When it came out, Race for the Galaxy didn't look like my ideal card game. Whatever good stuff it had, even fans freely admitted that it didn't have a lot of interaction. And what I wanted most back then, and still put a premium on now, was interactive games. But back then we didn't know the iPad was coming, or that mobile board games would become a huge thing. And if there's one thing that makes a __game suitable for a mobile adaptation it's lack of interaction.
Someone did manage to persuade me to play Race for the Galaxy. And to my surprise, I enjoyed it far more than I expected. Each turn, each player picks an action such as settling a planet or developing a technology. All players then get to do all the chosen actions but the one who picked it gets a bonus. Most actions let you play a card from your hand: settle, for example, is just an excuse to play a planet card. You pay for your played card by discarding a number of other cards equal to its cost.
This straightforward system veils quite a potent economic engine. Having to pay for things with cards means you run out quite fast. To refill your hand you either have to take the weak explore action or generate goods on your planets and trade them. This takes two actions and, of course, lets other players do the same thing. Plus victory points are a separate pool which you need to fill as well as keeping your economy afloat. It's all about efficiency, and the __game can be punishing on those who fail to make the best of their cards.
What makes Race stand out from all the other, tiresome economic engine games in the world is its theme. One could turn this into an abstract point salad, but that would be a waste. The card art and effects and the turn by turn play generate a tangible sense of building, of developing an interstellar empire. The fact you're always working from a new, random hand of cards keeps the game forever fresh. And the design uses every available opportunity to tweak effects into interesting combos.
So we'll forgive it its relative lack of interaction. Especially now you can play it in this cracking mobile version.
At first, it might not seem all that cracking. On a phone-sized screen the cards are not easy to see. So a new hand means a tiresome tap by tap examination of each. The app hides most of other player's tableaus unless you tap to inspect them. And if you're new to the game the tutorial won't take you the whole way. It covers off all the basics, but to understand the game you'll need to go through the rules which, usefully, are available through the app.
With time, though, these minor irritations fade into the black vacuum of the cosmos. Race for the Galaxy also attracted some criticism for its heavy use of detailed iconography, which took some getting used to. Here, the decision comes into its own: once you learn the lexicon, those icons let you understand cards at a glance, without the need to examine each. And of course a couple of plays will be enough fix the mechanics in your mind.
Good job too, because everything else about this adaptation is stellar. You can play against AI players in up to three levels of difficulty. I am not particularly good at or experienced with this game. But after getting to grips with this version, I found Medium capable of giving me a run for my money. Hard should challenge more competent players although it won't be up to beating the best human opponents.
No worries if that's you, though, since there's a smooth online gateway for asynchronous games against other humans. There are even in-device notifications to tell you when it's your turn.
As if that were not enough, three of the game's expansions are also available. These add additional worlds and card drafting and one of them improves the lack of interaction with takeover rules. It's easy to flip them on and off for each new game as you desire.
If you wanted to pick fault with this, it would be a lack of any kind of single-player campaign. But that's a nice to have, an extra feather in the hats of the creme de la creme of mobile adaptations like Galaxy Trucker. It isn't necessary in an economic game like this. And however you feel about economic games - and player interaction - this version of Race of the Galaxy is good enough to be worth your cosmic dollars.
A feast of interesting games are out now for iOS users, but sadly a famine for Android fans. The obvious headliner is Faeria, a promising CCG that's out of beta and released for iPads and where much of my time this week has gone! That's not all; we've got puzzles, platformers with gelatinous cubes, post-apocalyptic adventures, old-school RPGs, a tower defense __game in disguise, and more Ascension.
Faeria (iOS)
Let's start with what is undoubtedly the biggest game-launch news of the week, and one of the games in our 2017 guide, the collectible-card __gameFaeria. The CCG market is huge and, at present, dominated by Hearthstone. Every year contenders rise and fall and it has become clear that to take on the top dog your CCG better have something unique, a gameplay twist that'll give you a chance. Faeria is one of three CCGs coming to mobile this year that I believe have that chance to attract a sizable player base, survive, and even thrive. Its twist is what the game's creators call a "living board."
In Faeria, the battlefield is more than a place to hold creatures; it is a hexagonal battle map. You play land each turn to build a path toward your opponent's orb on the other side of the map, protect your orb, or to accomplish other strategic objectives. Your use of land to manipulate the living board and control the battlefield ties directly to the type of deck you opt to play and your overall strategy in the game. An aggressive deck, for example, would be best supported by a plan to build directly toward your opponent. You can only summon creatures on lands you've played and most creatures do their damage up close and personal. Control decks, on the other hand, will want to play defense by cutting off access to their orb and secure lands adjacent to the board's four Faeria wells. Faeria is used to cast spells, much like mana in Magic. If you have a creature adjacent to one of the wells at the start of your turn you get one extra Faeria. Multiple wells is a great way to ramp up for more powerful creatures.
Faeria looks great and plays pretty well on my iPad Pro, though some of the UI is finnicky and could use some tweaks. The game does require an iPad 3 or newer and won't work on an iPhone, which I feel is the right call given the importance of the living board (I didn't even like Hearthstone on my iPhone 6S Plus). Unfortunately it is not yet on Android, though it should be coming soon, though you can get a head start on your Mac or PC. The game is free with the usual CCG in-app purchases (chests instead of packs) and if you are a fan of the genre it is well worth investing some time and seeing what you think, especially if you're burnt out on or otherwise uninterested in Hearthstone. The living board ads a very compelling dimension to the usual deck building and spell slinging aspects of a CCG and ads quite a lot to the game. We'll have a full review soon, including analysis on the value of chests.
Float (iOS)
If you're looking for a lighter game with a relaxing soundtrack and challenging yet laid back gameplay look no further than Float. In Float you maneuver a flower along a stream by tapping near it to propel it forward. You must dodge obstacles that become increasingly difficult as you advance through the game's eight stages. The music and graphics are both simple but appealing and Float is well worth the price of admission if you're into zen-like games.
Kingdom: New Lands (iOS)
Kingdom: New Lands is a side-scrolling strategy game that is ultimately a tower-defense game that also has the trappings of RTS, simulation, and puzzle games that make you think you're playing something much different. In it, you play as a constantly mounted monarch—there's a lot of riding—who must gather gold, grow a cadre of loyalists, build a city, and defend it from monstrous threats. Failure is expected and learning from that failure so you can try something new is at the heart of the game. Tof gave Kingdom: New Lands four stars when reviewing the Nvidia Shield version and while I haven't played enough to know whether I agree, I can say I like the simple but attractive graphics and fitting soundtrack and audio effects. It's easy to make mistakes in prioritizing your resources, especially the first few tries, but eventually a stronger strategy will emerge. Check it out if you don't mind some failure as you ascend this kingdom's learning curve.
