Not having a roadmap causes immense pain.

1 tip I learned running a 100+ gaming studio: Not having a roadmap causes immense pain.There’s nothing worse than not being able to fix yourmonthly run-rate, set a deadline and outline your milestones to run your business.Roadmaps are the heart and soul of it all.Without them you end up stuck and directionless.Without deadlines you stagnate. Without milestones you remain at square one.Imagine being able to:- Have a clear roadmap- Have the ability to hire on demand- Have the budget to move the business forwardHow much more would your business grow?For those who have a roadmap.Revisit it.Monthly.Think twice or pay the price.How often do you revisit your roadmap?

Alexis Gresoviac November 9

Journal

Even after 5 years, I still think this book is the BEST one!

This book helped me grow from Mid-level → Senior-level in Game Design 5 years ago. And no, it’s not ‘The Art of Game Design’ 😁 Even after 5 years, I still think this book is the BEST one!This Book is ‘Advanced Game Design: A system approach’ by Michael SellersTo understand WHY I like it so much:Here’s how I define a great Game Designer today. My TOP-3 criteria:↳ The way of thinking ↳ System approach ↳ Economy and balanceIt's hard to find one that truly builds all of them — but this one does.While reading it, I created one of my best-performing features of that period:↳ It boosted ARpDAU by +30%(!) whenever the feature was active↳ Even other projects in our company copied it↳ And it’s still alive, 5 years laterThe feature was as simple as it was smart:→ Solved a […]

Olha Semykina November 8

Journal

I see great studios burn from poor budgeting.

I see great studios burn from poor budgeting. Here's the 40-30-20-10 Rule:1/ Development (40%)2/ Marketing (30%)3/ Operations (20%)4/ Emergency Buffer (10%)The catch?This budget works IF you already have money.In reality, every business is different.And your budget should be too.The key?The review.As MD at Blizzard I had weekly budget meetings.Analyzing spend vs. performance.Moving money where data showed it worked best.Otherwise, you risk overfunding low-priority projects.1 practical step:Do you have a 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸?15 minutes → Track actual vs. planned spend ↳ Adjust next week/month's allocationA financial pulse check.After managing $100M+ budgets, I can tell you:in 1 week, EVERYTHING can change.To survive the fire as a studio.Small regular adjustments.Don't get burnt!----I am doing a live podcast on this topic soon.Wednesday 6th November here on LinkedInThere will be an opportunity for Q&AWill be a pleasure to see you there.🗓️ Link to signup here: […]

Alexis Gresoviac November 8

Journal

My Supermarket Simulator 3D by Game District is the winner

My Supermarket Simulator 3D by Game District is the winner 🏆 of the Supermarket mobile race with 20 Mil. downloads for last month still doing around 600K 😱 downloads and $50K revenue a day. Why did it won? Out of all the supermarket games 🛒 (as this whole trend is based on a successful PC game on Steam) it has the most polish, most smooth tutorial and even ads some of its own on top of the original concept. Hard work did really payed off here 💪. We covered the first big mobile port in May and despite launching only in July, the Game District team was able to come on top. There is much clearer meta progression with goods 🛍️ ordered into milestone unlocks through license categories and even an automation of gameplay as you can hire your own […]

Jakub Remiar November 8

Journal

Boom Beach by Supercell has seen long-term engagement decline

When looked over the long haul, Boom Beach by Supercell has seen long-term engagement decline (despite bringing great amount of revenue and success) over its lifecycle; a common trend for many mobile games as their player bases gradually lose interest after peak growth. Quickly looking, AppMagic analytics show that while e.g., their Warships update successfully reinvigorated engagement, giving players a competitive mode and new objectives, this effect was not overall solution for them as overall the long-term engagement is back on slowing down. Since then, DAU and MAU numbers have waned over long period of time, underscoring a need for further refreshing gameplay to keep the core player base engaged and finding meaningful ways how to introduce the game for new audiences.Obviously, it is not an easy job to refresh something like this for growth back again -- but Supercell […]

Antti Kananen November 8

Journal

Getting Started with Ad Revenue: Applovin MAX

For the fourth installment of Getting Started with Mobile Ad Revenue, we’ll dive deep into Applovin MAX and its features. Here’s what we’ll cover: Setting up ad units Reading and analyzing data Launching A/B tests As with our previous blog posts on Admob and LevelPlay: We’ll kick off with the pros and cons of using MAX mediation. Pros: Highest eCPM on video inventory Access to AdROAS & Blended ROAS UA campaigns on Applovin Emphasis on Bidders vs. Waterfall, reducing manual work Broad availability of networks Cons: Cross Promo tool will be deprecated; users must transition to Google Ad Manager Applovin’s aggressive video end cards and extended creative lengths may impact retention Getting Started First, apply for MAX access via the Applovin website. Once approved, you’ll receive a confirmation email, and you can log in to your MAX account. Upon your […]

Felix Braberg November 8

Journal

River Fence: The Evolution of a New Trend in Mobile Games

🎉 𝐑𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 👇 Idle games have long-inspired genres, often requiring innovative marketing to compensate for their "low-action" gameplay. In March 2022, Idle Lumber by AppQuantum set a new standard by introducing a unique element in their creatives—a river fence that stops logs. This idea evolved further in September 2023, establishing a trend that’s been catching on ever since.It took a bit of time, but other games eventually picked up on this mechanic. By May 2024, Idle Fishing 2 (Multicastgames LLC) cleverly adapted the river fence concept, transforming it into a net that fits seamlessly into their gameplay. And then, things really got interesting. In July 2024, AppQuantum took this trend to the next level with a new publishing deal with Rockbite Games Armenia Games, releasing Idle Outpost. This game quickly scaled […]

Matej Lancaric November 8

Journal

350+ feature references from the top 100 mobile games.

