admonetization

Before diving into this week’s piece, I wanted to ask if you know anyone considering starting a startup. If so, please encourage them to contact me on LinkedIn or submit a pitch through our website. We’re eager to connect with gaming and consumer startup founders. 🫶 Here’s this week’s piece. I recently saw a LinkedIn post from Miska Katkoff, in which he shared an insightful timeline chart by Eric Kress. The chart, copied and pasted below, details the mobile games industry's YOY growth in the past ten years, highlighting revenue trends and the significant impact of Apple’s IDFA changes. This, combined with a conversation I had with a US entrepreneur about VC investments in mobile gaming, inspired me to share my perspective on why mobile gaming has become a challenging space for investors. Let's discuss why mobile gaming studios have […]

It's Time, Let me break down the new AppsFlyer’s state of Gaming app marketing report for y'all: 💸 App developers spent $12.2B on user acquisition in the U.S., which is ~40% of the $29B in global ad spend.💎 Tired of match 3-games? I guess most aren’t. Match games DOMINATE mobile - $8.65B in ad spend. Trailing behind - strategy ($4.57B), RPG ($3.84B), Casino ($2.72B) and Simulation ($2.03B)🍏 In 2023, CPI cost fell 17% on iOS and rose 48% on Android. If you’re promoting your iOS game, things just got interesting.🥇 Hybrid is WINNING - mid-cores are incorporating IAA to make up for the loss of IAP. Hypercasual. Hypercasual is turning from IAA into IAP because of ATT.Result: 43% of games used a hybrid monetization model - up from 36% in 2023.🛒 In-App Purchases - 5% will use IAP. But from […]

Mobile games market is full-on invested in on #Commercialization; and the sentiment on it is strong -- this is the current phase we're living! 🚀💯 Everything is all about:- #Distribution & #Marketability; #Creatives, #UA channel, etc. approaches and mixes on largest scale ever we've seen. 🎯- Misleading Creatives, with the approach having white lie tie-ins to the #Product (e.g., FTUE is continuation of Misleading #Ads). 🙈- #ROAS, ROAS & ROAS, incl. test bedding #monetization as early as possible due engagement-monetization tie-ins. 💸- Games evolving within Creative trends, e.g., some games literally change each quarter/half what their FTUE is about. 📈- Fast-following own games or competitors is faster than ever. 🏃‍♂️- Mixed gameplays through fast follow-ons on top games, starting from single devs to large publishers. 🙊- #VCs and #investors investing on mass appeal distribution-first #gamestudios. 👼- Games scaling to 300, […]

🚀Hyper/Hybrid Casual Market Radar Series #10📊 1) Color parking puzzle by IEC Games Australiahttps://lnkd.in/gxedgQ_ZIDEA = Seat away by Rollic and Babil Studios + parking theme2) Parking sort by Acid Cousins led by Coralie Legrand and many morehttps://lnkd.in/gkKyPVTQIDEA = Ball sort by IEC Games + Parking Theme3) Block blast sort by 4S Games led by Minsik Park , HyungSu Kim, and many morehttps://lnkd.in/gSawbKzVIDEA = Block Blast by Hungry Studio + Stack n Sort by Voodoo4) Bridge Jam by Kaliba Games led by Mert Oktem , Umut Poyraz, and many morehttps://lnkd.in/gimCitG6IDEA = Bridge race by Supersonic from Unity in a puzzle way5) Tile Jam by Quok Games led by Burak Güneş Özgüney , Uğur Kubat , Berker DAŞ and many morehttps://lnkd.in/geFvPreXIDEA = Tripletile by Tripledot Studios + Bus Jam by Rollic and NanoTribe GmbH6) Cut match jam by RedLine Games led by […]

What I found interesting in the wonderful world of Gaming #006 🎮 Has Apple Arcade finally found its niche?I recently took a dive into Apple Arcade after not touching it for quite some time and to my delight I found a few absolute corkers I’d previously played on Steam such as Slay the Spire, Vampire Survivors, Dead Cells, and with Monster Train coming soon it got me thinking… what if Apple Arcade could work with Steam developers to bring their games to the platform, I’m sure the extra revenue stream wouldn’t hurt. Then I stumbled on the amazing FANTASIAN effectively a PC&C title (think Octopath Traveler It was produced and written by Hironobu Sakaguchi of Final Fantasy fame). Perhaps this is how Apple Arcade will become dominant on IOS by capturing the hearts of Steam players.https://lnkd.in/ey74ryBNhttps://lnkd.in/eEEB4UCW🕹 That WB announcement...I’ve been saying for a […]

