Brutally Honest #109 by Matej Lancaric

Hey, FAM! What’s up?

?? Drink talk

Omg, omg, omg, the world of UA is going to shit. Whaaat? In fact, it’s not. It’s just one company that is spending a shit ton of money.

That company is Temu! What can we do?

Stop whining and complaining, and get back to work.

??Tip of the week

Efficient user acquisition is the biggest challenge for every game developer when scaling a game successfully. What once worked like magic may not work at all now, and developers are having to adjust to the changing UA landscape and make changes to their games for any chance of success. UA trend for 2024?

Speaking of which, Rivergame’s survival game Last War has managed to achieve over $3 million a day in revenue and around 200k downloads a day. We are talking 4X strategy game. But how is this possible, and what strategy was used?

You can see they are using “hypercasual gates mechanic” creative, but you can't find any real in-game screenshots or a fancy trailer video.

Using the gates mechanic in creatives as a marketing/UA strategy is a great move to decrease CPIs, but we are no longer talking about fake ads . This gameplay is built in the actual game.

The connection starts from the ad creative, continues into store screenshots, and smoothly transitions into actual gameplay in both the early and mid-game.

Last War still keeps the illusion that it is actually a game from the creatives, with the hyper-casual gameplay of the mathematical gates. Last War actually has two dedicated modes to this.

One where the player completes these puzzle-like single-player missions on a saga and the fully-fledged autoplay combat mode, where he actually needs to level up heroes with abilities.

It is basically a second game built in from the viral creatives that they are using, with all of its elements. Player input is very intuitive, and it actually feels like a hyper-casual game from the start.

?? Dr. Doom is not amused

One of my industry friends amused me with his direct and honest TL;DRs, so we agreed to share it here, too! My friend remains anonymous as Dr.Doom!

"A CEO criticizing industry layoffs, by being messy and employees deserving better, then layoffs all of her employees in a messy end. Honestly, employees deserve better ??. The cherry on top was the reasoning, where the cofounder claimed that it was because of a Kotaku report, which, surprise surprise, wasn't even published to this day. Really a strong contender for the "outstanding move" of the year ????" - Sincerely, Doom (https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/possibility-space-closure /)

??? “Ha-ha” moment

Because life is too short to be serious.

?? two & a half gamers - Brawl making the waves!

In the recent episode, Brawl Stars has seen an incredible surge in growth and revenue since its global launch. Here’s how they achieved such success:

Innovative User Acquisition: Supercell has leveraged effective user acquisition strategies coupled with creative content that has significantly propelled Brawl Stars into the spotlight.

Community Engagement: The role of community involvement and storytelling cannot be overstated. These elements have been pivotal in the marketing efforts of the game, creating a strong, engaged player base.

Expanding Advertising Strategies: Not just resting on their laurels, Supercell is now expanding its advertising reach beyond YouTube to more diverse channels, aiming to capture a broader audience.

Felix says Google has made significant changes by prohibiting the practice of refreshing placements and has introduced bidding for all partners, which could reshape advertising strategies across the industry.

Game Review Radar no.4 with Block Jam 3D, Clash Mini, Tower War, and Pocket Champs have been put under the microscope, revealing interesting performance metrics.

Jakub continues with the success stories of games like Top Heroes, Twisted Tangle, and Last War alongside Brawl Stars, obviously.

On another exciting note, Lilith Games has launched its own off-platform payments platform, PlutoMall, indicating a shift in how game transactions might evolve.

We commend Supercell for their outstanding marketing and creative efforts. It’s an exciting time for the industry, and other companies are inspired to iterate on these successful concepts. Let's watch this space for more innovations and successes!

Tune in:

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?? Diary of a Dancing Unicorn

Today was a good day.

Hi! I am a big fan of your podcast and newsletter. Super interesting stuff.

Oh, thanks a lot. Really appreciate it!

We would love to work with you. When can we start?

Awesome. Let’s do it. Here is the pricing I usually use.

Yeah, thanks. Let me check. Ooooh yeah. Hmmm.. You know we have a $1mil budget for marketing, but we can’t afford that. How about we do all the legwork and only use your brain?

That would be exactly the same price.

How come? It’s way less work for you.

That might be true, but the ten years of experience were pretty hard to get. And the fact I can do my work quickly and to a certain extent is based on that.

Yeah, but what if we only have one long call per week?

I still need to check campaigns to be prepared. It’s not about time but about knowledge and experience.

So maybe we only use one hour of your time per month.

oh, come oooooon…

Today was a good day.

?? Quote of the week

“Matej, I have read your post four times. It was exactly what I needed. It’s been an unforgettable milestone for me, thank you, man” - ?mer, LinkedIn message.

Brawl stars UA led growth, review radar & GAM fun

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??? Gaming blast from the past

Do you remember this game? What did you play when you were young?

?? Before you go

Ask Matej AI a question. It’s actually quite good!

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??Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter!

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Take care, everyone! See you next Thursday!

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