Mushroom 11 (iOS and Android)
Mushroom 11 is a platformer with a unique movement style that is instantly understandable but also very complex. You push an amorphous ooze thing through a harsh landscape of rugged hills and underground tunnels, lava, dangerous creatures, and other hazards. You can squish the blob into tight spots and sacrifice bits to the surroundings because it replicates quickly and will regrow whatever is lost. There are a bunch of chapters of this ooze's story with increasingly challenging obstacles to get past. It feels a lot like controlling a super nimble gelatinous cube and I'm sure glad none of my D&D characters ever ran into this particular strain! Mushroom 11 is a fun and different take on a platformer and worth a look if you dig that genre.
Shardlight (iOS)
The world ended 20 years ago. That's when a disease called Green Lung started killing people and it hasn't stopped. There's a vaccine, but not enough of it and doses are given out via lottery. That's the setting for Shardlight, a third-person point-and-click adventure game that just released for iOS. The story starts strong and the puzzles aren't too terribly difficult, which I like better because nothing makes me swear off this type of game like getting stuck within ten minutes. The game's pretty dark, because post-apocalyptic, but there's quite a lot to explore and do and the art style and voice acting are good.
The Deep Paths: Labyrinth of Andokost (iOS)
The Deep Paths: Labyrinth of Andokost is a first-person RPG with a throwback style. It's been out on Steam for a few months, with mostly positive reviews, and is out now on iOS. It was briefly released a couple weeks ago but then yanked back to address some bugs. In the game you assemble a party of four to delve into the Labyrinth of Andokost to battle creatures, acquire loot, and investigate an ancient myth turned reality in order to protect your city. The game is definitely old school, from the graphical feel to the grid-based movement and use of puzzles. Combat is face-to-face without any positioning of different party members. It's also pretty tough and party wipes against what seem to be easy odds are not uncommon. The game's trailer gives a good idea of the look and feel.
Ascension: War of Shadows (iOS and Android)
A new Ascension expansion has made its way to the game's digital platforms…War of Shadows is now available. Here's the blurb from Playdek:
A new darkness seeps into New Vigil from the Void, intent on restoring despair and desolation to a world that has forgotten it. The four factions recall their veteran heroes and reawaken the great war machines of the past, as they plan their first in the chaotic ebb and flow of light and dark. The War of Shadows has begun!
Sounds shadowy. The expansion features some new Heroes and Constructs that require paying both resource types to acquire, but hold huge power. Cards will also gain additional power as the balance between Light and Dark shift. The expansion is playable as a standalone game for one to four players, or can be played with the base Ascension game and other expansions. War of Shadows is $4 from the game's in-app store. Ascension is a great game and quite popular around these parts.
That's all for this week's top picks. Seen anything you think we should have included? Let us know about it in the comments below, and feel free to share your own thoughts on anything we've mentioned today!
Welcome to PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 developer list for 2016.
Now in its seventh year, it continues to demonstrate just how global and dynamic the mobile __game industry is.
Of course, just like app store top grossing charts, at the top there's less movement.
It's become increasingly clear that in the west, the developers who - through a combination of luck and expertise - released a successful F2P __game in 2012 and 2013 have been the biggest winners of the western mobile games explosion.
It's now much harder to repeat that level of success with new games, although that's exactly what the best companies have done and will continue to do.
Global vision
Elsewhere in the world, the situation is different.
Funded by local success, the most profitable Japanese, Korean and Chinese developers are spending big - both in terms of localising their content and investing in western companies - to take their success global.
And, more generally, the 2016 list shows how quickly the situation can change for any mobile games company with less than $1 billion in sales.
A single hit game can spark, delivering $100 million of revenue in a year.
A single hit game can spark, delivering $100 million of revenue in a year, while failures are more expensive and less easy to predict than ever before.
Reducing risk, not upside
That's why many developers are doubling down on a single specialism.
For example, this year's list includes companies betting everything on wearables or mobile eSports, while many others are harnessing their operational expertise to external IP to breakthrough the marketing stalemale.
Yet even in such an environment, there are shining examples of teams - both experienced and not - who are only laser focused on their games, and getting their reward from a global audience of billions of players who are always on the look out for something new.
Behind the numbers
In terms of the methodology behind our list, many factors combine.
Certainly one of them is financial success. Players spending money is a good indication of a quality experience, and this - both headline turnover and profitability (of course, not always publicly available information) - is something that drives position rank, particularly at the top end of our list.
(But, please note, this is not a list of the top grossing mobile game companies. If you want an estimate of that, refer to App Annie's annual list.)
Instead, we are also interested in wider issues: is a company successfully operating in different global regions (or just one); across many - and/or different - platforms; running a single big title or experimenting with different genres and themes; and looking to expand?
We particularly love to reward ambitious startups who are attempting to innovate and shake up the entire market.
Soft power
We also take into account a company's soft power: how does it present itself to players and the industry at large?
And we love to reward ambitious startups who are attempting to innovate and shake up the entire market.
But, let's be clear. The lodestone running throughout our entire process is the quality of each developer's game(s).
For, not only is this list an attempt to gauge the top developers over the past 12 months, it's also the attempt to highlight those who will be making the headlines over the year.
And the quality of a company's mobile games is - in my opinion - the best (if not the only) measure of this.
Note: Our list was compiled during February 2016, with additional information added during March 2016
From the get-go, let’s be clear. For any developer other than Supercell, Boom Beach would be a total success.
In the three years since launch, the mobile strategy __game has generated hundreds of million dollars, and still pulls in tens of millions annually.
But Supercell isn’t any other developer.
It’s only released four games, and two of them generate over a billion dollars annually.
(Being a social farming game, Hay Day is operating on a different level, of course.)
As in the family boasting a Nobel Prize winner and an Oscar winner, getting a Ph.D remains an achievement, just not a comparative success.
Yet, Supercell remains committed to the __game you could be argue offers a cleaner, more nuanced and more enjoyable experience than Clash of Clans, which gained its success and longevity partly due its launch timing within the wider explosion of mobile gaming.
The laughing face of evil
Aside from making great games, one of Supercell’s advantages as a successful mobile game developer is its ability to spend hundreds of millions of dollars marketing its games. Typically mobile developers will spend 20% to 30% of overall revenues on marketing.
TV advertising boosted Boom Beach into the US top 10 grossing charts.
This, combined with regular updates, was key to Boom Beach’s early success.
A top 20 top grossing game in the key US market on the App Apple Store and Google Play store, it wasn’t until early 2015 and the start of TV advertising that it nailed down a lucrative top 10 position; something it held until early 2016.
Related to this was the introduction and development of personality within the game, notably the comically villainous Dr. T.
Inspired by Austin Powers’ Dr Evil and assisted by the extendable arms of his robot companion , Dr. T has underpinned key in-game events such as the four Mega Crab raids.
