Balancing Act of F2P Games: Acquire, Retain, and Engage Players

Every F2P game relies on UA channels to attract new players, through organic or paid methods. For mobile games, social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are popular acquisition channels. In contrast, PC and console games often use platforms such as Steam, Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter to reach potential players. Regardless of how newcomers discover your game, a seamless onboarding experience and engaging tutorial are essential to ensure early retention (D1, D3, D7). Especially today, with acquisition costs higher than they were four years ago, it's crucial to treat every player as a potential paying customer and find ways to maximize their engagement. Players acquired through these channels are often referred to as "newcomers" or "casual players." They may join your game because a friend invited them, they saw their favorite influencer playing it, or most commonly, they clicked on […]

Gökhan Üzmez October 23

Journal

Only 42 games released in 2024 hit 1M+ downloads.

Only 42 games released in 2024 hit 1M+ downloads. (Mobile Casual)That means 7 things:You can find out more https://lnkd.in/dynmZZ4N1. Supermarket Simulator hype train is a THING,2. New games rely on Advertisement Revenue,3. 11 Games made more than $1M in revenue,4. Asia show dominance in user acquisition,5. Puzzle has been and will be leading,6. No big hit from big publishers, yet. 7. 4283 casual games were releasedso chance of scale is less than 0.5%.To find out more about new releases,And keep discussing what’s going onCheck out AppMagicAnd hit me up for a chat.Coming up next:2024 Puzzle Release Game Mechanics!Cheers!PS: There is more to this genre than I can show and talk about in a single post.If you dont find this topic fun, do let me know what do you want to see more on this channel!

Gökhan Üzmez October 21

Journal

15 Insightful take aways from Mobidictum

15 Insightful takeaways from Mobidictum that you want to hear:✦ Location was great and everyone was happy with it.↳ Easy to get in and out (besides Istanbul traffic).↳ Breakfast and lunch were amazing, but coffee was not.✦Major stakeholders from last year with big booths:↳ Were only present with their business developersand some didn’t even show up, that’s not good.✦Pretty much every game tech is looking for a gamedeveloper who has ‘’potential’’. Where are they?↳ Probably at home, working on the game.✦While these developers looking for investment:↳ because publisher deals and trust are damaged.✦Meanwhile investors looking for early metricsand staying away from new developers,↳ So the whole thing is ‘’TANGLED’’✦There were almost only B2B people, so whoever you↳ run into either something to sell or buy.✦Great positive vibes among all the people on the floor.✦Too little time, too many people to […]

Gökhan Üzmez October 19

Journal

14 game development dos and don’ts from my perspective.

14 game development dos and don'ts from my perspective.Game development is a serious business,Often people oversee major mistakes,Lose time on minor details.🆕 For new game developers📝 I listed my go-to advices:⛔ Try not to do:↱ Monetization focus↱ Ignore the competition↱ Ignore player feedback↱ Trying to appeal to everyone↱ Spent too long time perfecting↱ Recruitment focuses on early-stage↱ Overlook marketing and user acquisition✅ Try to do↳ Understand your audience↳ Collect an early feedback↳ Analyze the market early ↳ Study your competitors↳ Work with a small team↳ Engagement focus↳ Rapid prototype

Gökhan Üzmez October 17

Journal

Actual Development trick that works for Games:

Actual Development trick that works for Games:Use ‘’right metrics’’ instead of ‘’defaults’’ in live ops.Your players want your “unique” experience.✦ They want special content.↳ Session Tracker, Event Management✦ They want personalized offers.↳ Player Segmentation, Spending Behavior✦ They want to have FUN.↳ Tailor made custom live ops dashboardTo keep your player engaged,To create value for them to spend time and money,All possible with DiveStop wasting time and money,Contact an expert like Hadara AlookAnyone can track data.With DIVE’s expert team, make it “valuable”.How does your Live Ops team work?Cheers!PS: Live Ops is getting more and more crucial every day! hashtag#gamedevelopment hashtag#gamedesign hashtag#adcampaign hashtag#videogames

Gökhan Üzmez October 11

Journal

Most developers think hyper-casual games are dead.

