Brutally Honest #134 by Matej Lancaric
Matej ?? Lancaric
Helping Games Grow ??10+ years of experience ??52 global launched games ?? User Acquisition ?? Marketing Strategy
Hey, FAM! What’s up?
?? Drink talk
Slowly packing my shit to California. Going to spend some time in the US. If you are around LA, let me know. I will be in Santa Barbara from Oct 26 to Dec 10.
Ping me if you want to meet!
??Tip of the week
Players are bombarded with ads daily, which leads to decreased engagement and, ultimately, ad fatigue.
Keeping your creatives fresh, engaging, and effective requires constant innovation and a deep understanding of what resonates with our target audience. DUH!
This applies even more when you are trying to scale your game. What creative concepts do you actually need? How many do you need for the scaling phase?
Quantity of Creatives for Scaling
ing of what resonates with our target audience. DUH!
This applies even more when you are trying to scale your game. What creative concepts do you actually need? How many do you need for the scaling phase?
Quantity of Creatives for Scaling
a. Testing Phase:
b. Scaling Phase:
c. Long-Term Strategy:
Even if you are growing your budget step by step. Essential shit!
?? Cornelius: The Suspicious Investi-gator
The Zipline Hook: Unveiling the Evolution of a Game-Changing Trend
Remember when Fortnite introduced the Zipline in Season 7 back in 2018? It was a game-changer—players were thrilled to zip across the map, adding a new layer of excitement (well, almost everyone loved it)!
Then came 2019, with it, the global launch of Apex Legends (Electronic Arts (EA). Pathfinder's ability to deploy ziplines took battle strategies to new heights. YouTube exploded with tutorials on mastering zipline skills, and gamers couldn't get enough.
But things took off when UEFN was introduced in Fortnite Creative. Suddenly, creating custom ziplines and building unique games became the new craze on YouTube. The community's creativity knew no bounds! So, who took notice next? Mobile game developers, of course! Companies like Evony quickly integrated this mechanic into games like Age of Origins. It's clear that 4X strategy games are pulling out all the stops to capture attention and reduce CPIs. They're analyzing audience overlaps to see what else their players are into.
Which genre is tackling similar challenges? You guessed it—Match-3 games. Recently, Dream Games drew inspiration from this trend as well. How awesome is that? This evolution sparks more questions than answers: -Why is this so effective? -Who else is jumping on this trend? -What's the next twist on this hook? Let's explore these questions together!
?? 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!
"Here we go again, Elon saying that his new fancy robots will be able to do "anything". The problem was that instead of the last fiasco, when there was a guy in the suit, this time they were operated remotely, duh! Outstanding move, Elon ?? hope the rockets are at least real" Sincerely, Doom (https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/elon-musk-shows-off-bartending-robots-at-a-recent-tesla-event-but-some-attendees-say-the-automatons-were-being-controlled-by-people/)
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??? “Ha-ha” moment
Because life is too short to be serious.
?? two & a half gamers - Voodoo’s New hybrid casual hit!
Cup Heroes: Voodoo's new hybridcasual hit making $160k/day! Steady growth with ad placement excellence. What about their UA? uff!
Cup Heroes makes around 50% of its revenue from ads, making it a true hybrid casual game. There are 29 ad placements in 1 run = 15 waves that the player encounters. With 45-50 minutes played daily, averaging five sessions per day and around 7.5min per session, that’s almost ad juggernaut. (wink wink, Felix!)
This is a detailed review of Cup Heroes by Voodoo, discussing its hybrid casual gameplay, performance metrics, monetization strategies, and user experience. We explore the game's growth trajectory, retention rates, and how it compares to Mob Control other titles in the market.
Discussing the effectiveness of decoys and rewards in gameplay, the impact of skill randomizers on player experience, and the creative approaches used in-game advertising.
But that is only half of the CPI vs LTV equation. What about the UA resp. CPI side? Honestly, I am very disappointed. UA diversification is on point, I have to give them that.
The creative part is very worrying. Scaling a game requires many different creative concepts. Cup Heroes only have 2-3 playable ads and perhaps 4-5 different video concepts. These numbers should be per week! NET new concepts.