Other tweaks, significant if slight, include the addition of a $2.99 monthly subscription so players can upgrade two buildings simultaneously. At launch, Boom Beach’s restriction of a single upgrade was a novel design and monetisation decision.
End of the beginning
More recently, however, Boom Beach has been in marked decline.
It dropped out of the US App Store top 20 top grossing ranking in April 2016 and even spiked outside of the top 100 in early 2017.
Similarly, on Google Play, it dropped out of the top 10 top grossing position in February 2017, dropping to a low of 77 in early March 2017.
Significantly, this period coincided with the launch of Clash Royale and suggests that Supercell was focusing resources - staff and cash - on its new game.
European beachhead
But it’s not game over for Boom Beach just yet. The most recent update added the first two in a series of Hero characters, giving the game an immediate boost back up the charts.
And outside of the US, it’s important to note Boom Beach has always performed better in key markets including France (its #1 big market), Canada, the UK and Germany.
It’s also done well in some of the big Asian markets, notably South Korea, where it remains a top 100 top grossing Google Play title, although it doesn’t have the popularity of Clash of Clans, which is top 100 top grossing game in South Korea, China and Japan.
CyberAgent has released its financials for the first half of its FY17 for the six months ending March 31st 2017.
It posted sales of $1.62 billion for the period, up 21% year-on-year. Profits fell sharply however to $23.6 million, down 76.7% year-on-year.
Its Games Business performed well, posting sales of $634.5 for the first half of its FY17, up 22.8% year-on-year. Operating income suffered slightly, dropping to $129.3 million, a decrease of 8.9% year-on-year.
A BanG up job
CyberAgent didn't go into much detail with its games section, stating simply that it had released one "new hit" while its existing titles "remained strong" in their performance.
It's unclear what this new hit is, but it is presumably BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!. The __game is currently a top 30 grossing __game on Android in Japan and hasn't dropped out of this rank since launching in March 2017.
CyberAgent isn't particularly well-known outside of Japan, but its subsidiary Cygames is. The developer most recently launched its first North American eSports tournament for its CCG Shadowverse with a $10,000 prize for the winner.
It’s been almost six weeks since Nintendo launched Fire Emblem Heroes, its first proper free-to-play mobile game.
However, given that during this period Nintendo also launched Switch, its seventh home console (sort of), it’s not a great surprise Fire Emblem Heroes’ post-launch performance has fallen off the radar.
Time to make amends.
RPG CENTRAL
As I’ve previously argued, Fire Emblem Heroes is primarily aimed at the core Japanese RPG market.
For one thing, it’s the domestic market for the three companies involved in the __game - Nintendo, DeNA and Intelligent Systems.
For another, it’s the most lucrative market in world in terms of revenues per player with top grossing games such as Puzzle & Dragons and Monster Strike capable of generating over $1 billion annually just from the Japanese app stores alone.
Looking at the game’s top grossing performance on the Apple App Store and Google Play store, it’s clear Fire Emblem Heroes launched well.
It was a top 10 top grossing __game on the App Store and Google Play. However, as it entered week three, it dropped into the App Store top 20.
Partly, this is because Apple more frequently updates the App Store grossing position, resulting in a more volatile chart position compared to Google Play’s more stable ranking.
Events will be a key element in maintaining Fire Emblem Heroes’ ongoing success in Japan.
For this reason, it’s important not to directly compare the same ranking between app stores. Yet we can say that Fire Emblem Heroes has consistently remained in the top 10 top grossing on Google Play, whereas on the App Store, it’s a top 30 title.
More significant are the strong upticks in the game’s App Store position following the in-game events Sibling Bonds at the start of March and Blazing Shadows a week later. These time-limited events made new characters available and drove a strong increase in in-game spending.
Such events will clearly be a key element in maintaining Fire Emblem Heroes’ ongoing success in Japan.
Nintendo of America
In North America, as in Japan, Fire Emblem Heroes experienced a strong launch period.
It was a top 20 top grossing game on the App Store and top 10 top grossing title on Google Play.
Similarly, it then slipped down the App Store rankings, with in-game events boosting it back into the top 20. However, in the US market, post-Sibling Bonds, Fire Emblem Heroes almost immediately slipped further down the charts and outside the top 50.
The gains from Blazing Shadows have been better maintained, but this suggests such events have a weaker impact outside of Japan.
Fire Emblem Heroes is performing better in Canada than the US.
That stated, Fire Emblem Heroes has experienced a strong uptick on Google Play, where the game is back into the top 20 in Canada and the US.
And more generally, the game is performing better in Canada on the App Store and Google Play.
The Euro vision
When we look at the key European markets - France, Germany, Spain and the UK - the trends are similar to the US/Canada but the game’s overall performance is weaker.
On the App Store, the first two weeks saw Fire Emblem Heroes comfortably in the top 50 top grossing (compared to top 20 in North America and top 10 in Japan). But since, it’s slipped out of the top 100 in Germany and the UK.
On Google Play, the game again has performed weakest in Germany and the UK where it’s now outside the top 30 top grossing, and only just within for France and Spain.
Japan will be the market in which the game’s success or failure is played out.
And in none of these countries have the time-limited events had much of an impact.
What comes next?
These are still early days for Fire Emblem Heroes and it would be foolish to draw overly strong conclusions from the game’s performance.
For example, it’s yet to launch globally, including in large markets such as China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Yet, it seems clear that Japan will be the market in which the game’s long-term success or failure is played out.
This isn’t to say Western markets are irrelevant. Fire Emblem Heroes is likely to have generated well over $10 million to-date but how quickly it can best the ¥6 billion (c.$50 million) generated by Super Mario Run during its launch period will be down to its domestic chops.
Well-known IP is becoming an increasingly sought-after resource in the mobile games industry.
And while it's not the shortcut to immediate success that many assume, it's easy to see why. A well-matched IP can help generate organic discovery and expose a __game to a ready-made, potentially lucrative audience of passionate fans.
But what happens when there are multiple mobile games with the same IP on the market, but developed by different studios? This is increasingly becoming the case, particularly when it comes to the biggest brands in entertainment such as Transformers and Star Wars.
Getting crowded
A recent example of this is Kabam's Transformers: Forged to Fight, which launched on April 6th 2017 - less than a year after Space Ape released Transformers: Earth Wars in June 2016.
Admittedly, the two games are quite distinct - Forged to Fight is a beat-'em-up in the Marvel: Contest of Champions mould, while Earth Wars is a build-and-battler - but it seems inevitable that any two games using the same license should have an effect on one another.
To test this, we took a look at how the launch of Forged to Fight on April 6th affected the grossing position of Earth Wars, using data from App Annie.
As you can see, Transformers: Earth Wars quickly spiked from 145th in the US iPhone grossing charts on the day of Forged to Fight's launch to 77th on April 7th, the day after.
