7 Highlights from the interview with AFK Journey Dev Lilith:

When a new game enters public testing, many people use the first day's performance to judge its quality. After all, most mobile games peak at launch. However, this curse doesn't seem to apply to "AFK: Journey" (hereinafter referred to as "Journey")—more than 20 days after its international test launch, the game continues to surpass its records, even rising from around Top 30 to Top 7 on the US iOS best-seller list. Considering "Journey's" multi-platform gaming options, its actual revenue may be higher than what the charts suggest. 1. AFK Journey hasn't peaked yet; too early to judge. + Rising after launch.Team doesn't know how the game will perform; nervous.2. IAP improved KPIs."A good numerical game must enhance the game experience after players pay. Here's a small comparison: in September 2022, we tested without payments, and the data wasn't great; when […]

Phillip Black May 7

Journal

From Hypercasual to Hybridcasual: The Supercent Story

❗ Breakdown of Supercent’s aggressive hybrid casual ad monetization strategy. Pizza Ready and Outlets Rush takes inspiration from SayGames’s My Perfect Hotel but adds an aggressive twist. Pizza Ready generates around 93% of its revenue from ads $4.8m IAA (my estimate) and $350k (sensor tower data) from IAPs per month. Outlets Rush makes $3m (my estimate) from ads with an additional $163k per month. Let’s take a look at the ad units and placements! 🔎 💹 ℹ ℹ Pizza Ready & Outlets Rush adds a new unique rewarded vector compared to My Perfect Hotel. This allows users to watch an ad to increase their carrying capacity, alongside character speed and dynamic placements for soft currency in the game. In theory, this vector increases the potential rewarded ads users can watch by 33%. Pizza Ready & Outlets Rush also incorporates the use […]

Felix Braberg May 6

Journal

Highlights from Unity Gaming Report 2024

Just got my hands on the Unity 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 and highlighted key points for you. A quote that resonates: “𝑀𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑠, 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒. 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑤-𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘 𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠.”𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁: • While the DAU on mobile is growing (+4%), IAP revenues, payer rate, and retention are dropping. • IAP ARPDAU is down 13% compared to 2022.• In-app advertising (IAA) ARPDAU is rising, which may signal the need for revenue stream diversification (pic 4).𝗦𝗼, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲?• Thriving in a challenging market means working smarter (do more with less) and using low-risk tactics.• LiveOps is one of […]

Julia Iljuk May 6

Journal

Dear Game Industry: Please appreciate your employees.

Dear Game Industry 👋 Please appreciate your employees. As an industry, you’re in the enviable position of having an abundance of skilled and qualified people passionate about building what you sell. Please don’t abuse it.Are unions the answer?It doesn’t have to go the way of the movie business a hundred years ago.You’re more akin to the software industry than the movie industry. You have products with longevity. That’s why 60% of playtime is spent on games that are 6+ years old and only 8% on truly new titles.Think products, not projects, and treat your employees well. You’ll never have to worry about unions again.It’s so easy and a win-win for everyone. (And 👏 to studios already doing these things 🙌)-> End the hire/fire cycles - You lose valuable studio-specific knowledge every time this happens, not to mention the havoc it […]

Jon Leslie May 6

Journal

Deep Dive into Mobile Gaming 4X Genre

Introduction to 4X Games 4X games, named for their core gameplay mechanics: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate, represent a significant segment in the strategy game genre. These games challenge players with complex decision-making and long-term strategic planning. From building vast empires to engaging in intricate diplomacy and warfare, 4X games offer a depth of gameplay that attracts both casual and hardcore gamers. Unlike the casual slot games market, where a few dominant players control the majority share, the 4X games market is more evenly distributed, allowing a wider range of developers to secure significant market share. This diversified landscape not only fosters innovation but also provides opportunities for various players to thrive, making the 4X genre particularly dynamic and competitive. The majority of this market is ruled by Chinese developers and companies Hyper Casual Mechanics in 4X Games In the […]

Vamsi Penmetsa May 6

Journal

Archery Clash & Monsters Survivors by Voodoo

HYBRIDCASUAL IS ON FIRE ”ARCHERY CLASH” & “MONSTERS SURVIVORS” BY VOODOO Hi there! 🤟Voodoo is still going strong on its journey towards Hybridcasual. 🚀As well as topping the charts with solid titles such as “Mob Control” and “Block Jam 3D”, the big French publisher 🇫🇷 has been scaling out new hybrid games regularly.Today I'm bringing you two games that have stood out recently.✅ “Archery Clash!” 🏹For those who follow my posts, the great performance of this game comes as no surprise.A month ago in the third issue of “Hybrid & Hypercasual Going Up!” March, I quoted "Archery Clash" as a Hybridcasual that was beginning its ascent.Recalling what I said in that post.Developed by Saint.wtf, "Archery" is a PvE sports game with a hidden shooter mode. 😮Let me explain."Archery" is almost entirely a sports archery game.Buuuttt….When the arrow is thrown, instead […]

Carlos Pereira May 6

Journal

Great games know this key to players’ needs!

