Journal

Hexa Sort by Lion Studios is really crushing it with around $15 Mil. a month 🤑 and around 3,5 Mil downloads a month. We had it on our radar for some time, but it seems it reached a record scale just this month, kudos to the team 😎 Why is it so successful? The core gameplay is very unique, as it basically created its own sorting sub-genre in a very crowded segment. The core is deliberately design to have long level ⌛ times as users can hop in and out of the level at any point, no time or moves pressure. Only space on the board is the main fail state mechanic. If you can't put additional hexes on the board that is full you lose 😵. The other important fact is that new hexes spawn only in trio, so […]

My 5-year mobile casual game analysis makes you see the big picture.Numbers, tell a story, here are take aways: Think you work with complicated Excel sheets?Take a look at my visuals to tell you a story. It's almost like I don't have a design degree, because I, almost, always NEED more graphs! Seriously, I spent hours to make it look simple,And somehow it looks more complicated. 🤡 Here are my take aways:✦ Market is NOT saturated,(DM me if you think so)✦ Yes, release of Monopoly GO! made an impact,✦ Adventure games added a LOT of Ad Revenue,✦ Organic growth is still a thing,(Super market !)✦ Simulation games are the most steady ones,✦ Big Publisher’s IAP driven strategy paid off,✦ It gets harder define genres every year,✦ RPG Download increase is REAL

Think games are made only by programmers? Think again! Here’s a glimpse into the professionals it takes to bring a game to life:Development • Programming: gameplay programmers, AI engineers, full-stack developers • Art: concept artists, 3D modelers, illustrators • Game Design: level designers, narrative designers, system designers • Quality Assurance: QA testers, compliance testers, automation engineers • Animation & Audio: character animators, sound designers, audio engineers Localization & Community • Localization: translators, cultural adaptation specialists • Community Management: community managers, social media managers, moderators Marketing & Sales • Marketing: creative producers, content makers, growth managers • Business Development: sales managers, licensing managers, monetization experts Administration • Management: CEOs, CTOs, product managers • HR & Finance: recruiters, payroll managers, legal counsel • Support: customer service reps, player support specialists Other Key Roles • Esports & Events: tournament organizers, coaches, commentators • […]

I've worked with many offer types, but the 'Endless Offer' type is still my favorite. Want to know WHY? There is always something for Player to buy↪ A typical common offer runs for 24 hours; if a player buys it within the first hour, there's nothing left to purchase. An Endless Offer, however, is like having "8-in-1". Once launched, it guarantees there's always something for players to spend on. Self-segmentation↪ Prices within the offer gradually increase with each purchase, gently guiding players to spend more. There's no pressure — players spend as much as they're comfortable with. Some might buy only 2 offers, others 5, and some will take them ALL.↪ Segmenting your offers allows for even better personalization. Moreover, you only need a few segments to see the impactVisual hook↪ With every purchase, players receive an additional 3-5 rewards "for FREE."↪ While both […]

Monetizing live-ops events in mobile games has become a sophisticated art, blending player engagement with timely, well-designed offers. Events like Halloween-themed treasure hunts and Snakes and Ladders-inspired challenges add excitement and create time-limited opportunities for players to progress faster. A core strategy that developers use to enhance monetization during these events is offering special bundles and rolling offers, designed to help players advance while adding value to their in-game purchases. In this article, we continue our exploration with new examples from popular games, showcasing how developers strategically implement event-specific offers to balance player progression with revenue growth. "Piggy GO" by Forever9 Games In this event, Piggy GO integrates rewarded video ads as an effective way to boost player engagement while offering free progression options. The event screen presents a tiered reward structure, where players earn increasingly valuable rewards by watching […]

How important is IP in gaming in 2024? On one hand, it's clear that we're seeing a greater merging of gaming with broader entertainment trends. A recent survey by Newzoo revealed that a significant percentage of gamers are drawn to engagement types that extend beyond gameplay ("A𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺"). These include: 🔹 "Movies or TV based on game" (56% in US, 55% in UK, 73% in Brasil, 75% in India, 81% in Indonesia) 🔹 "Toys or collectibles of a game" (45% in US, 39% in UK, 60% in Brasil, 68% in Indonesia) 🔹 "Fast food or drinks that give rewards in the game" (49% in US, 42% in UK, 61% in Brasil, 66% in India, 69% in Indonesia) 🔹 "In-game rewards by subscribing to other services" (51% in US, 45% in UK, 76% in Brasil, 69% […]

🚀 *Big Opportunities in F2P Re-Engagement & Retargeting Strategies!* 🚀 In free-to-play games, the untapped potential for re-engagement lies in understanding the game’s economy and the player equity built over time. Many UA, Marketing, and Product Marketing teams are missing the mark by not leveraging this.When players invest time and effort, they’re building a “virtual equity”—assets like characters, resources, and in-game achievements. This emotional and financial value can be a game-changer in driving effective re-engagement and re-targeting strategies.**Here’s one example:** Imagine a campaign that highlights the specific assets players have accumulated and unlocks potential next steps in their journey. For instance, if a player has spent hours leveling up a character, a re-engagement message could remind them of how close they are to a new milestone or offer a special challenge to leverage that character’s strength. It’s a reminder of […]

You’ve heard me talk a lot about the benefits of remote work. Having been remote and distributed for nearly a decade, I’ve seen how well it can work. The pandemic introduced the entire world to remote work.For most, once you’ve experienced remote work, it seems obvious… “Why haven’t we been working like this all along?”For someone like myself, who has worked from anywhere distributed across multiple time zones for years before the pandemic, The debates around:-> Onsite-> Hybrid-> Remote-> RTO mandatesare all secondary to creating tremendous value with relatively small distributed teams. This is why, pre-pandemic, I didn’t even think of myself as a remote worker; I thought of myself as a member of a high-performing team that just happened to be spread around the world. It’s technologically feasible to work from anywhere, distributed and asynchronously, and it has been […]