This is especially impressive since the __game was at a lowly 291st - its lowest trough since February 19th - on April 2nd, just days before Forged to Fight's launch.
As for downloads, having exited App Annie's overall download chart rankings in the two weeks before Forged to Fight's launch, Earth Wars downloads spiked suddenly on April 6th, reaching a high of 813th on April 8th.
A short-term victory
However, the spike was just that, and Earth Wars' grossing rank has fallen every day since, sitting at 233rd as of April 11th.
This is likely due to the fact that Space Ape smartly launched a major new Beast Wars update, including new playable bots that coincided with the launch of Forged to Fight, perhaps in an attempt to steal its thunder.
It appears to have worked in the short-term, with Earth Wars out-grossing Kabam's title on its launch day.
Yes, while it's been available for less than a week and there's plenty of time to turn it around, the launch of Transformers: Forged to Fight hasn't set the App Store alight.
Its highest position in the US iPhone grossing charts so far has been 152nd, and has maintained a steady presence at 150 to 200.
With Transformers: Earth Wars averaging out at a similar position nearly a year on, Kabam will be hoping for a boost sooner rather than later.
This galaxy ain't big enough for the both of us
Another IP that's received a high-profile mobile game this year is Star Wars, with Netmarble launching the much-anticipated, Clash Royale-inspired Star Wars: Force Arena on January 11th.
But what impact did it have on perennial top performer Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes?
The impact was much the same as Forged to Fight has had on Earth Wars, jumping from #22 to #15 in the US iPhone to grossing charts the day after Force Arena's launch.
But again, it was a one-day spike only for Galaxy of Heroes as it quickly returned to its usual 20 to 30 position.
Galaxy of Heroes is of course a high benchmark for any developer, and Netmarble has failed to dent its dominance with Force Arena.
It peaked at 38th in the US iPhone top grossing charts on January 20th, but has been declining ever since and sits at 321st as of April 11th.
What this shows, then, is that it's not at all easy for mobile developers - no matter their size - to simply come along and take another game's players.
Developers are becoming more shrewd about protecting their own player bases - a case in point is Space Ape's Beast Wars update for Transformers: Earth Wars, launching on the same day as Forged to Fight - and a new game launch can actually drive further revenues more established titles.
There's now competition not only between, but also within IPs. And on this evidence, it's not easy being the challenger.
It's the fifth year of our annual ranking and one that demonstrates the industry continues to grow quicker than anyone imagined. For example, over the past 12 months, we've seen two games - Puzzle & Dragons and Candy Crush Saga - each generate more than $1 billion in terms of mobile sales.
The industry isn't just growing, however, it's also evolving; something that can be clearly seen in the significant structural changes that are happening in markets such as Korea, Japan, and China.
So, bigger, more lucrative, more global, more competitive, and more complex are the phrases that describe the current mobile gaming ecosystem.
These are the reasons we welcome 13 new companies - three from Korea and Europe, two from the US, China and Japan, and one from Russia - into 2014's list.
This underlines the global nature of the industry, while the fact that three of those companies head straight into the top 10 remind us that today's newcomers can quickly become tomorrow's leaders.
Yet, let's not forget the six companies who have been sequentially listed for each of the past five years: Backflip Studios, DeNA, EA Mobile, Gameloft, Gamevil, and Glu Mobile may have had various ups and downs over the years, but they also demonstrate that while form is temporary, class remains permanent.
In the west, the fast-growing Chinese mobile games market is typically highlighted as the sector's biggest opportunity. Chinese developers and publishers know the hard reality of that situation, however.
Sure, there are hundreds of millions of potential mobile gamers, but there's also massive fragmentation across the ecosystem, ranging from handsets and app distribution, to promotion, billing, social networks, and even connectivity.
Another challenge arises from the legacy of China's online games sector. Financially, it's still the biggest part of the industry, with large publicly-owned publishers. Yet despite their size, many are struggling to make the transition to mobile games.
The result is smaller pure-play mobile __game developers are now highly valuable; something that's been reflected in some eye-watering prices during 12 months of overheated mergers and acquisition activity.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Chinese developers, however, is quality of their content. Because of its legacy, the market remains dominated by poor mobile versions of existing browser MMOGs. Yet the most innovative companies are looking to combine the best aspects of the past with more enjoyable – and more mobile-centric – gameplay mechanics, as well as better graphics and streamlined user experience.
And it's such developers who are highlighted in our second listing of the best Chinese mobile developers. Only 17 companies from last year's list survive; demonstrating how quickly the market is developing. We expect 2014 to be nothing if not more extreme.
As stats go, Nexon’s announcement that its mobile strategy __gameDomiNations has generated $100 million from 32 million downloads over two years certainly catches the eye.
Released in April 2015, DomiNations was developed by US studio Big Huge Games, which was technically the fifth incarnation of the original outfit, which debuted with PC title Rise of Nations in 2003.
Inbetween, the company was acquired by THQ, then acquired by 38 Studios, which infamously went bust, resulting in the formation of the Epic-owned Impossible Studios, which itself was shut in 2013.
Buying back the name, Big Huge Games lives again, although the success of DomiNations meant Korea-based Japan-floated F2P publisher Nexon bought the company in 2016.
History lesson over, the takeaway is the people behind Big Huge have been making strategy games for over a decade. They know what they’re doing.
March to glory
That was clear in 2015 when DomiNations hit app stores.
The __game was deeper than the Clash of Clans-generation of tactical rush, and this was reflected in DomiNations’ strong early performance in Western markets - something we noted at the time.
In the US, it sat in the iPhone top 100 grossing chart for a couple of months, before maintaining a steady top 200 position until mid-2016, although an end-of-year update spiked it back almost into the top 100.
Since then, DomiNations has slipped into the top 200 to top 300 range.
However, when we look at other English-speaking territories, it’s clear that the US isn’t a key market for the game. DomiNations has performed significantly better (around 100 places higher) both on the Canadian and Australian Google Play stores.
(Note: We show multiple countries in Google Play as the store algorithm acts over a longer period than the Apple App Store, and hence generates smoother graphs.)
Indeed, the late 2016 peak that nearly pushed the game into the US top 100 saw DomiNations almost reaching the top 50 in Australia and Canada.
It’s a similar picture in the key European countries, where DomiNations remains a top 100 grossing app in the Spanish Google Play store, and has only recently dropped into the top 200 in Germany, France and Italy.
This Western success is also reflected in the geographical split of the game’s 32 million downloads, 78% of which have occurred in the West.
Local knowledge
Aside from Western markets, DomiNations also received a specific Asian release, which generated the remaining 22% of downloads.
Drawing on Nexon’s local knowledge, DomiNations Asia has been released in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau (but not China).
Its strongest territory has been Korea, where it remained a top 100 grossing Google Play app until late 2016.
It wasn’t so successful in Taiwan and Hong Kong, although it was a top 100 grossing app until mid 2016, and didn’t trouble the Japanese top 100 grossing charts at all.
