Matthew Emery

Come learn about Xsolla's strategies to improve your mobile games revenue.

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Dear Stretch Network Partners, Please allow me to inform you about additional changes that will take place in the global network on July 8. 🍀 All Heads-up tables will be removed 🍀 Badugi cash tables will be removed 🍀 Sonic cash tables will become 6-max 🍀 The minimum buy-in for Sonic Omaha cash tables will be 20 BB 🍀 Sonic Omaha 7 card cash tables will be added These changes apply only to cash tables and only to our Global Network. In your local networks, you decide your product strategy, but we would be happy to assist you in managing your local networks as well. If you need our help, please contact us. The above-mentioned changes are part of the new strategy for the Stretch Network Global Network, which prioritizes the comfort of novice players and casual traffic to maintain the proper balance of our ecosystem between amateurs and professionals. Caring for the ecosystem of the Global Network is our priority. The changes we are implementing now and will continue to implement will significantly improve the user experience for your players, extend their LTV, ARPU, and, of course, Revenue.

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📱 Call of Duty Mobile's Monetization Mastery: - $1.7B+ in revenue - 390M downloads - 51 live events in August 2024 alone - 60% of events focused on monetization The secret? A sophisticated liveops strategy combining: - Battle Pass with multiple premium tiers - Limited-time Gacha events - Engagement-driven rewards - Meta events like mini-games and comics Want to know how CODM masterfully balances engagement and monetization? Find all of this in this week's highlight section written by yours truly :) Tell me know what you think ?

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During my time at Zynga from 2011-13, cross-promotion on Facebook was a key competitive advantage that basically ensured the successful launch of new games. However, as players shifted to mobile, that advantage significantly diminished. Squad Busters’ impressive 8.8M downloads and $1.1M in revenue on launch day—Supercell’s highest-ever—make me wonder if cross-promotion is back. Despite post-launch retention challenges, Squad Busters attracted 40 million sign-ups in just five weeks. Join us for a Growth Marketing roundtable discussion on Squad Busters’ launch success and hear expert insights from industry leaders Jen Donahoe and Gavin Leung as we explore Supercell’s strategies. Key topics include: • The impact of big-budget ad campaigns • The successful preregistration drive • Launch day results Date: Thursday, September 5th, 2024 (tomorrow) Time: 9 - 10 AM PST Type: Open to anyone Sign-Up Here: https://lnkd.in/gg9Y9CGu

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Business of games: 5 biggest funding rounds, partnerships, and trends from the last week 🕹️ Investment round-up details from Sept 3rd week 1. Nazara secures $108m to fuel further M&A 2. Gamebeast raises $3.7 million in pre-seed funding 3. Nazara Technologies to raise Rs 900 Cr, increase stake in Sportskeeda 4. Playtika to acquire Dice Dreams developer SuperPlay for up to $1.95 billion 5. Dirt raises $2M from Mark Cuban and others for sensor-based measurement of player attention Top trending news from last week: TouchArcade is Shutting Down :(    #gamingindustry #gamedesign #mobilegames #gamedevelopment #gamedev #videogames #gaming #useracquisition #growth #UA #revenue #data #icartic #gamedeveloper #indiedev #unity3d #madewithunity #businessofgames

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part 1 and 2 is out john has summed the things that game publisher need to take note. the need to understand the player behavior, player motivations and game economy is crucial in crafting the revenue path and strategies for each segment or group. there is no 1 size fits all strategy. not just on monetization, before that, acquistion and retention would be the initial steps to work on and follow by monetization. Just working monetization alone will see repercussions. Players have too many options to choose, how to keep them to the game and keeping them long will be one of the core to successful monetization.