Most developers think hyper-casual games are dead.Meanwhile they millions of dollars in (IAP+Ad) revenue. Take a look at what’s going on in detail: https://lnkd.in/dy8tsqPgSend a quick message to Diana Levintova to learn more.Cheers! hashtag#gamedevelopment hashtag#mobilegames hashtag#videogamesAppMagic

Gökhan Üzmez October 7

Journal

Untold Truth About Game Live Ops

The untold truth about game live ops: How you think you should use your data:✦ Manually trigger campaigns, ✦ Segment users by static groups,✦ Send the same offers and missions to all players,How you actually can use data:✦ Personalize game features and offers in real-time:↳ Based on player behavior with different goals.✦ Create live segments that dynamically update: ↳ For tailored marketing and user experience.✦ Automate journeys with trigger-based campaigns:↳ To live player behavior for smoother engagement.All can be easily done with Dive Make your players WANT to play your game.Don’t force them.Cheers! PS: Sending a quick message to Hadara Alook is a beginning on your data result driven journey.hashtag#videogames hashtag#gamedevelopment hashtag#data hashtag#tech

Gökhan Üzmez October 3

Journal

My Honest Advice for Game Developers

My honest advice for every game developer in the market: (after reviewing 100+ games this year)Trust on strong game design fundamentals.↣ No game has it all figured out,↣ At all times, start with focusing on players first,↣ There is always an opportunity for design twists.Analyze.Imagine.Focus.Do it.Build your game from proven design principles.Not from monetization and paywalls.Cheers!PS: What design choices of you made, came back with positive outcome?Thanks for the inspiration Roberto Ferraro, follow him for more! hashtag#gamedevelopment hashtag#gamedesign hashtag#videogames

Gökhan Üzmez October 3

Journal

11 Best Publishers with 7 Q&A, on a Journey to Hybrid Casual

I compared 11 Best Publishers with 7 Q&A, on a journey to hybrid casual. You may have questions, I have the answers:✦ What is a hybrid casual in a nutshell?↳ Easy Access to the game (Hypercasual)↳ Core Game Mechanic (Casual + Hypercasual)↳ High Retention (Midcore)↳ Complex Monetization (Casual + Midcore)✦ Why is it a thing for Hyper Casual Publishers?↳ Rise on User Acquisition costs, ↳ Can’t make profit on high quantity of players,↳ Can’t come up with enough new ideas anymore.✦ How can we measure this change?↳ We can’t. But we can estimate byChecking In-App Purchases per new user.✦ Is this a list of successful publishers?↳ Absolutely not, they are all fantastic companies.✦ How did you put this data together?↳ Using AppMagic Analytics and formulas.↳ Check it out! https://lnkd.in/das_wrJm✦ Some publishers not listed, they aren’t good?↳ They are fantastic! Just […]

Gökhan Üzmez September 30

Journal

Gaming Industry Fun Facts

I played Mortal Kombat when I was 7, and it was probably not ok. While I regret nothing,The experience probably didn’t help my childhood.Here are some fun facts of the day:↳ Mortal Kombat triggered the ESRB system.↳ Hard copy game collections are a ‘’thing’’↳ Red Dead Redemption 2 is a BIG game.↳ Since 1988, the Game Industry has been meeting.↳ Women in Games is getting bigger every day. ↳ Playstation 2 is the BEST selling console, ever.

Gökhan Üzmez September 29

Journal

Where do you think most start-ups get stuck?

Where do you think most start-ups get stuck? 90% of them, unfortunately, fail. While this is slightly different for game startups;The majority of them fail.Here are some top reasons:> Weak Unique Selling Point,:> Lack of product growth know-how,:> Co-founder leadership,:> Good idea, terrible execution,:> Inefficient monetization (too early or too late),:> Technical Issues,:> Horrible pitch decks. Like really bad. No, market saturation is NOT listed,Because guess what:It's not the market, it's you. What is the outcome? We gonna see a lot ofsuccessful gaming startups in the near future.The future is bright, for those who work and believe! Don't you think?Cheers!

Gökhan Üzmez September 27

Journal

287.000 Digital Visual Artists in USA Alone

There are 287.000+ Digital Visual Artists in USA alone, 68.000 on LinkedIn. What do these Game Artists do though?Game Art is crucial in every game. WHY?Because they make EVERYTHING you see on screen.Working in every aspect of the game;From idea to design, and to development.Here are some of the titles and what they do:✦ Art Director↳They decide how the game should look and feel, ↳Oversees the visual style of the game.✦ Concept Artist↳They draw ideas of in game assets and how theyshould look like before anyone makes them.✦ 3D Artist ↳They make the characters and worlds in the game look like real 3D objects you can walk around.✦ Animator↳They make characters and objects move.<insert I like to move it move it 🎵 song here>↳Animators bring characters and assets to life.✦ Technical Artist↳They make sure the game runs fast.↳Act as a […]

Gökhan Üzmez September 26

Gökhan Üzmez

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