Limited success
Deconstructing DomiNations’ success in this way throws additional context on the $100 million of lifetime revenue.
For example, from these graphs, it’s clear the majority of that $100 million would have been generated in 2015, when the game was riding high in the top 100 grossing charts in the West and South Korea.
Equally, given the game’s current position, it seems unlikely it will reach the $200 million mark.
This isn’t to belittle DomiNations’ performance, merely to point out the limits of the current app store ecosystem.
Without a strong, sustained performance in some of the biggest three markets - US, Japan and China - it’s almost impossible to generate the $10 million per month required to accumulate +$100 million of yearly revenue.
Credit crunch
Indeed, if we look at Nexon’s financials over this period, DomiNations’ contribution isn’t obvious.
While the blue line shows overall revenue from mobile games, it’s clear that Nexon’s key market remains South Korea, which the big peaks in FY15 Q5 and FY16 Q1 provided by RPG HIT.
The majority of DomiNations’ revenue is captured within the green bars, which are Nexon’s revenues external to Korea and Japan. It’s not nothing ($100 million is around ¥11 billion), but equally it’s not been significant to Nexon either.
And this highlights another trend. As the mobile game market matures, there is increasing stratification when it comes the levels of success available to developers and publishers.
The vast majority of games generate less than $50 million in lifetime revenue. A couple of percent breakout into the +$100 million range, but the ability to be able to grow such success into the $250 million, $500 million, $1 billion range has become increasingly impossible.
There are some exceptions of course, Com2uS’ Summoners War is steadily building to a $1 billion total. But it launched a year earlier than DomiNations and as an RPG has a wider global appeal.
In this context, DomiNations’ $100 million is about as good as it gets.
Lasse Seppänen is the CEO & Co-Founder of PlayRaven, a Helsinki-based studio specialized in fresh new strategy games for touch screens.
Lasse has worked in several development and executive roles since 1998 and is best known for his role as Remedy’s Executive Producer for the XBox 360 cult hit Alan Wake.
In a games industry career spanning 20 years so far, Lasse Seppanen reckons he's experienced three distinct waves of mobile gaming.
The first was at the turn of the millennium when he was working on WAP and text message games for very early handsets, pre-dating even the halcyon days of Java.
“Most people don't even remember what WAP means,” he laughs.
Seppanen identifies the second as occurring “around 2003 to 2005”, at which point he was Head of Studio at Sumea.
Here he worked alongside four of Supercell's five co-founders, developing games for early feature phones.
“Ilkka [Paananen] was my boss, who later founded Supercell as the CEO, and the three others were working for me in the studio,” he recalls.
“I know them very well and we share a lot of thinking and DNA. I'm really happy about their success.”
Pastures new
Sumea was subsequently acquired by mobile gaming's then-dominant company Digital Chocolate in 2004, rebranding as the US firm's Helsinki arm.
The following year, Seppanen left the company - and mobile gaming - to work on a secretive new Xbox 360 IP at Max Payne developer Remedy.
I realised that with F2P, strategy was the genre that would be big.
Lasse Seppanen
This turned out to be Alan Wake, a critically-acclaimed psychological thriller on which he was Executive Producer. Seppanen remained at the Espoo-based firm for six years.
The third wave of mobile gaming to which Seppanen refers is the modern era, which offered him the incentive to return to mobile and found PlayRaven in 2013.
“I always wanted to make strategy games,” he explains. “I realised that with the free-to-play model, strategy was really the genre that would be big.
“If you sell one box with one price tag, you don't want people to play it for 10 years.
“That's great for action adventures and shooters, but not great for strategy games. That's one of the reasons strategy never took off in the premium world.”
Unique vision
Some might argue that Seppanen's absence from the mobile games industry was badly timed.
Spending 2005-2013 in console meant that he missed the launch of the App Store and the early hits that came with it, such as Angry Birds and Clash of Clans, returning when the market was arguably already saturated.
Supercell set the formula before PlayRaven was established
But being a new mobile strategy developer in 2013, after Supercell had established an oft-imitated formula with Clash of Clans, gave PlayRaven something to stand in opposition to.
We don't do re-skins, or copies, or clones.
Lasse Seppanen
Seppanen has always been very clear that PlayRaven is only interested in developing “games that bring something fresh and new to the genre and to the platform”.
“We don't do re-skins or copies or clones,” he asserts. And indeed, the studio's three launched games to date - Spymaster, Robocide, and Winterstate - are all very different experiences.
Small teams, big ambition
From a five-person startup in 2013 to 22 employees at the time of writing, PlayRaven has grown steadily but not explosively.
“We haven't gone for hyper-growth,” says Seppanen.
“Think of us like a laboratory. If you're solving a very hard problem - and making a new IP is always a very hard problem - you just need a very limited amount of people who have the passion and experience.”
The core team on Robocide was a mere four people strong. Winterstate's team wasn't much bigger. And yet, PlayRaven still managed to launch the pair within a month of one another to relative success.
Everything in Finland is built with a less is more approach.
Lasse Seppanen
For Seppanen, this is evidence that you don't need a big team to make free-to-play work.
“Clash Royale was made by six or seven people - less than 10, for sure - so I think that's the best example that can be provided,” he enthuses.
Made in Finland
Compared to what he describes as the “brute force approach” of some of the bigger F2P developers, Seppanen goes on to praise the simplicity and elegance of Clash Royale's presentation and feature set.
“You only have the minimum of what you need,” he says.
“That is how Nordic design in general works. It's not just games, it's furniture and buildings - everything here is built with a less is more approach.”
The PlayRaven studio
It's an interesting point, especially given the unique togetherness of the Finnish games industry in which PlayRaven is deeply embedded.
I wouldn't say IGDA created the culture, but it's definitely been there to accelerate it.
Lasse Seppanen
Finland's connection with and dominance in mobile gaming is well-documented and Seppanen attributes it to a perfect storm of Nokia's Finnish roots, the dark winter nights, and the sharing culture that exists between __game developers there.
Seppanen has had a hand in the latter, helping to establish the IGDA in Finland in 2012 and acting as its lead coordinator for the first two years.
“I wouldn't say IGDA created the culture, but it's definitely been there to accelerate and enhance it,” he says.
No contest
Sharing projects early and gathering feedback from peers is a key part of the PlayRaven strategy, with regular meet-ups in the region and plenty of like-minded developers willing to take part.
“There's not much to lose by sharing,” Seppanen states. “We decided, even within the open Finnish culture, to be even more open.”
An IGDA Finland meet
He says the benefit of this approach is “maximum feedback at maximum speed” - a scenario that is much more helpful to PlayRaven than the long and isolating process of keeping its cards close to its chest.
We decided, even within the open Finnish culture, to be even more open.