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Capcom has released a less-than-positive annual report. There's nothing critical in it; all the declines are tied to a pause in releases. Capcom certainly has a vast catalog of successful franchises for upcoming releases. Resident Evil (RE) stands out distinctly. While Capcom didn't start with RE, it played a crucial role in their history and has had a significant impact on the gaming industry as a whole. Today, RE comprises 32 releases across 33 platforms. These are incredible numbers and a testament to success. Moreover, judging by Metacritic scores, Capcom manages to maintain a high standard of quality. I gathered a timeline of all RE releases on one website (link in the comments). I thoroughly enjoyed watching videos, reading books, reminiscing about my own experiences playing the games, and playing with friends and colleagues. Here are a few interesting facts about RE and Capcom: - Resident Evil 4 was released on 14 platforms. - The first RE took 3 years to develop, instead of the usual 3-6 months for Capcom in 1996. Consultants hired from the U.S. advised shutting down the project when it was almost complete, predicting its failure. - Devil May Cry and Dino Crisis were born while searching for fresh gameplay for RE. - Capcom was one of the first companies to start paying revenue shares to developers, which is particularly noteworthy for Japanese companies. - Toy Story I and RE I were released around the same time. - For a while, music for RE was composed by a well-known Japanese composer who was said to be deaf. It later turned out that he wasn't actually deaf and didn't compose the music himself. PS. In 2026, the series will celebrate its 30th anniversary, and there will likely be a special release or edition. Or perhaps they'll simply release a version with full DualSense support.

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💡 ERROR LOG #27: If your core gameplay loop isn’t compelling, your game might not be either. What I mean by that is the core gameplay loop is the heartbeat of your game. It’s the cycle of actions players will perform repeatedly, and if it’s not engaging, the entire player experience can be doubtful. The loop doesn’t just entertain, it defines the game, driving the player’s emotional and strategic investment. For example, think of a classic side-scroller. The loop might involve running, jumping, and shooting while collecting treasures and defeating enemies (YES! You got it! Metal Slug :D). Simple, but highly engaging. Compare that to a more complex RPG loop, blending exploration, combat, and dialogue. These loops provide different experiences, but they all share one thing: they’re finely tuned to keep players coming back but first and foremost they have to enjoy it! 💡As some of you know I’m not a designer by profession, I simply love all the aspects of game development. Here’s where I went wrong early in my design journey as I was mostly driven by visuals and appeal: I’d focus so much on flashy features and world-building that I’d lose sight of how those elements tied into the core loop. It’s easy to overcomplicate or dilute the loop with feature creep. But here’s the hard truth: if the loop isn’t tight, even the best visuals or narrative can’t save your game. 📘A-HA Moment: Start simple, then refine. Think of the gameplay loop as the game’s skeleton. It needs to be strong before you add the muscles (mechanics) and skin (aesthetics). For me, studying great games and their loops - like the seamless exploration and combat of The Legend of Zelda or the addictive power fantasy of Kratos in God of War was a game-changer. If you’re crafting a core gameplay loop, ask yourself: ✅ What will the player do 80% of the time? ✅ How does it feel? Is it satisfying, challenging, and fun? ✅ Does every element of the game enhance the loop or distract from it? What’s your favourite example of a perfectly executed gameplay loop? Let me know in the comments! Stay tuned for more ⚔️🐻

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Late Stage Gaming VCs: "We would be interested in companies generating $100M+ in annual revenue that are profitable." Early Stage Gaming VCs: "We would be interested in companies generating $100M+ in annual revenue that are profitable." #vctalk #joke

