Capybara GO Global Launch UA Case Study

Fond of Capybaras? Then, you can now play with the lovable, oversized creature in Capybara Go! It’s a text-based roguelike RPG from Habby, the team behind hits like Archero and Survivor.io. So, is it a typical cute pet game? Almost! I already published a Capybara GO global launch case study, but this one is now updated with the US global launch data and some additional interesting soft launch stuff! Keep reading to know. Why Capybara GO is Unique The game lets you dive into the world of the adorable rodent in a completely unexpected way. It puts you on an epic journey where chaos and adventure go hand in hand. Your adventure begins and ends with a capybara, literally. You’ll bond with your new furry friend, kit it out with gear and set off on an endless series of randomized […]

Matej Lancaric December 5

Journal

Capybara GO Global Launch is a Flop

𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝗚𝗢 🚀 $𝟭𝗺𝗶𝗹/𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴, but not as expected after US global launch. 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁, 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗿. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝘆?👇 The updated global launch case study is here:📌 Case study📺 Watch on YouTube🦄 Subscribe to the Brutally Honest newsletter: lancaric.substack.com

Matej Lancaric December 3

Journal

Dark War Survival makes $300K a Day

𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗪𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 🤑 $𝟯𝟬𝟬𝗸/𝗱𝗮𝘆 with 120K downloads a day and will be attacking top ranks in 4X genre in 2025. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗔 & 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 thanks to the use of 𝗔𝗜. You won't like it👇 It was made by Rivergame, the same team that did Last War, Top War, and Top Heroes. Yes, it's not visible immediately, thanks to a different publisher name, but as you play, you get it right away. This time, the key iteration is that the Last War team took their game, added a Whiteout Survival (Century Games) onboarding funnel, and slapped a zombie/survival theme on top of it. 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘂𝘀!But the biggest genius move is in UA and creatives. Currently, 90% of creatives are made by AI. Think cost efficiency and speed of production (check this AI creative guide as […]

Matej Lancaric December 2

Highlights

Brutally Honest #140

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🥃 Drink talk Alright, the San Francisco trip is happening on December 3! One day before (December 2), Supersonic is organizing a hybrid casual competition. If you have a hybrid casual game, check this out. 🦩Tip of the week Creatives should be about emotions because emotions are a powerful way to connect with an audience, inspire action, and create a lasting impact. Emotions make the videos/images more meaningful and relatable, as people often engage deeply with content that evokes strong feelings. Whether it's joy, sadness, excitement, or even anger, tapping into emotions can be a key driver of creative success. Key points about emotions in creatives: Connection with the audience: When a creative piece evokes an emotion, it creates a deeper connection with the viewer or listener, making them feel personally invested in the content. Inspiration […]

Matej Lancaric November 28

Journal

Playable ads Ultimate guide: kick a$$ creatives in UA

Actions speak louder than words, and doing is always better than showing. Don’t talk about buying your wife flowers; buy them. It’s the same with playable ads. Why show your game when you can get people to play it? Video ads get boring too, and playable ads can add some spice to your UA campaigns. For the unfamiliar, playable ads are minigames that give users a brief glimpse of what your game looks like. Here’s everything you need to know about them: Where did playable ads come from? Playable ads used to be developed by ad networks for advertisers. However, advertisers didn’t have the control to test or experiment with different creatives. Now, there are a lot of drag-and-drop tools that make it easy to develop. Alternatively, you can also easily produce them with a little bit of coding and […]

Matej Lancaric November 27

Journal

A lot of hype around AppLovin in eCommerce!

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲. If you think Applovin cracking e-commerce is the end game, you don't understand where the puck is going 🏒👇 While Meta continues to dominate budgets with at least 60%+ of spend, for top-spending brands AppLovin has equaled or overtaken heavyweights like Google (~10%), Amazon Ads (~5%), and TikTok (<3%) for a spot in the marketing mix. Some brands have achieved that level of spending scale in a short 2-8 weeks from onboarding, which is impressive, especially as they are already leapfrogging channels with multibillion-dollar ad businesses like TikTok, Amazon, and even Google.E-commerce brands are allegedly achieving higher spend and higher ROAS on Applovin than Meta right now. Since AppLovin’s eCommerce ads network is still in closed beta, it will be interesting to monitor if there’s a consistent ability to maintain this. […]