Great games know this key to players’ needs! Ever noticed the magic of a successful game? ↳ It's driven by passionate, engaged players.(The wheel's been invented, use it)Psychologist Abraham Maslow designed apyramid to classify human needs in 1943.🟢 We all have 5 types of needs: • Basic needs (food, water, shelter).• Safety needs (health, employment).• Belonging needs (friendship, intimacy).• Esteem needs (dignity, respect, purpose).• Self-actualization needs (creation, beauty).Players are humans↳ who seek their needs in your game.By applying this hierarchy to gamers' needs,you build a community around your game. 🟢 Here's the Players' Hierarchy of Needs.Every level aligns with a player's needs.• Basic needs → Fun• Safety needs → Trust• Belonging → Community• Esteem needs → Recognition• Self-actualization needs → Contribution🟢 The hierarchy guides your questions:• What do players need?• Which needs does my game meet?• How do I convey […]

Sergei Vasiuk May 6

Journal

Over 14000 games were released on Steam in 2023 alone

Over 14000 games were released on Steam in 2033 alone, and it seems almost impossible to break through this competition. But is it? Or do failures primarily happen because the game is just bad, while decent games are doing well, and outstanding games are doing outstandingly well?Can you name at least one game that was released last year (or YTD) that is as insanely good as Lethal Company, Helldivers 2, Balatro, Robocop: Rogue City, or any other great game that we had last year but that did not succeed because it was not able to attract players' attention? According to Statista, out of these 14k new releases in 2023, about 99% were published by small independent studios. AA/AAA content is actually not growing, while Steam is peaking with a record-breaking 33.6 MILLION CCU (+XBOX Game Pass, EGS, and DRM-free stores).So […]

Ilia Eremeev May 6

Journal

The New York Times emerges as a game company

The New York Times emerges as a game company. Thanks to acquiring Wordle (5-letter word puzzle game) for $1M+ in January 2022.Its gaming app dominates user time spent.Time Spent for NYT Apps (scr: YipitData)𝙹𝚊𝚗 𝟸𝟸 █████░▓▓▒𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟸𝟸 ████░▓▓▒𝙳𝚎𝚌 𝟸𝟸 ██████░▓▓▒𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟸𝟹 ██████░▓▓▓▓▓▒𝙳𝚎𝚌 𝟸𝟹 ██████░▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▒𝙾𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚝𝚑: ~𝟽𝟶%█ NYT News░ NYT Cooking▓ NYT Games▒ The AthleticDownloads last month (src: Sensor Tower)• NYT Games: 1M• NYT News: 100K• NYT Cooking: 80K• The Athletic: 20KBut it's not ‘just’ Wordle! ☝ NYT Games include games such as:• Connections• Crosswords• Sudoku• MiniGaming is key to interactive entertainment.WHY?Games boost engagement even for non-gaming companies.Rumors suggest LinkedIn might add games.So, let’s play a maze game.🟢 Easy level: How many turns from the left bottom corner to escape the shortest path?🟡 Medium level: How many bumps from the left bottom corner to escape the shortest path?🔴 Hard […]

Sergei Vasiuk May 3

Journal

What is happening in the industry?

A lot of amazing games keep coming out, setting new records and showing the world how it should be done. 😌⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's nice to know that it's not only gloomy changes that are happening in game development industry right now.

Sergei Zenkin May 2

Journal

The Power of Travel

In today’s global world, being able to communicate across cultures is super important. One of the best ways to get better at this is by traveling. Having lived in four different countries and traveled to nearly 50, I’ve seen how being in different environments can really improve how you communicate and understand different mindsets. Traveling boosts your communication skills by making you more culturally aware, adaptable, better at languages, empathetic, and confident. Seeing different perspectives and traditions makes you more aware and helps prevent misunderstandings. Adapting to different ways people interact makes you a more flexible communicator. Learning new languages or even just a few phrases shows respect and openness. Living in various communities builds empathy and improves your people skills. Navigating new places boosts your confidence, leading to clearer and more assertive communication in all areas of life.Through my […]

Elizaveta Savenkova May 1

Journal

Looking for Q5 Marketing Tips?

Looking for Q5 Marketing Tips? Here are the 5 topics that you may test1. Unleash the Power of User-Generated Content:User-generated content (UGC) offers a powerful way to build trust and authenticity with your audience. Encourage customers to share their experiences, testimonials, and creative content using branded hashtags and contests. By leveraging UGC, you can tap into organic reach, build brand loyalty, and gain valuable customer insights.2. Unlock Endless Creatives:The rise of AI-powered creative tools opens up a world of possibilities. Generate engaging visuals, compelling copy, and even personalized messages with the help of AI. Explore tools that can produce high-quality images, videos, and other creative assets on demand, allowing you to constantly refresh your content and keep your audience engaged.3. Embrace the AI Year:Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept; it's here and ready to revolutionize marketing. AI-powered […]

Doruk Kasoglu May 1

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