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📊 Games & Numbers (29.05.24 - 11.06.24) 🎮 PC/console games ▪️ Star Citizen fundraising has surpassed $700 million, with more than 5.2 million donations. In August 2023, the news broke that $600 million had been raised. https://shorturl.at/XuONK ▪️ Blizzard Entertainment boasted that over 100 million people have played games from the Diablo series. https://lnkd.in/dPDsH_Px ▪️ Dragon’s Dogma 2 sales have reached 3 million copies. The first 2.5 million copies were sold within 2 weeks of release (the game was released on March 22 this year). https://lnkd.in/dei96Wyp ▪️ Content Warning has sold 2.2 million copies in 2 months. The total number of players has exceeded 8.8 million (the game was initially distributed for free). https://lnkd.in/dxfMx345 ▪️ Marvel Rivals already has over a million wishlists on Steam and EGS. https://lnkd.in/dZktsvVx ▪️ The Octopath Traveler series has surpassed 4 million copies sold. Both parts of the game were recently launched on Xbox Game Pass. https://lnkd.in/dUigFRr9 ▪️ Fallout 76 has reached 20 million users. In December last year, the number of players was 17 million. The DAU for Fallout games has soared by 600% following the success of the TV series. Todd Howard said he had never seen such a growth before. https://lnkd.in/d6rWbc6t ▪️ MultiVersus successfully returned to Steam with 153,000 concurrent users at launch. Now, the CCU has stabilized at 17,000. https://shorturl.at/feeTB 📱Mobile games ▪️ Rise of Kingdoms revenue has exceeded $3.5 billion. 25.6% of all money came from the USA; 14.4% from China; 12.6% from South Korea. South Korea is the leader in RPD (revenue per download) ($142) and ARPDAU (average revenue per daily active user) ($5). Following are China (RPD - $6; ARPDAU - $4.6) and the USA (RPD - $62; ARPDAU - $3.3). https://lnkd.in/dbx2FCUh ▪️ Dungeon & Fighter Mobile successfully launched in China. In the first week starting from May 21, the game earned $66 million on iOS alone, and revenue from both platforms exceeded $140 million (according to Niko Partners); the game was downloaded by 2.4 million users. In South Korea, the game has been available since March 2022, and in just over two years, it has earned more than $185.6 million. https://shorturl.at/gyxgb ▪️ Squad Busters earned $1.1 million on its first day (data from Sensor Tower). On the same day, the game was downloaded 8.8 million times. According to AppMagic, in the first week, the game earned $10.66 million (excluding platform fees and taxes). Yet, Eric Seufert doesn't believe those numbers are real pointing out that Squad Busters had 40M+ pre-regs. https://shorturl.at/iCeUL

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New Equity Recommended Minimum Rates for AAA Video Games. What You Need to Know: Incase you missed it... Equity, the actor’s union in the UK, has just released their updated recommended rates for AAA video games. These rates aim to ensure fair compensation for performers. Below, I’ve included the updated rate table for reference. Here's my initial thoughts: → The new usage fee increase is considerably high. Perhaps too much of an increase. → There’s no mention of accommodation for "grandfathered" projects. The sharp increase in usage fees could come as shock to many game developers and publishers. Can we expect the industry to suddenly absorb such a substantial rise - especially in a down market? What about projects that already have budgets in place. We have several projects with budgets agreed upon long before these rates were announced. What kind of ripple effect will this have on already contracted work? On the other hand it's positive to see Equity finally putting some emphasis on the video games market and establishing a proper pay structure for actors. It will be interesting to see how and when these new rates are accepted by the wider industry. What are your thoughts? Will this new rate card cause disruption in your production pipelines? Drop a comment below.

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Match3 is not the best game economy. I know some who would say it’s not even economy! Also, digital board games are just video games with terrible UX. Listen to the episode for more on these hot takes from me and the fellas.

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🎮 Games Industry news in brief: 💰 Warner Bros. Discovery Considers Selling Stake in Gaming Division Warner Bros. Discovery is exploring the possibility of selling a stake in its gaming division as part of a broader strategy to bolster its financial position. Despite owning successful franchises like Harry Potter and Mortal Kombat, the company has faced challenges in the gaming sector. (source: https://lnkd.in/eJY2_38c) 🎮 Sony PlayStation Hardware Sales Decline Sony has reported a decline in PlayStation 5 hardware sales compared to the previous year. However, the company's overall revenue and profits increased due to strong performance in software and services. (source: https://lnkd.in/eW7yFBdB) 🕹 Epic Games Alters Battle Pass Item Policy Epic Games has announced a change to its Fortnite Battle Pass system, allowing players to purchase previously locked items after an 18-month period. (source: https://lnkd.in/e62Syq-K) 🃏 Indie Success Story: Balatro Surpasses Two Million Copies Sold The poker-inspired strategy game Balatro has achieved significant commercial success, surpassing two million copies sold. The game's developer is planning a free update to introduce new gameplay elements. (source: https://lnkd.in/e-ipzRam) 🐻 Five Nights at Freddy's Expanding Universe The popular horror franchise, Five Nights at Freddy's, is expanding with a new 2D game, Into the Pit, and a crossover with Dead by Daylight. Additionally, a kart racing game titled Five Laps at Freddys is in development. (source: https://lnkd.in/ejxnbQNm) 😱 Borderlands Movie Bombs at Box Office The Borderlands film adaptation has received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with critics panning the film's overall quality and lack of impact. (source: https://lnkd.in/e4FHBQb6)