Lasse Seppanen
This is the norm in Finland, with IGDA gatherings recently hitting a record 700 attendees - most of whom were industry professionals. However, it's not like this everywhere.
“In some places the IGDA chapters have unfortunately become relatively academic, so it's mostly students and the professionals might even avoid the meets,” explains Seppanen.
“That's very regrettable and we have the opposite situation.”
Feedback is key
This “maximum feedback at maximum speed” philosophy can be clearly seen in the firm's approach to soft-launching its latest project - a reimagining of 2014's Spymaster.
The game, which takes the original concept in a different direction, was soft-launched after only five months of development.
Prior to this, PlayRaven has never soft-launched earlier than a year into development. For Seppanen this new approach has been a revelation, leading to useful ideas that wouldn't have arisen otherwise.
We want both the metrics and the opinions of the players.
Lasse Seppanen
“We want both the metrics and the opinions of the players,” he says. “We're actively talking to them and hearing their ideas about the latest update, what went well, what went wrong and so on.”
As for the new Spymaster experience, those who played the original might not recognise it.
There's a new art style, an increased focus on social features and a new card-based design that emphasises the player's empowered position as the tactical force behind these individual agents.
The right team for the job
To a large extent, this is due to the fact that the new Spymaster is being developed by an almost entirely new-look team that features only one individual who was at the company before.
A sustained hiring drive that began in 2015 made it clear that PlayRaven was building a team for a spy game, ensuring that it attracted only those who were equipped and excited to take up the challenge.
And it's resulted in an eclectic and international bunch, including a British lead who relocated to Helsinki from China, a Russian backend programmer, an American client programmer who moved his family from San Francisco, a Canadian designer and only two Finns.
The PlayRaven team
He explains that for the first six months, he had to emphasise to the new international team members that showing their work to other companies is to be encouraged - and not in fact fraternising with the enemy or exposing it too early.
A long way to go
But although this new-look team has been quick to soft launch Spymaster, it has no intentions of rushing it to a full release.
It's currently toying with ideas internally, moving away from the traditional structure and presentation of mobile strategy games that we've come to expect.
One of these ideas is to move the emphasis away from the game's map and into the guild chat, making logging in feel like something more akin to a messaging app.
“You would see a bunch of missions in the chat stream,” envisions Seppanen.
“Make it a social stream where you can participate in stuff with others, rather than have this very archaic and maybe old-fashioned way of separating single player and multiplayer.”
PlayRaven Marketing Director Robin Squire sums it up pithily: “like Messenger with backstabbing.”
For a company that's consistently defined itself with creativity in arguably the most homogeneous sector in gaming, you certainly wouldn't bet against it pulling this off.
Plants vs. Zombies developer PopCap has laid off staff at its Seattle HQ..
In a statement on Twitter, PopCap GM Matt Nutt said the industry had changed dramatically during the five years since the EA acquisition with the increasing popularity of mobile gaming.
As a result, he claimed the studio needed to evolve the way it’s structured and to that end has made the decision to downsize its Seattle team to refocus on key titles and new projects.
Returning to its roots
“We’re saying goodbye to some talented colleagues and friends today, and that hurts,” said Nutt.
“We will help them with severance and other assistance, and wish every single one of them the absolute best.
“PopCap Seattle isn’t going anywhere – we’re re-focused and re-energized. We’re returning to our roots – smaller, leaner, pushing hard to build new things, and aiming big to excite fans worldwide with our games.
“We’ll keep working to deliver more for some of our existing Bejeweled and Plants vs. Zombies titles, but we’re also going to try some new things, too.”
This note from our GM was shared with PopCap Seattle today. pic.twitter.com/5kVcHLwTnt
— PopCap Games (@popcap) May 2, 2017
PopCap was founded in 2000, and was later acquired by publisher EA in July 2011 for $650 million. Since then it has released a plethora of titles, including Plants vs. Zombies 2 for mobile devices and the Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare series for console.
Over the past four days - and with the top 10 still to follow on Monday - we've been counted down the companies we consider to be the best in the mobile gaming industry.
Of course, all such lists are - to a degree - subjective.
If we had the information, we could generate a top 50 in terms of total downloads, daily active users, or sales and profitability etc. Yet the comparative ease of ranking such information - if it were available - would make such a list lifeless and generic.
Instead, as we consider it, the strength of PocketGamer.biz's annual top 50 is the combination of hard and soft information.
What's next?
Even so, as the big corporations come into mobile games, the top 50 is becoming more centred around financial success.
So while there's always the opportunity for small indies to hit a home run - Imangi Studios being this year's great example (indeed it featured in 2012's 10 to Watch) - our rankings, as the App Store, will become less dynamic
And that's where our 10 To Watch list comes into play.
Not as rigorously compiled as the main list, it's a personal view of companies I've followed in the mobile gaming space - ones I think have the potential to make it big this year.
It's not meant to be exhaustive, companies can only appear on the list for one year, and it's not a comparative rank - merely alphabetic.
It's also worth pointing out there are plenty more companies who could fit into this definition. To that extent, this is a subset of developers, while the point of the top 50 is that it's the set.
Over the past five days, we've counted down the companies we consider to be the best in the mobile gaming industry.
Of course, all such lists are - to a degree - subjective.
If we only had the information, we could generate a top 50 in terms of total downloads, daily or mobile active users, or sales and profitability. Yet the comparative ease of such information - even if it were ever available - would make such a list lifeless and generic.
The strength of PocketGamer.biz's annual top 50 is the combination of hard and soft information, albeit it from a geographically and culturally North Atlantic view point.
Something completely different
In this context, the following list of 10 mobile developers to watch isn't so tightly compiled.
My thinking is that as the industry matures, the top 50 list will become less dynamic - there will be less opportunity to release a surprise hit, to come from nowhere and generate $10 million in sales, do an Angry Birds or a Tiny Wings.
And that's where our 10 To Watch list comes into play.
It's a personal view of companies I've closely followed in the mobile gaming space - ones I think have the potential to make it big this year.
It's not meant to be exhaustive and it's not a comparative rank - merely alphabetic.
Also, there are plenty more companies who could fit into this definition. To that extent, this is a subset, while the point of the top 50 is that it's the set.
Similarly, 10 To Watch is a list that's going to change year-on-year. My hope is some in this year's list will make it onto the definitive top 50 in 2013.
Silicon Studio has now launched the commercial version of its C# __game engine Xenko.
The engine has been in open beta for the last two years, but has only just become available as a full commercial release. It allows for development on iOS and Android, as well as PC and Xbox One, with more platforms to come.
Xenko is available for free for personal use and by small studios provided they display a "Made With Xenko" splash page at the start of their games.
Go Pro
Companies earning over $200,000 must upgrade to Xenko Pro, which costs $75 a month per user. A Pro Plus subscription is available for $150 a month per user while a Custom package is available for larger studios.