?? Watch on Youtube
?? Listen on Spotify
?? Paid subs only
Sneak peek at what you get for your support:
Creative trends in Mobile Games - August 2024
As the UA landscape evolves, so do the creative trends that shape how games communicate with their audiences.
How to conquer farming games market? Minigames FTW! Implement or die!
The farming games market presents both significant opportunities and formidable challenges. With a steadily growing audience over the past decade, this genre continues to captivate millions of players worldwide.
How to market a merge game? Top3 UA channels, trends & Winning creatives!
Merge games became the new match-3, full stop! What’s the secret behind this puzzle subgenre's popularity? Why do players like the merge mechanic? How should merge games be marketed?
?? Diary of a Dancing Unicorn
Today was a good day.
Hey! Great stuff with the playables. We are discussing this now, and we would like you to start iterating some of our old best performers.
In addition to those 3 in production?
Yeah, that would be ideal. We want to grow this production because we feel we lack new concepts.
Perfect, please share the assets as soon as you can and we will start exploring the iterations in our brainstorming session.
Gonna be ready by the end of this week.
Hey, any updates on this?
…
…
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Hey, any updates?
Oh yeah, it takes a bit longer than expected. Let me share it next week.
Great.
…
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Anything now? It’s been almost seven weeks.
Yeah. At this moment, we are in the process of evaluating our current needs and strategies for future projects. We will keep you in mind as we move forward and will reach out if we decide to pursue additional playables.
Today was a good day.
?? Quote of the week
"Honestly, it’s conversations like this that make following your work so worthwhile!" - Sera, Slack DM
Cup Heroes hybrid casual REVIEW
?? Level up yourself
I launched a YouTube Channel. I'm putting a ton of energy into creating valuable content that I think you'll like. Check out the latest stuff, and give me a like and subscribe.
??? 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!
We produced one more episode at 2.5gamers. Check it out now:
?? Fun starts in two & a half gamers Slack! Join now
We are opening up a Slack channel for everybody. It is the most inclusive slack for the gaming industry. Female, male, non-binary, juniors, mid-level, seniors, vendors, developers = EVERYBODY! We are waiting for you ??
Feel free to join here!
?? Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter!
Please do me a favor and share this with someone in your network who you think would benefit from the insights and brutal honesty. It would mean a lot to me!
Take care, everyone! See you next Monday!
?? Reach out for feedback or questions, or say hi!
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?? PS: The latest UA & marketing jobs for you prepared by Gamigion:
Brand Marketing Manager, Brawl Stars Supercell Marketing Manager, LATAM Supercell Performance Marketing Manager, Supercell X Supercell Live Operations & Monetization Lead, Brawl Stars Supercell Monetization Manager, Live Games and New Games Supercell UA Marketing Producer Playrix Lead User Acquisition Manager Playrix Senior User Acquisition Manager Playrix User Acquisition Manager Zynga User Acquisition Specialist Playtika ASO Manager Playtika Monetization Operations Specialist Playtika Marketing Copywriter PLAYSTUDIOS ISRAEL Marketing Analyst SciPlay User Acquisition Manager SciPlay Head of Monetization & LiveOps SciPlay Senior Product Marketing Manager Nordeus Product Marketing Lead Gameloft Monetization manager TapNation Junior Product Marketing Manager Kwalee ASO Manager Tripledot Studios Marketing Specialist Peak Senior Marketing Specialist Peak Growth Manager Rollic Advertisement Monetization Manager Rollic Senior User Acquisition Manager MY.GAMES Senior Marketing Analyst AppQuantum Senior Lead Product Marketing Manager OUTFIT7 User Acquisition Manager Nordcurrent Senior Lifecycle Marketing Specialist Kabam Marketing Manager, EMEA Moloco Growth Manager Moloco Manager, Digital Marketing and Content Sensor Tower Senior User Acquisition Manager Gamelight Product Marketing Manager Verve Influencer Marketing Manager Almedia Growth Manager Almedia (Senior) Demand Growth Manager adjoe Find out more here!
CEO & Founder @ UGI Studio | Boutique Game Co-Development, Art, Animation, VFX Outsourcing | 10+ Years Studio Experience
1 个月Agreed! Understanding our audience is key.