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Win-back offers for auto-renewable subscriptions now available You can now configure win-back offers — a new type of offer for auto-renewable subscriptions — in App Store Connect. Win-back offers allow you to reach previous subscribers and encourage them to resubscribe to your app or game. For example, you can create a pay up front offer for a reduced subscription price of $9.99 for six months, with a standard renewal price of $39.99 per year. Based on your offer configuration, Apple displays these offers to eligible customers in various places, including: Across the App Store, including on your product page, as well as in personalized recommendations and editorial selections on the Today, Games, and Apps tabs. In your app or game. Via a direct link you share using your own marketing channels. In Subscription settings. When creating win-back offers in App Store Connect, you’ll determine customer eligibility, select regional availability, and choose the discount type. Eligible customers will be able to discover win-back offers this fall. #WinBackOffers #AppStoreConnect #AutoRenewableSubscriptions #SubscriptionOffers #CustomerRetention #AppMarketing #Resubscribe #DiscountOffers #AppStore #GameMarketing #AppDevelopment #SubscriptionStrategy #UserEngagement #MobileMarketing #RetentionStrategy #IOS #AppStoreOptimization #AppGrowth #AppleDevelopers #MobileApps #AppRevenue #AppMonetization #ASOWithMehdi

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My review of 2024-1 in mobile games Some trends were confirmed, such as the casualization of cores (e.g. "Squad Busters") and the race for hybridcasual expanding (e.g. "Match Factory"). In terms of mechanics, a puzzle of nuts and screws. Mixing mechanics such as stacking with sorting ("Hexa Sort"), logic puzzles with fashion ("Left or right"). Mini-games are still going strong (Jindoblu). Humor (”Help me: tricky story”). Trends from roblox and steam ("Supermkaret simulator). I was impressed with Supercent's performance. Many iterations with metagames. In addition to regional niches and indies. What would you add or change? Good Sunday, and thoughts!

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We’ve scaled our team at UGI to 45 people. And won multiple awards in mobile gaming. 1 mistake people make when outsourcing: Not factoring in delays. When you outsource and miscommunicate you run the risk of: - Not ensuring quality - Not finding the right partners - Not aligning with timelines And you know that integration with outsourced teams is never smooth. So you live in fear. This results in: - Micromanagement - Hoping not doing - Ignoring and failing to execute Now, if you could only seamlessly integrate your outsourced work. With your existing pipeline. And skyrocket your efficiency within the team. Your games would be delivered - like a nice steak - well done. This is what we do at UGI Studios. We allow you to grow your business. While we handle the tech. As development partners for all your needs. You’ll get reports, integrations and headache-free communication. Now, if you’re looking for a co-development partner for your mobile game who has delivevered for the likes of wargaming Send me a message and we’ll have a quick chat.

