Journal

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

High ARPU vs Low ARPU: What's Driving the Difference?Here’s the breakdown:𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗨 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 💰 • Game Start: Immediate action or engaging intro that hooks players • Onboarding: Short, interactive tutorial integrated into gameplay• Core Loop: Addictive gameplay mechanics that encourage repeat play. • Generosity: Regular rewards and bonuses for active players. • Progression: Levels and rewards that feel achievable. • Goals: Clear short- and long-term objectives for players to strive toward. • Ads: Optional, minimal interruptions that offer rewards. • Game Balance: Skill-based success with balanced matchmaking and economy• Engagement: Daily challenges and fresh content to keep players involved. • Updates: Frequent updates with new features and bug fixes. • Feedback: Listening to players and communicating clearly. • Performance: Smooth gameplay, fast load times, minimal bugs. • Interface: Clean design, intuitive controls.𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗥𝗣𝗨 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 😕 • Game Start: Long loading […]

Cup Heroes: Voodoo's new hybrid casual hit, making 🤑 $160k/day! Steady growth with ad placement excellence. What about their UA? uff! 👇 Cup Heroes makes around 50% of its revenue from ads, making it a true hybrid casual game. There are 29 ad placements in 1 run = 15 waves that the player encounters. With 45-50 minutes played daily, averaging five sessions per day and around 7.5min per session, that’s almost ad juggernaut. (wink wink, Felix!)This is a detailed review of Cup Heroes by Voodoo, discussing its hybrid casual gameplay, performance metrics, monetization strategies, and user experience. We explore the game's growth trajectory, retention rates, and how it compares to Mob Control other titles in the market.Discussing the effectiveness of decoys and rewards in gameplay, the impact of skill randomizers on player experience, and the creative approaches used in-game advertising.But […]

How Last War and WhiteOut Survival Expand Their Player Base 📈Take a look at the Top 10 4X strategy games in the image below. Notice how far ahead the Top 2 games are from their competitors. And the year-on-year growth? Absolutely insane! 🚀What’s driving this success?— Popular, engaging settings 🌍— More of the casual mechanics 🎯— Fresh visuals and more dynamic gameplay 🎨— Stronger appeal to female players 👩‍💻Want to know more? Read the new article on AppMagic, written in collaboration with Olga Sobolevskaya, Game Market Analyst at MY.GAMES, whose insights lay the foundation for this research into evolving trends in 4X games. The link is here.

Came across this fun mechanic in 'Dice Dreams' —Piggy Wheel! 🐷🎡 The event encourages players to "break the piggy" to earn a free spin on the wheel, adding an extra layer of excitement and reward to the gameplay. What’s even better is that some of the rewards tie directly into the pet event, which is a nice touch to keep players invested in multiple features at once. It’s a clever way to drive engagement while keeping things interactive and fun. 🎲💫What do you think—does this kind of feature keep you playing?

How the Mobile Market Changed from 2015 to 20241. Top Free Games [https://lnkd.in/emxuJNVX] • 2015: Subway Surfers and Talking Tom were leading. • 2024: Roblox dominates, driven by user-generated content.2. Top Grossing Games [https://lnkd.in/emxuJNVX] • 2015: Clash of Clans was on top. • 2024: Honor of Kings takes the lead, reflecting Tencent’s growing influence.3. Top Publishers [https://lnkd.in/eT9C8FUW] • 2015: Supercell and King were leading the industry. • 2024: Tencent, Scopely, and Playrix have emerged as key players.4. Top Casual Games [https://lnkd.in/e6MViVcK] • 2015: Candy Crush Saga held the top spot. • 2024: MONOPOLY GO! and Royal Match have surged in popularity.5. Top Hypercasual Games [https://lnkd.in/epJ6KA2Y] • 2015: Crossy Road was one of the big hits. • 2024: Puzzle-based games like Pizza Ready! now dominate.6. Top Midcore Games [https://lnkd.in/eJ7_A4Ed] • 2015: Clash of Clans led the charts. • 2024: Honor of […]

🎰 Unlocking key insights in the Slots Genre! Our latest deep dive into the performance of top slots titles reveals key trends and growth drivers in this thriving genre. Here are some highlights from:📊 Top Titles:SciPlay: Jackpot PartyProduct Madness 📱🎮: Lightning LinkPlaytika: SlotomaniaDoubleDown Interactive: DoubleDown CasinoSpinX Games Limited: Jackpot WorldCheck out the report highlights in the carousel below to learn about: 👇📉 Download Trends📱 Platform Performance📈 User Engagement🔄 Retention Rates👥 Audience Insights🎨 Top Creative ThemesVia: Gaming GrowthNumbers by: Apptica

🎯 Gossip Harbor by MicrofunIn the Bingo Bonanza event, players are motivated to complete bingo lines faster through event-specific packs. The screenshot on the right showcases the available bundles, offering gems, coins, and exclusive rewards to accelerate progress. Players can choose from three different packs, each providing a unique set of resources to suit various play styles.What’s particularly strategic is the Buy All option, where players receive a discount for purchasing all packs together, maximizing their event advantage while offering value. This approach blends regular progression with premium purchases, ensuring players can advance quickly without feeling stuck.

Here is the last case I had with 𝐀𝐄𝐌 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 for mobile gaming since Adjust sent the email about how they were expanding the coverage of AEM on October 9th (check my last post to see that).For some reason, this is the perfect example because one day before this email came, I started one AEM campaign based on purchases and using a 7D CTA window for this client (yes, this is a sweet coincidence that you are all taking advantage off😉) so let's see how the campaign has performed.During the first week of the campaign (08.10 to 14.10), I see the following data on AEM:👉331 installs👉288 signups👉69 total purchasesIf I look at Adjust dashboard (not SKAN), I see:👉178 installs👉171 signups👉20 total purchases If I look at SKAN (keeping in mind that we didn't receive all the postbacks yet), I […]

I’m 50. At 20 I left France to work in Japan.30 years later, I have been managing director of 3 giant studios.I now consult studios from 1:1 coaching to interim CEO.Here’s the story:- Decade 1 -At 16 years old I dreamed of becoming a vet. In France this required genius level math.This led me to economics.It felt like a setback, but it opened a new path. Business- Decade 2 -At 20 years old I wanted to live and work in Japan.It became a dream for me. So I made it happen.My professional life was thriving.There was little work-life balance. But I loved it.- Decade 3 -At 29 years old started my new life.I had a great chance to build a business from scratch.Building Gameloft Japan from just me in my bedroom.To 150 people and becoming a leading mobile game publisher […]