment its not ‘’just’’ about:↳ Innovation on gameplay,↳ Aggressive UA campaign,Its about how long you can last spending:↳ Money on UA campaigns,↳ Time innovating with ‘’data’’,↳ Time and Money on your team.Its tough out there, But it is still, doable…Cheers! PS: Matej […]

Gökhan Üzmez November 7

Journal

Start using 70/20/10 Game Design Theory.

In video game design, data reigns seriously supreme. You can start using 70/20/10 Game Design Theory. Building on genre proven mechanics and standards is key to creating next hits. What is 70-20-10? Let me explain, briefly.70% of your design should be proven,Something other games in the genre,Done extremely well,Considered ‘’standard’’ for the genre.20% of it should be something better.Depending on your team,Make something better than top competitorsSomething that team can improve.10% is the element of surprise.Try something new, mix other mechanics,Go crazy, sky is the limit.Minimum risk,Maximum reward.What is your approach at game design?Cheers!PS:This method is really useful for mobile games, but sure can be effectively used in other platforms.

Gökhan Üzmez November 6

Journal

The Best Casual Mobile Game Lesson You Will Learn Today

The best casual mobile game lesson you'll learn today: 6 Insights from MY custom dashboard! Watch the change on top games,But define your own path!✦ Not every game needs to be on top,They do need to be profitable though.✦ When we look at the comparison of these games,You can see different strategies.↳This proves there is no ‘’market saturation’’.There is ‘’bad’’ execution on both gameplay and UA. ✦ When Candy Crush was leading, they definedThe match-3 puzzle genre, over and over again,Until Royal Match has arrived…✦ When Coin Master dominated the revenue charts,Monopoly GO! was in the making, now it’s on top.✦ Meanwhile, other heavy hitters from,Playrix, Peak, Metacore are on a steady pathAnd holding their impact on the industry.✦ Some of these games are considered ''old'',Well, not in terms of players eyes! If you watch the charts carefully,You can make […]

Gökhan Üzmez November 5

Gökhan Üzmez

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