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2024 Top Hypercasual Mobile Game Publishers

2024 Top Hypercasual Mobile Game Publishers charts and my analysis, is a good start for 2025. Numbers tell a story... Does Revenue per Download really matter?Looking at the charts:↳ We have Rollic leading the hybrid-casual transition.Abi Game, Boombit, Lion and Voodoo following,↳ Tapnation, Supersonic, Supercent and Kwalee holding on to Advertisement Revenue tight.↳ While Azur dominated worldwide downloads,they are also depending on the Ad revenue as well.↳ Looking at Western revenue,Azur and Say Games leading, while Rollic stillholding the revenue per download flag.↳ Abi Game’s rise in the west is noticeably high,And they are generating games on every genre. ↳ The most crucial thing here is that whileAzur, Say Games, Rollic and Abi Games Studiotesting new games very often, other studiosrely on their existing titles.↳ When it comes to Homa, Boombit and Crazylabs,further analysis should tell more about them.All quickly made […]

Gökhan Üzmez January 7

Journal

How Games Manipulate Emotions

Most Game Devs Miss This Key Element! They refine mechanics, visuals, and stories.But they ignore the core: player emotions.Why?Because emotions seem unmeasurable.But emotions are the heart of gaming.Here’s a 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽-𝗯𝘆-𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:[1] Define the Desired EmotionsAsk: What do you want players to feel?Excitement? Fear? Joy? Clarity starts here.[2] Align Emotions with GenreNot every emotion fits every game.Your genre sets emotional expectations.[3] Identify Emotional TriggersPinpoint key moments to evoke emotions.Story twists? Boss fights? It all counts.[4] Map the Emotional Cycle• Stimulus (an event in the game).• Realization (seeing its value).• Reaction (a decision or action).• Expectation (hopes for outcomes).[5] Use Emotional TheoriesMaslow: Tap into player motivations.Plutchik: Mix and intensify emotions.[6] Adapt Gameplay DynamicallyChange based on real-time player input.Shift NPCs or difficulty for balance.[7] Balance Emotional LoadAvoid extremes of constant highs or lows.Neutral gameplay lets players recover.Design games that don’t just entertain,↳ but […]

Sergei Vasiuk January 7

Journal

10 Years of Game Dev in 100 No BS Advice

10 Years of Game Development in 100 No BS Advice --- 🎮 GAME DESIGN ---1. Build around a mechanic that sparks curiosity.2. Make failure a chance to learn, not just a penalty.3. Polish how game actions feel until they shine.4. Let the game whisper its rules, not shout them.5. Support mastery and casual play alike.6. Tie progression to gameplay, not separate systems.7. Focus on why players return, not just monetization.8. Evolve challenges alongside player growth.9. Reward creativity, not just accuracy.10. Make each challenge tell a story without words.--- 🕹️ USER EXPERIENCE --- 11. Make controls feel second nature, not forced. 12. Sync visual, audio, and tactile feedback. 13. Guide with light and color, not cluttered UI. 14. Keep design invisible yet essential. 15. Use consistent patterns for menus and interactions. 16. Tailor interactions to the moment of play. 17. Put […]

Anton Slashcev January 7

Journal

User reviews = your ASA & ASO Cheat Sheet

⭐️ User reviews = your ASA & ASO cheat sheet ⭐️ While prepping for PocketGamer.biz London, I dove into MobileAction App Intelligence insights and discovered something really interesting.I analyzed a variety of games: Exploring App Store pages, creative strategies, keywords, ratings, rankings... But one discovery really stood out while looking into Love & Pies by Trailmix Games.Out of the last 620 US reviews, a few keywords kept popping up, pointing to the 3 things players loved most about the game:- Story (59%)- Graphics (23%)- Inclusivity/characters (10%)This completely changed how I approach ASO, ASA keyword optimization, and especially Custom Product Pages (CPPs):- For returning users, spotlight updates to the story they’re already invested in.- For new users, highlight visuals and inclusivity to stand out from competitors.Reviews aren’t just feedback; Use them as a goldmine for your ASO, ASA, and UA strategies.

Julie Tonna January 7

Journal

How to Create Playables

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝟮𝟳𝘅 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀. 𝗜𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝟮𝟯𝘅. Playables can add some spice to your UA & help you scale. Learn how to produce killer playables 👇 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁? Video ads get boring, too. They’re cost-friendly to run. On Android and some ad networks, playables are one of the cheapest to run on ($0.60) and run at less than half the cost of native ads ($1.22), according to @Liftoff recent study. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?Playable ads add variety to your UA campaigns. With so much access to creative tools to produce them, it’s a no-brainer to add them to your creative mix for testing. Here are a few more reasons why you should play around with them:𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴, especially when compared directly […]

Matej Lancaric January 7

Journal

Solitaire genre is getting super hot!