Xenko Pro is currently available for free until July 31st to give developers a chance to test out its capabilities without having to pay upfront.
You can find out more about the engine on the official website.
Jacki Vause is CEO at PR and marketing agency Dimoso, which specialises in mobile games and the technology and platforms behind them.
As everyone knows, creating a real marketing impact for an indie __game is a challenge.
The world of mobile games is crowded, discovery is a nightmare and the big boys have deep pockets that allow them to extensively test and run expensive campaigns, employ sophisticated technicians and invest in all the latest analytics and attribution tracking technologies, giving them an immediate advantage over the bootstrapping indie.
Finding an audience
There are currently 2,950,259 apps and games available on iOS at the time of writing.
And that’s just one mobile platform: there are thousands more triple-A and indie releases on mobile, console and PC every month, all looking for players from a similar audience pool and relying on media coverage in the same places.
It’s a daunting task to think about where you can carve out an audience.
For indies, where budgets are minimal and resources for marketing are limited, publishers need to consider how to release a __game and give it the best chance of success.
PR is certainly one tactic they should consider. However, it can’t be seen as the Holy Grail.
It has to be part of a holistic marketing mix which starts with communications in the game itself, spreads through the tools you use to track and optimise and ends with any user acquisition campaign you design.
PR runs through all of these activities, complementing and bolstering them. It also helps you raise your head above the parapet where all your Indie competitors are battling it out.
One of the great things about PR is that for a small investment of time and money, it has the chance to blow up and grab some major interest.
One of the great things about PR is that for a small investment of time and money, it has the chance to grab some major interest.
PR is not as data dependent or formulaic as other marketing tools, but it does deliver results. It could give you that explosion of interest you really need.
The team at Dimoso specialise in mobile games PR which is where many indies operate. We have years of experience and employ some of the best PR professionals working in the games industry.
We have worked with many different developers and publishers - from industry giants to unknown startups and have experienced what works and what does not.
We’ve created some advice how to get the most from PR while working with the limitations and opportunities that come with being an indie.
This information is not a comprehensive strategy, every project is unique. We wanted to draw out a few key points that matter to us and could help indie publishers use PR to successfully release their titles.
Your game
If it’s not great give up. Harsh but fair.
We have turned down representing 90% of the games that come our way because they are simply not good enough. We have seen the Developer relations guys at the app stores tear their hair out when their advice is ignored or simply not taken as publishers rush their games to market.
Get it right. From the start. Make the game GOOD. Really good. Test test test. Take as much advice as you can. No amount of money will make a bad game good. FACT.
Create a strategy
As an indie with a good game you will want to get you game out there and monetising as quickly as possible, but create your strategy before you do.
Have the PR materials ready, anticipate what press are going to ask for, create a list of marketing milestones. Brainstorm a few PR stunts and feature ideas to activate around release date. Have it all nicely placed in a schedule, you do not want to miss a single opportunity.
Company and employee profiles
Define who you are and what you do. If you want to fit into a press agenda, you need to be able to quickly and succinctly say ‘we do this and our game is’. You can do this by creating ready made profiles.
If your company has an unusual history or unique position, tell people about it. If your employees previously worked at impressive companies or on revolutionary products, this makes you interesting. Use these profiles to create news value, reasons why people will want to talk about you.
The press release
We are not great fans of blanket press releases at Dimoso as they fill journalists' inboxes and are not often read.
If your company has an unusual history or unique position, tell people about it.
You are better off with a communication that is more of a media alert and if it is written well it can be a useful tool. It needs to be succinct and it needs to be targeted.
Please don’t send press releases/media alerts about a new game to Tech Crunch or the FT - you will just annoy them.
What has changed is how you use these communications and how you distribute them. It’s a chance to gather all the information in one place. You have got to sell your game and this is your pre-made pitch with materials. Take time to see which individuals write about and review games like yours.
A blanket email will get you nothing. Make personal approaches with your information acknowledging what they have written before and giving them the reasons why they should take the time out of their busy day to play your game and write about it if you are lucky.
Boost your company profile
A lot of mobile games PR is about building reputation within the industry. Mobile games producers need to impress investors, shareholders, potential partners and distribution platforms as well as player.
You are a lot more likely to gain a strong network of partners if you are visible in the industry and creating thought leadership on platforms that people want to hear. You have to really believe your brand and stand up for it. Make comments and draft interesting articles. Work with high profile partners and secure speaking opportunities at events.
Make friends in the press and network
Reach out to people; tell them about yourself and your product. Research people operating in the same area as you, see what they write about, make sure you are the right fit and approach them. Consider what people are talking about in the media or at events and where you fit in that dialogue.
Media monitoring
By using online alerts you can monitor who is talking about indie games topics and news. Monitor who is talking about similar titles, keep an eye out for hot topics in the media.
Reach out to the authors and comment online on the pieces and include in your own blogs or social media posts.
Attend events
Get yourself out there and meet people. Know your elevator pitch and interact with your peers. Get yourself to gaming events and absorb knowledge from other professionals. Make friends at the events and stay in touch.
Events do not have to be gaming specific, but think about business, tech and startups, you may meet a useful mentor or collaborator.
Create content that encourages discussion
From the moment you start to build your concept think of PR, ask yourself what is unique and why will people find this game interesting. Can you put PR into your concept, is your shooter the same as many others, what can you do differently?
From the moment you start to build your concept think of PR, ask yourself what is unique and why will people find this game interesting.
Draw out the unique aspects of your games and make them selling points. Highlight elements from your game and get them into the real world.
Even place things in the game deliberately during conception or an update, create a PR angle. What’s a hot topic in the news, what celebrities make the headlines, can these things be included?
Get Creative with PR ideas
Be inventive and think of crazy ways for people to see your game. This area of PR is the most fun, going a bit mad and getting something out there can grab attention. But be careful as it can backfire done badly. Search online for inspiration.
For example: Got a bow and arrow game? Do a video at the local archery club. Got a car game: Then get on the track.
Incorporate things that people enjoy and get them in your game, look at the seasons and popular global events, make sure your content is a reflection.
Use social media
The challenge for indies is to grow fans in the first place. Make sure to regularly update social media and interact with the games industry. Write a company blog. Research where your potential fans are operating.
Some of the less established platforms are more accessible for low budget or unpaid opportunities. Use the channels that appeal to you, your audience and product.
Combine with paid
PR is most effective when paired with paid options. If you have the budget then combined marketing is the recipe for success. Look into mobile advertising platforms, chart boosts and paid placements
These guaranteed placements, if strategised correctly, will massively impact the success of your PR campaign.
Keep going
PR is most effective when paired with paid options. If you have the budget then combined marketing is the recipe for success.
Once the game is out there and being played get ready for that first update. Listen to user feedback and monitor your social channels for comments. Implement and address what people are saying.