Have you used this tool before? Take a look at the Wheel of Emotions to decide which emotional objectives you'll set for your next game, keeping feel unified throughout the project! 🎡 First introduced to me by Renee Gittins, founder of Stumbling Cat and all around very smart person, the Wheel of Emotions is a fantastic tool to help you pick how your game is aiming to make your players feel. By setting these emotions early you set your team up with a common direction of where to head that extends to every department. If your game is supposed to elicit a sense of betrayal, how does that manifest in your character design? In your environment design? In the mechanics your team chooses?This kind of focused design also makes the end product much more punchy, as often going just a […]

02 - The 5 Ingredients of Game Town Design Continuing the series on urban design for game environments, let's start with the basics: the 5 elements of city image from Kevin Lynch’s "The Image of the City"—a foundational text for urban planners and a must-read for anyone looking to build a solid background in urban design. This classic framework can be effectively applied to designing towns and cities in video games, focusing on how players perceive, recognize, remember, and navigate your town.Here’s how these elements translate into game design:- 🛤️ Path: The routes players take through the town—main streets, alleyways, and roads. These paths are subject to hierarchy, which we’ll discuss another day, but they should always be unmistakable and recognizable (excluding secret paths and other rule-breaking for gameplay purposes).- 🚧 Edge: Boundaries that define areas within the town, such as walls, rivers, or […]

Web3 games as an asset class; do we see any companies, yet, in games who can, or even plans to, sustain it properly as an investment class? Overall in terms of investing in the long haul, I'm not sure if this topic is thought through much; as other things in my book tend to be a larger priority for parties involved in the mix -- starting from investors and VCs, and going to web3 game company founders as well as towards their customers / players / communities, etc.What I'm mostly after here is that overall:1. Chances of making a gaming company that survives the test of time are little.2. Making a game that survives that is rare.3. Making a game that survives above, within a company that survives that the test of time as well, is even more rare.4. Then, […]

Gaming company cultures and working models (on-site vs. remote vs. hybrid, etc.) very often tie in themselves to preferences, backgrounds, experiences as well as the person types of the founding team and (/or) existing management of gaming companies. It is very common that this is the way in our industry, whilst it would be more beneficial to have a more flexible setup in terms of calling out what is right for your organization / company vs. what is the preference.There are also lots of mental barriers on this side, like whilst a company would need to mature its model in order to e.g., really build a team that is required for winning or making changes on cost structures of a company, etc. (as the case may be, incl. many other cases), persons controlling these decisions would still prefer staying in […]

In the dynamic world of mobile gaming, few studios shine as brightly as Unico Studio. With an astonishing 800 million+ downloads under their belt, they've truly revolutionized the puzzle genre with their flagship series: Brain Test. 🧩🎮 🧠 Brain Test Series: A Global Brain Teaser Sensation 🧠Unico Studio's journey took off with the wildly popular Brain Test, a game that turned heads with its tricky 2D puzzles. This success story led to a series that has enthralled millions of players worldwide. Check out the jaw-dropping stats:Brain Test: 📈 372 million downloadsBrain Test 2: 📈 128 million downloadsBrain Test 3: 📈 90 million downloadsBrain Test 4: 📈 27 million downloadsTogether, these sequels have racked up a phenomenal 617 million downloads, propelling Unico Studio led by Erk Uzun , Uzeyir Baser , Mehmet A. , Cemil Alc , Buğra Güngör , Sadi […]

With the newest flowchart on interviewing THE PROPHECY IS COMPLETE! The trilogy concludes! Here are three comprehensive guides to help you work in games! 💜 While they take friggen' forever to make, I really enjoy putting together games job and hiring advice in flowchart form. It feels much more digestible and easy to follow.Come to think of it I would love your requests on what to make next! 🤔 So here are my three big boys to date, giving you a chronological step by step guide to working in games!Click the links for HD PDF copies with clickable links! ⬇ 1️⃣ Building a Portfolio2️⃣ Interviewing in Games3️⃣ Starting your Own StudioI hope these help you land some work or start your own thing in these crazy days. Remember that we're in this together. Be kind to one another. Support one […]