#GameDev

Thinking about making a Screw Puzzle game (/Nuts & Bolts game)? You should think again! The market may look appealing, but you should rethink.This article discusses about the current state of a Screw Puzzle segment and what these games should do to start getting more downloads and revenue.Note: This article has data from AppMagic; Screw Puzzle segment.Current State of Screw Puzzle SegmentAppMagic paints the picture; the genre has seen its peak, and is now on a downward trajectory.From Q4 2023 to Jul-Sept. 2024, the market saw fast growth, peaking in downloads and revenue — but, now the story is different:DownloadsA steep decline, driven by a churning retention profile, rising CPIs due to saturation, and a slowing ROAS profile.Screw Puzzle segment, Top 100 Downloads (Source: AppMagic).In terms of downloads, after a big drop, Screw Away: 3D Pin Puzzle boosted some downloads […]

The Hexa Sort sub-segment, led by Hexa Sort by Lion Studios, remains as a promising, yet still small, Casual Puzzle / Sort Puzzle sub-segment.This article dives deep into one of the interesting phenomena’s which were spotted in 2024: the Hexa Sort game and the sub-segment it has formalized (/is giving inspiration for). The article discusses trends as well as future opportunities for this particular sub-segment.Note: This article has data from AppMagic, Hexa Sort and its competitors.State of the Hexa Sort Puzzle SegmentHexa Sort: The LeaderHexa Sort stands as the king of the hill, leading in IAP revenue and Ads revenue. Its success lies in balanced, well-planned UX, tying engagement with monetization:🔹 Dopamine-driven gameplay encourages positive reviews, rewarded video views, and currency use, blending monetization with satisfaction.🔹 This game design drives strong monetization while maintaining engagement, setting it apart in the […]

🎄 Christmas Loading Screens in Games 🎮 As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share something festive! One of my favorite small touches in gaming is when developers update loading screens to match the season. From holiday cheer to creative visuals, these updates make games feel fresh and fun. Here’s a collection of 15 games that nailed it with their Christmas-themed loading screens this year. Swipe through and enjoy the creativity! 🎅✨ This is my last post of the year, and I want to take a moment to thank everyone who read, liked, commented, and shared my posts throughout 2024. Your engagement means the world to me, and I’m excited to keep sharing more in 2025! Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with creativity, success, and joy! 🥂

Soft-launch Sonar #7 📡 is back with 15 brand new soft launched games with no particular filter 😅. There are games from a lot of big players in the market such as Metacore, Supercent, Rollic, Voodoo, Homa, Century Games, FunPlus, tap4fun, Joynet Games. Come check out what we caught this time 😎. Metacore is innovating the merge genre, with level-based merge boards and also entering the Solitaire race with their Grandpa 👵. It is gonna be a heated category where multiple big names such as King, Wooga, SuperPlay are gonna battle over it next year. On top of it, Rollic is also entering the merge genre with Barbie IP. Continuing the casual board games trend, Voodoo is gonna chase its "Domino Dreams" 😅 Also Hexa sort core is being iterated by Homa in a coin-style fashion. Century Games is continuing […]

Merge games segment on mobile has seen interesting takes in past couple years, from Merge Mansion originally boasting the genre up — with Travel Town and Gossip Harbor raising their heads up as followers, who managed to raise to the genre’s top.This article focuses on looking beyond what is currently out there, with giving some trends and predictions for the near and longer future, in terms of what type of merge games we would be seeing (hopefully) — and, discussing, why these introduced topics could make sense for the genre.Note: This article has data from AppMagic; Merge Games segment.Innovation Meets DepthMerge games have proven their staying power with Travel Town and Gossip Harbor blending solid grid management with narrative-driven building layers (in terms of grid management and how it boasts from engagement to economy and monetization, Travel Town has done […]

Introduction Ever wondered if GPT could help beat a tricky level in Royal Match? Well, I decided to put it to the test. Before diving into the game, I made sure to "train" GPT on the basics of Royal Match, explaining the mechanics, how to create power-ups, and ensuring it understood the fundamentals as best as I could. With that prep done, I tackled a hard level with GPT as my guide, move by move. Here's how it went: The Setup The level was challenging, with limited moves and multiple objectives: clear the wooden crates, collect yellow crowns, and free the piggies. Armed with screenshots for every move, I consulted GPT for its recommendations, following them step by step. Did GPT’s logic bring me victory? Let’s find out. The Moves Move 1: Match three red tiles in the bottom right […]

10 signs you might be working on a dead game 🚩 (you don't want to miss them)𝟭. 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 👀↳ Without direction, priorities scatter and time is wasted. 𝟮. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲. 🎮 ↳ If developers don’t enjoy it, players won’t either. 𝟯. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗶𝘃𝗼𝘁𝘀 🔄 ↳ Frequent changes derail progress and drain morale. 𝟰. 𝗡𝗼 𝗨𝗦𝗣 🪝↳ A generic game can’t stand out in a crowded market. 𝟱. 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 🌀 ↳ When no one knows who’s responsible, chaos reigns. 𝟲. 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 🛑 ↳ Finger-pointing creates toxicity and stalls solutions. 𝟳. 𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 📉 ↳ Players don’t come back if the game doesn’t hook them early. 𝟴. 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗽 ⁉️ ↳ Adding more instead of fixing the basics only bloats the game. 𝟵. 𝗡𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 🗨️ ↳ Empty forums and social […]

🎉 Creative Animation Alert! 🪛 Spotted this fantastic end-of-level reward multiplier animation in Screw Tile by ABI Game Studio. The screw animation adds such a unique and satisfying touch to the experience. 🎨👏Love seeing creative design ideas like this—kudos to the team for making rewards feel extra rewarding! 💡✨Check out the game here:iOS: https://shorturl.at/0UhwSAndroid: https://shorturl.at/MTvzj