Journal
Chrome Valley Customs: Male Match 3 Audience
Chrome Valley Customs by Space Ape Games is one year old and still dominates the male Match 3 audience. Already behind $35 Mil. 🤑 and 14 Mil. downloads, we are joined by Dmitry Gubanenkov to live review the game 😎.The core gameplay is a match3 puzzle, but the metagame is a story-based restoration of vintage cars 🚗. And this fantasy is executed perfectly. During onboarding you are restoring 🛠️ cars much more time than playing match3.Usually, match3 games have a 70% female audience. This game however has a 70% male audience proving an underserved niche. Truck Star from Century Games is already following this same use case with the Trucks theme 🚛.🦩 Matej Lancaric also talks about UA strategy, where the game used rapper Xzibit from the TV show 📺 Pimp My Ride to integrate into the creatives successfully. Thanks, […]
Creativity with AI: 3 Insights from a Creative Strategist
As a non-native English speaker, I started using AI to check my grammar when I moved to an international work environment. Initially, I was so nervous that I paid for a ChatGPT account to double-check every sentence. Curiosity eventually got the best of me and I began using GPT more extensively, making it my everyday tool. As a Creative Strategist, I currently use AI to search for information in languages other than English, write summaries, generate reference images, role-play with personas of the target audience, and so much more. But when a certain tab is open during your entire workday, it’s inevitable to stumble upon the walls that stop you from getting the results you want. Here are three of my main learnings about AI’s capabilities, and its limitations. 1. Using AI for structured content can be a challenge. Time […]
State of Gaming & Non-Gaming After H1 2024
What's the state of the gaming and non-gaming industries after the first half of 2024? Dive into this presentation for a detailed analysis and summary of key trends (based on Sensortower data).In general:▪ iOS outperforms Android in both gaming and non-gaming revenue. ▪ Following a period of growth, both sectors experienced a sharp decline in June 2024, with Android gaming revenue dropping 15% year-over-year (YoY) 😮.▪ This decline is notable, although it is good to know that June 2023 was also the weakest month of 2023.▪US gaming revenue in June 2024 was particularly weak, decreasing 31% YoY 😮. ▪ However, summarising H1 2024 revenue for both Android and iOS (excluding China) reveals a slight overall growth compared to H1 2023.▪ Most of the gaming revenue growth came from the Strategy, Action, Puzzle, and Casual genres. ▪ In non-gaming, strong revenue […]
Top Newcomers: Zenless Zone Zero, Minesweeper Netflix & More
TOP-LIST NEWCOMERS ”ZENLESS ZONE ZERO”, “MINESWEEPER NETFLIX”, AND OTHERS. Last week was filled with new games on the top charts. 🏅I'll talk about some of them below.✅ “Zenless Zone Zero” by HoYoverseThe developer of the big hits “Genshin Impact” and “Honkai: Star Rail” released its new action RPG for iOS, Android, PC, and PS5 last week: “Zenless Zone Zero”.As with previous HoYoverse games, ZZZ begins with incredible numbers. 🤯In five days the game reached almost US$20MM in IAP revenue on the Apple store alone.Among the game reviews, I recommend Harshal Karvande's excellent article on the Naavik blog. 👉 🧠✅ “Schoolboy Runaway - stealth” by Linked Squad“Schoolboy” is a life simulator in which the player is a young man unhappy with his parents.As it says in the store description, “immerse yourself in the role of a schoolchild whom the parents punished […]
Effective Phone Connect Funnel by Coin Master
Here's a great example of an effective phone connect funnel that I saw in Coin Master by Moon Active. This simple yet engaging process makes it easy for players to connect their phone numbers and rewards them along the way. It’s a strategy that other game developers can learn from to enhance player engagement and retention.How It Works:✅ Step 1: Enter Your Phone Number✅ Step 2: Enter the Verification Code✅ Step 3: Receive Your Rewards✅ Step 4: Add Friends and Get Additional RewardsThis method is straightforward and keeps the user engaged throughout the process by offering immediate rewards. It's an excellent way to integrate players more deeply into the game ecosystem and ensure they feel valued.