Matej Lancaric November 25

Journal

Major Trend: Celebrity Effect in Creatives

🎥 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. Major UA trend that shines👇 💥 Arnold Schwarzenegger in Mobile StrikeHis involvement wasn’t just about lending his face—it tied directly into the game’s theme of power and strategy. These were the times when Arnold was everywhere. You opened your fridge, BAM! Arnold. Toilet? Arnold. TV? Arnold. Good old MZ days… 🎰 Jennifer Lopez in Coin MasterCoin Master (MoonActive Ltd) brought J.Lo on board, and her star power and the game’s mechanics created a campaign that resonated with a diverse audience. She also shared a few of these ads on her social media, getting 5+ million views. You have probably seen a Kardashian playing Coin Master. Those ads started rolling back in 2019. It was June 2020 when they introduced new celebrities into the mix. It was J.Lo that accelerated the number of downloads […]

Matej Lancaric November 22

Journal

Burny Games: Making a few $M a month from Ads

Making a few million $$$ a month from ads revenue! 🤑 Anatolii Henis going from Social Casino to Mobile Puzzle Games. The live review of Burny Games! 👇 We discuss the transition from social casino games to ad-supported mobile games, the development and mechanics of their games PlayDoku and Colorwood Sort, and the importance of player retention and monetization strategies. The conversation also touches on their games' current performance and future plans for in-app purchases and hybridization. It delves into the mechanics and features of mobile games, focusing on user engagement, monetization strategies, and comparative analysis of different game titles. Discussing the unique mechanics of their games (and how Jakub fails), the importance of ad strategies, and insights into user acquisition and retention, providing a comprehensive overview of the current mobile gaming landscape. Felix was really excited to cover Playdoku […]

Matej Lancaric November 21

Highlights

Brutally Honest #139

Hey, FAM! What’s up? 🥃 Drink talk Planing a day trip to San Francisco. Anyone around Nov 26 or Nov 28? 🦩Tip of the week *BREAKING NEWS* AdROAS is live on Facebook. Start campaigns ASAP. It's already rolled out to 50% of advertisers, and you need to track the AdImpression event properly. No more shitty workarounds. Meta is finally getting on the AdROAS trend. It is only 2 years later than it should be, but better late than never! Jokes aside, Google, AppLovin, Unity, and Mintegral have already enabled AdROAS campaigns, but Facebook has historically lacked this functionality. For instructions on how to implement the event, see the official documentation. Adjust vs. Singular toggles: Adjust: Singular: Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any guidance for Appsflyer. After integration, follow these steps: Create an App Promotion campaign. Works with […]

Matej Lancaric November 21

Journal

Beginners Guide to ASO

𝐃𝐨 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐒𝐎? 𝐀 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐒𝐎 👇 Your app listing is your home base. Think of it as if you were running a restaurant. Even if you served the most f*ckin delicious kebabs on the planet, no one would want to step foot into your store if your signs are falling apart, you have terrible Google reviews, and your windows look like they haven’t been cleaned in decades.•Every successful app has a great app store page. No exceptions.•Is ASO the only thing you need to pay attention to? Absolutely no.•Is ASO going to save your game or app and help you get millions of organic installs? Most probably, no. ASO is the ongoing process of maneuvering your way to the top of the search results of different app stores. The higher you […]

Matej Lancaric November 19

Journal

The Future of UA

Creator programs. Everyone and their mom has one, including Roblox, Fortnite, Rush Royale, and Supercell…but why? What’s the ROI? Well, there are several benefits to starting one, including: Retention: keep the community engaged, return for new content, and generate buzz around updates Feedback loops and positive PR: get direct feedback from hardcore gamers and helps you contain negative feedback (rather than creators spreading criticism publicly) Generate user-generated content: build a constant engine of content around your game Distribution: build hype and get the news out for any new content or Reduce fatigue: keep your game’s ecosystem fresh and alive Reward: your most loyal fans Drive more revenue: more engagement around skins, bonuses, and upgrades ultimately helps build your ecosystem. All of the above has a direct impact on your User Acquisition activities. Supercell has recruited over 1,000 creators, claiming some have even increased viewership by 600%. I […]

Matej Lancaric November 18

Journal

Pokemon TCG Pocket is making $5.3M/Day in IAP!

𝐏𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐂𝐆 𝐏𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 🚀 $𝟓.𝟑𝐌𝐢𝐥/𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐀𝐏 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠! This game is going to hit $1 Billion in revenue in less than 9 months 👇 Don't you think? Well, in this special nostalgia episode with John we explore the gameplay mechanics, the nostalgia factor of the game, and the importance of booster packs and collection systems. Jakub discussed the innovative Wonder Pick mechanic that drives player interaction and excitement. There is a content pipeline for next quarter with trading and events coming. Uff! What a pipeline. Also, check the easter egg at the very end of the show. I assume this game spends around 5-10% of its daily revenue, which is $500k/day. This is a lot as a standalone number, but this is almost nothing regarding the overall daily revenue. The UA foundation is there, but they […]

Matej Lancaric November 16

Matej Lancaric

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