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TRACKING RELEASES & TRANSFERS # 1 LIST OF NOVEMBER, 2024 Hi Mobile Gaming Family! 💟 Today I bring you another edition of our… 💫 Tracking Releases & Transfers 💫 November's first list brings releases and transfers to big publisher accounts between Oct 22 and Nov 9. I've found 100 relevant titles. 💪🔎 I highlight 4️⃣ titles of them. ✅ “Disassembly Master” by Supersonic from Unity. With this title, the big Israeli publisher 🇮🇱 steps into the profitable trend of screw & nuts puzzles. 🔩🧩 “Disassembly” follows the mechanics of unscrewing pieces according to the sequence of toolboxes - similar to “Screw Jam” (US$32MM IAP revenue), but in a 3D object. Its main difference is that it features the popular design metagame. 🏠🪑🛏️ At the end of each level, household objects are released to fill rooms, creating a clever connection between the game's mechanics and narrative. An innovative, simple proposal. 💡🧠 I played it non-stop. 😍 Developed by EO Game, "Disassembly Master" was transferred to Supersonic's account on November 9th. 🗓️ ✅ “Bus Frenzy: Station Shuffle” by CrazyLabs. Here's another big Israeli publisher 🇮🇱 getting in on another hot trend, Bus Jam puzzles. 🚐🧩 According to AppMagic, “Bus Frenzy” has achieved 4.6MM downloads and US$141k in IAP revenue. Developed by Fun Finity, "Bus Frenzy: Station Shuffle" was transferred to CrazyLabs's account on November 2nd. 🗓️ ✅ “Melody Match: Galaxy Puzzle” by Amanotes. The leader in the rhythm genre (and Cost Center client 💗) has released an outstanding title. Look that… “Melody Match” mixes the mechanics of Match 3 🍬 and Rhythm 🎶! In other words, a mix of the two most downloaded genres in the history of the mobile games industry! 🔝 The game still deserves a few tweaks. But the game idea is brilliant and highly innovative. 💫🤩 Congratulations to the Vietnamese giant's development team! 🇻🇳👏 "Melody Match: Galaxy Puzzle" was launched by Amanotes on November 5th. 🗓️ ✅ “Stack Attack!!” by Voodoo. The big French publisher 🇫🇷 has also launched an innovative game. “Stack Attack!!!” has the old shoot 'em up mechanics with settings of... Hexa Sort! 😲 Trust me, it worked! 👀 “Stack” brings new features to the sub-genre! 🌟 I liked! 👍 Developed by HyperMode, a gaming studio led by Guy Rapoport and Yarin A., "Stack Attack!!" was transferred to Voodoo's account on November 6th. 🗓️ 👇 Then follow the step-by-step instructions in the comments and access my private AppMagic dashboard with the full releases & transfers list. 👇 - X - Cost Center offers a BI platform that helps scale up mobile games across UA, Creatives, and Gameplay. 🏆 Amanote, the rhythm games giant, uses Cost Center's platform for +90% of the CPI and CPA campaigns on its 4 flagships. 📈 Call my friend Yi Ting Ho. She'll show you a demo. 😉 #innovation #gaming

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Twitch's “Elusive Profitability”: Analyzing 10 Years Post-Amazon Acquisition Despite being acquired by Amazon in 2014 for $970 million, Twitch continues to navigate challenges on its path to profitability. This analysis highlights the platform's financial details, operational costs, and strategic initiatives within Amazon's broader ecosystem. 1. User Engagement and Content Volume     Active Users and Streamers: Twitch has grown to over 140 million monthly active users and 9 million broadcasters by 2023, emphasizing its dominance in the live streaming sector.     Streaming Hours: With an average of 2.1 million concurrent viewers and 3 billion watched hours per quarter, Twitch's scale is impressive but also costly in terms of bandwidth and moderation. 2. Revenue and Operational Costs     Revenue Streams: Twitch's primary revenues come from advertising, subscriptions, and virtual goods, totaling around $2.3 billion in 2020.     Infrastructure Costs: The platform spends approximately $1 per 1,000 viewer hours on bandwidth alone, leading to substantial annual expenses.     Content Moderation Costs: Investments in AIdriven tools and human moderators add millions to Twitch's operational costs annually. 3. Competitive Pressures     Rival Platforms: Twitch faces competition from YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming, which offer better terms to attract top streaming talent.     Acquisition Costs: Retaining and attracting top streamers involves costly contracts and partnership deals, often running into millions annually. 4. Amazon’s Strategic Integration     Twitch Prime: While Twitch benefits from integration with Amazon Prime, the direct profitability impact is unclear.     Advertising and AWS: Opportunities for synergy with Amazon's advertising network and AWS services are promising but underutilized. 5. Future Monetization Strategies     Innovative Advertising: There's potential for Twitch to improve its advertising model by leveraging Amazon's technology for more targeted, interactive ads.     Content and Geographic Expansion: Broadening content to include nongaming categories and expanding into untapped markets like Southeast Asia ($2.5 billion TAM), Latin America ($1.8 billion), the Middle East ($1.2 billion), India ($2.0 billion), and Africa ($0.8 billion) could significantly increase its user base and revenues.  Twitch's journey under Amazon highlights the complexities of scaling a livestreaming platform profitably. While it benefits from Amazon's resources, Twitch must innovate and expand strategically to turn its impressive engagement into sustainable profits.

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