80 GameDev Tools Cheat Sheet 2.0
Thanks to all community members for their valuable feedback on the previous version of this list, which helped create the improved 2.0 version:
Royal Match: Monetization at the Point of Failure
Have you noticed how Royal Match cleverly uses the moment of failure to present enticing monetization offers? When players run out of moves, they're immediately offered a special offer or a Royal Pass. This tactic targets players' frustration and sense of failure, increasing the likelihood of spending to overcome the challenge.By presenting these offers right when players need them most, Royal Match effectively boosts spending habits and enhances player retention. Check out the screenshot below to see this strategy in action! 👇
Gaming Industry Research Tips #1
1. You Target Audience Is Not Always Visible While studying reviews is a basic step, it’s crucial to consider the majority of players who don’t express their opinions online. To learn about their preferences, tastes, and habits, delve into reports from public companies. You might be surprised to discover that a game, seemingly a failure, can actually be a successful project in terms of copies sold. For mobile games, gather as many metrics as possible from the targeted market, such as gender split, playtime, and spending habits. These metrics can reveal more about your players than reviews ever could. The minorities are loud, but the majority often speak through their actions. 2. Actually Play Games Play. Play a lot. This hands-on experience will not only give you valuable insights into the genre you’re targeting but also speed up all your […]
The Power of 3-Day Offers in Mobile Games
I have been noticing a growing trend in mobile games lately: The 3-day Offer This type of promotion has been popping up in various games and it’s easy to see why—it works wonders for both player retention and revenue. 💰 What Are 3-Day Offers? 🤔 3-day offers are special promotions that provide players with valuable rewards over a period of three days, typically at a low price. These offers usually appear early in the game, such as a welcome offer, and encourage players to return daily to collect their rewards. Why They Work 💡 - Retention Boost: By requiring players to log in over multiple days, these offers effectively increase player retention. Players are more likely to come back to the game if they’ve already invested in future play.- Great Value: These offers provide substantial value at a low cost, […]
Top Soft Launch: Waterpark Boys by Supercent
TOP SOFT LAUNCH ”WATERPARK BOYS” BY SUPERCENT One of the biggest game publishers at the moment, Supercent, is on the rise with another Idle Arcade.💦 “𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬” 🛟Keeping the gameplay and features of the South Korean publisher's previous hits (such as ”Pizza Ready!” 103MM and “Burger Please!” 90MM), "WaterPark" has some interesting differentials.It doesn't have the repetitive tasks typical of an entrepreneurship game.Because the Water Park theme opens up the creation of different and unexpected products/services.From swimming pool 🏊♀️ to skiing. ⛷️This simple but meaningful change brings freshness to the subgenre.Another difference was the inclusion of a reward for visiting the publisher's social networks. 📲It's no coincidence that his social networks have a good number of followers.📌 Youtube - 1MM📌 TikTok - 421k📌 Instagram - 314kAnother difference I liked was the inclusion of skins.Enabled by reward videos, the design of […]
Daily Calendar event of Block Jam
Daily Calendar event of Block Jam Block Jam by Voodoo and Partyup has cleverly integrated the Bus Jam mechanic into its ads and daily calendar feature, creating a mini-game event that is helping out in terms of CPI, player retention, and even monetization. It's interesting to see how both the games have been inspired by each other.Daily Calendar Event: To keep the experience fresh and engaging, Block Jam has introduced a daily calendar feature. Players can only play one level each day, creating anticipation and daily engagement. 📅🔁Missed Days: If a player misses a day, they can catch up by watching a rewarded ad for the past days of the month, ensuring no days are missed.Exclusive Access: Each specific date's level is available for free only on that day, with future dates remaining locked until they arrive. 🔒🎮This setup not […]