The Solitaire genre is gonna get super hot 🔥 this year 😁. There are 4 high profile games already in the soft launch phase. Who is gonna win this race? The Solitaire category is currently completely dominated by Playtika's Solitaire Grand Harvest making $15 Mil. a month. So who are the challengers? King's Candy Crush Solitaire has been in soft launch for a long time bringing the big IP with him. Metacore is getting out of their merge comfort zone bringing their Grandma into the genre. Wooga is using their perfected metagame from June's journey, swapping the hidden object core for solitaire. And lastly SuperPlay is applying their winning metagame formula from Domino dreams, where they already conquered that genre, to solitaire with a Disney IP.What is the kicker here? The last two games studios are actually owned by Playtika […]

Jakub Remiar January 7

Journal

Crafting Player-Centric Experiences

First of all, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! To kick things off, could you introduce yourself to our audience and share a little about what got you started in the industry? Danielle: Yeah, it’s my pleasure! So, I’m Danielle, and I’m the Head of Player Experience at Ilyon. My love for games started when I was 13 and first rolled a d20, discovering the magic of Dungeons & Dragons. Ever since, I’ve been immersed in tabletop RPGs, LARPs, and the occasional video game—though my heart will always belong to role-playing adventures. Professionally, I’ve always been drawn to roles that focus on people. I’ve worked as a flight attendant, account manager, and customer success lead across various industries. Before joining Ilyon, I was at Eldritch Foundry, where I helped bring tabletop players’ imaginations to life by creating […]

Michael Kopelovich January 7

Journal

The Sweet Art of Feature Adaptation

In the ever-evolving landscape of the gaming industry, it's no secret that games often draw inspiration from one another. This cross-pollination of ideas isn't confined to a single genre or platform; it's a universal phenomenon that drives innovation continuously. Whether it's a unique gameplay mechanic from an indie title or a groundbreaking event in one of the biggest franchises, developers consistently look to each other to spark creativity and fuel progress. When a new feature or event makes waves in a particular game, it's only natural for others within the same genre to take notice. After all, if something resonates with players, why not explore its potential in a similar context? However, in a world where game updates are dissected in real-time by every other developer, keeping such innovations under wraps has become virtually impossible. The moment you introduce a […]

Ahmetcan Demirel January 6

Journal

Mobile Games Benchmarking

How do you usually approach (early stage) mobile games benchmarking? This article discusses about benchmarking and introduces couple methods (/’schools’) over it.The article is partly related to (/complements it) also my previous article about importance of Business Modeling (https://gamesalchemy.substack.com/p/6-why-business-modeling-your-f2p):How To Approach Benchmarking?There seems to be on high level few ‘schools’ to look into:One goes deep in understanding KPIs from macro tools such as Sensor Tower, data ai, AppMagic and other sources of data (ad networks, MMPs, industry reports, industry peers, etc.), and using them in combination for benchmarking.‘Schools’ that with current commercial sentiment aim, e.g., for hybrid casual games to have 40-50% (or even more) D1 and < $1 CPIs (US) for starting point — to invest further (kinda overlooks benchmarking, but counts in a target profiling of top 5-100 games in certain categories).‘Schools’ that start with scientific approach where […]

Antti Kananen January 6

Highlights

Mobile Gaming Today: 41

Hej Fam! Curious about how you celebrated the New Year! Hope you had a great one 🕺 For me, this one has been the worst. Why? 👇🏻 NYE Germany: Several killed after Fireworks Chaos Is it just about people dying? So many injuries… Animals & Plants, Halloo? 🇩🇪 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Though, here’s a COOL update from 2024: 🥁 tooo-too-too-toooom! 🥁 Made it to the Top 10 Mobile Gaming Content Creators! 🌍 Super grateful for all the love and support. Thank you, Gaming People! Weekly Quote Mobile Marketing » User Acquisition & Creative Learnings 2024 🌊 Soft-launch Sonar #7 📱 Mobile Gaming in 2024 🔧 LiveOps Full Breakdown 📈 Evolution Pull-The-Pin Trend 🎁 Interesting Offer in Coin Master 📉 Decrease the CPIs. Whatever it takes! 👾 iOS Games: Top Free ASO & ASA Tools 🤔 User Reactions to Gen AI-created Content? 💐 […]

Gamigion January 6

Journal

‘Unorthodox’ Product and Positioning Strategies

Let's talk about 'unorthodox' Product & Positioning strategies no-one is currently looking into! This article focuses on covering and discussing 'unorthodox' Product and Positioning Strategies that are beyond current commercial sentiment in F2P Mobile Games Welcome to the ‘Unorthodox’ Side of Things! However, despite this, there are lots of opportunities out there no-one is currently looking into; OR they work on them in total secrecy! Shh-h! We’re exploring the shadowy place here. What I mean by ‘unorthodox’ here is everything that is basically beyond the current commercial sentiment and state / phase of the mobile games industry. Here are few examples of 'unorthodox' Product & Positioning strategies that are 'forbidden': Genres and sub-genres no-one is looking to invest in. As publishers, VCs and investors tend to avoid certain midcore, hardcore, and other markets with certain characteristics, there's less money flowing […]

Antti Kananen January 6

Journal

How to Design Difficulty in Puzzle Games

How to Design Difficulty in Puzzle Games Based on the Playliner research, here is a guide to designing difficulty:1. Offer multiple difficulty tiers • Easy, Hard, Super Hard — with clear visuals to indicate the level.2. Use attempts, not win rate, to tune difficulty • Low attempts (1–3) = Easy • High attempts (20–35) = Hard3. Follow a recommended difficulty curve • Start easy (Levels 1–20) to build confidence • Add a hard spike (Levels 20–30) to create challenge • Introduce progressive increases and major paywalls after Level 504. Gradually introduce mechanics• Let players master core gameplay before adding complexity.5. Reward wisely• Scale rewards with difficulty. Tougher levels should yield better prizes.6. Test and iterate• Track completion rates. • Adjust blocker levels. • Fine-tune using player feedback.• Alternate between challenging and easier phases. Make the game feel “just challenged enough” […]

Anton Slashcev January 6

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