I've collected 350+ feature references from the top 100 mobile games. What's inside:🎮 FTUE (First Time User Experience)🎟️ Season Pass🎁 Daily Bonus🔥 Starter Pack🛒 Shop🏆 Win/Lose Screens📖 Storytelling...and much moreHow to get it:1. Comment 'references' below.2. Add me as a connection so I can DM you.3. I'll send you the link to the Figma board → Duplicate and use it as you wish.References are gathered using the Playliner platform.

Anton Slashcev November 8

Journal

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗖𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘

𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗢𝗞𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗖𝗚 𝗪𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗚𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘• Prior mobile Pokemon CCG 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘐𝘈𝘗. Yes, that’s right.• The new game is polished but revolves around timer-based pack openings.• 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.• Over $20M so far, but downloads 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁.• Japan dominates ($26/download; U.S.: $4.36).• Strong collection loops with Codex moments at pack openings but a weaker version of physical CCG.• And yes, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆.• 𝗠𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗖𝗖𝗚𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, far from Pokemon Go’s $800M annual revenue.• Failure to evolve beyond Snap’s lukewarm success, weak meta, or UGC adoption. Markets failed, too (Artifact).• Inability to build strong meta loops or explore UGC. 𝗦𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗘 𝗔𝗣𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗗; 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗦?• Turning into 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻 (Space Ape brand dead), but games have declined the last year.• They’ve been working on Boom Beach and Hayday, so they […]

Phillip Black November 8

Journal

Top must-read reports & webinars this week for Marketers

⚡️ Top must-read reports & webinars this week for Marketers! 1️⃣ Put AI to Work for Marketing Teams [Webinar] by OpenAIA deep dive into how AI can streamline marketing processes, where OpenAI shares insights on integrating AI tools effectively, from content generation to predictive analytics.🔗 https://lnkd.in/eCRzkK9c2️⃣ Q3 Quarterly Trends Report [Report] by SingularHighlights the latest in mobile marketing trends, attribution challenges, and key industry benchmarks, with insights from Digital Turbine, Mobile Growth Association, RevX, yellowHEAD, SHAMSCO & Marcus Burke.🔗 https://lnkd.in/ec3gUhAV3️⃣ State of Digital Advertising 2024 [Report] from Sensor TowerFor understanding shifts in ad spend, format performance, and consumer behavior trends in 2024.🔗 https://lnkd.in/eUHHcsM3

Julie Tonna November 8

Journal

Games on the Rise #5

GAMES ON THE RISE # 5, WEEK, OCTOBER, 2024 The last week of October brought some interesting games on the rise! 📈 ✨Some of them have different mechanics and perform well.I've highlighted 4️⃣ titles.➡️ “Clue Master - Logic Puzzles” by Lion Studios.It's an outstanding logic puzzle game with a detective theme. 🕵️‍♀️Its UX is straightforward, similar to life simulators such as “BitLife” by Candywriter, LLC.Btw, the “Clue Master” developer is Regulus Studio, an Indonesian company led by Armandarius Darmadji, which has a successful simulator in its portfolio, “Family Tree! - Logic Puzzles” (US$1.2MM IAP revenue), also published by Lion.I loved “Clue Master”! 💞I played it for over an hour and a half non-stop! 🤪And it seems that I'm not the only one who thinks so…According to AppMagic, “Clue” has been growing in revenue and downloads recently, with a high market […]

Carlos Pereira November 8

Journal

Pocket Pair, the creator of Palworld, cited the patents Nintendo is suing them under.

Pocket Pair, the creator of Palworld, cited the patents Nintendo is suing them under. And boy, is it Japanese patent law nuts. It's enough to radicalize me against patent protection of any type in games (I'm looking at you, Shadow of War). While something might be lost in translation, the breath is insane.𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝗼. 𝗝𝗣𝟳𝟱𝟰𝟱𝟭𝟵𝟭𝗕𝟭It tries to patent, among other things, how players capture and train virtual creatures over time, including evolution mechanics.— It specifically discussed how multiple evolution paths change stats based on player input (e.g., a creature gets more health because you pet it).𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝗼. 𝗝𝗣𝟳𝟱𝟮𝟴𝟯𝟵𝟬𝗕𝟮This one is sore nuts, trying to patent how players interact in biomes, like altering terrain or weather conditions. It includes progression systems like resource points based on in-game gathering activities!𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗡𝗼. 𝗝𝗣𝟳𝟰𝟵𝟯𝟭𝟭𝟳𝗕𝟮This one is more technical, and I'm unsure how to read […]

Phillip Black November 8

Journal

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