People that take the time to play and comment are doing you a great service, though sometimes negative, this is what you will need to address.
Conclusion
It’s all about small margins for indies. Get one hit, get up one place, make one connection. Be pleased with your results and concentrate on making sure you are getting steady progress. The best results are the small victories that are done well.
Planning and execution are essential to PR. Make sure you do all you can to get things right and be brave. Combine as many elements as you possibly can and get friends to help. Get out in the field and meet people, tell them about your amazing games and stay positive.
This was part of the MGU course Mobile Games University: Indie Marketing 101. For more articles in this course click here.
From left to right by age: 10s / 20s / 30s /40s / 50s
In February, Pokemon GO was the big hit in the domestic mobile market, which made a lot of changes to the age bracket and gender distribution.
First of all, in the case of male users, the Arcade category that typically proves the most popular. However, the Adventure category increased to 18% in February because of Pokemon GO.
In the case of male users in their 30s and 40s, the Role-Playing category, which includes Lineage 2 Revolution, and the Puzzle category, which features Anipang 3 For Kakao and Friends Popcorn For Kakao, still prove strong. But even in this demographic, the Adventure category increased in popularity.
In the case of male users in their 50s, who usually choose the Casino category as their favourite, for February this has changed to the Adventure category.
In summary, we can see that Pokemon GO has had a big impact on all age groups for men.
From left to right by age: 10s / 20s / 30s /40s / 50s
Unlike male users, who have been affected by the Pokemon GO craze in particular, there were no big changes across age groups for women.
The age group for 10 to 19 continue to enjoy games in the Arcade category. In the case of Adventure games, there was a 3% increase from a month earlier. In the case of women in their 20s, the Adventure category occupied 26%.
So let’s find out what kind of games have a big impact on the distribution of categories.
MAU top five among Korean male gamers in February 2017
MAU top five among Korean male gamers in February 2017
The mobile __game that took place first within each male age group was Pokemon GO. Monthly average users for the __game totalled around 2.88 million, with roughly 3.3 million installs overall.
Lineage 2 Revolution, ranked first in January, took second place in February, behind Pokemon GO.
Interestingly, one game that continues to steadily rise in popularity amongst male teenage gamers is Supercell's Clash Royale.
Even though Clash Royale was released a year ago, the game is still very popular among male teenage gamers, with MAUs continuing to rise.
Clash Royale user breakdown and MAUs
Let’s take a look at the Top five mobile games among female gamers based on MAUs.
MAU top five mobile games among female gamers in February 2017
Pokemon GO ranked first for each female age group except the over-50s, where the title was ranked 10th. Puzzle games dominated overall in the rankings, while Lineage 2 Revolution, which was positioned in fourth last month for MAUs, ranked third in February amongst women.
Conclusion
In general, the behaviour of the domestic mobile game users has been significantly affected by Pokemon GO, with DAUs in decline but MAUs on the rise.
In the case of female teenage gamers, they played relatively diverse games, and most of them from the 20s to 50s age groups continued to prefer playing puzzles.
This insight comes to us from the team at This Is Game, the leading Korean games portal and media partner of PocketGamer.biz. You'll see some of our articles on their site occasionally and discover exclusive Korean market insights here from This Is game writers.
Oscar Clark has been a pioneer in online, mobile, and console social games services since 1998. He is also author of the book, Games As A Service – How Free To Play Design Can Make Better Games.
Competitive gaming took a great stride towards parity with their non-digital counterparts with the announcement that eSports will be hosted as a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games for the first time.
Competitive gaming has featured at such events in the past as a demonstration sport, and will do so again at the more imminent 2018 Asian Games, but 2022 will mark the first time that medals are awarded to winners.
Featured games have yet to be announced, but given the success of Tencent's League of Legends-esque MOBA Honor of Kings, mobile games could well have a part to play.
And so, to discuss this landmark moment for eSports, we called upon our expert panel of Mobile Mavens. We asked them:
Is the presence of eSports at the 2022 Asian games a significant step towards mainstream acceptance?
Do you predict that by 2022, mobile will have a significant role to play in this?
Nicolas Godement-Berline COOMana Cube
This is truly awesome news and definitely a sign of broad acceptance of eSports going into the mainstream.
It's no surprise that the Asian Games are the first mover, considering how popular eSports have been in the area for a long time now.
France made significant steps in this direction last year by recognising eSports as a sport - largely to avoid being classified as gambling which would have killed the scene - and creating our own eSports association.
The role of mobile is harder to predict. I'd say (hope!) that by 2022 mobile eSports will definitely have taken off, but perhaps the lead time required to organise the Asian games and set up qualifying rounds won't be enough for a mobile __game entrant.
Jared Steffes Co-founderMuxy
ESports is really becoming more mature. I hear mumblings of big investors and sports organisations actively looking to enter eSports in the USA and other parts of the world.
It makes complete sense that eSports are coming to the 2022 Asian Games, but what games will it be?
League of Legends, Dota 2, StarCraft 2 and CS:GO are the most popular eSports games, but will they be by 2022?
Jared Steffes
League of Legends, Dota 2, StarCraft 2 and Counter Strike: Global Offensive are the most popular eSports games, but will they be by 2022?
It has become clear that Overwatch is a world phenomenon and the characters in the __game are very progressive.
The game is also growing in Asian countries. CS:GO will likely not be used because the teams represent terrorist and counter-terrorist. That makes it difficult to find sponsors comfortable with the event.
I believe there will be a chance for a mobile game at the 2022 Asian Games.
The game will have to remove much of the element of randomness and have all players start at the same level. A game like Clash Royale would need to have both players' keeps and towers at the same level and make all cards balanced at the appropriate level.
Games that have a level progression from one on are more attractive for eSports because they require high skill to out level/farm the other player.
Another unknown is the chance for a VR game.
Oscar Clark Author, Consultant and Independent DeveloperRocket Lolly Games
Oscar Clark has been a pioneer in online, mobile, and console social games services since 1998. He is also author of the book, Games As A Service – How Free To Play Design Can Make Better Games.
Wow! We have come a long way since my first taste of eSport with Quakadelica (organised by James Kaye whist we were at BT) in the Ministry of Sound back in 1998.
The scene has matured profoundly since that time, of course, with massive crowds filling stadiums to watch live matches.
Bringing this to the 2022 Asian Games is an amazing recognition of that progress especially in the region which has wholeheartedly adopted the format.
The Hangzhou Sports Park Center, home to the 2022 Asian Games. Image credit: Huandy618
I suspect, though, that this is just the start of the journey for us in the West. We have been slower at adopting the viewing of game players than in Asia, but it is now being taken seriously by sponsors and some broadcasters.
There will be more to come I'm sure, especially when you see a game like Clash Royale beating the top eSports games for an audience-voted BAFTA award.
Interesting times to come.
Brian Baglow Executive ProducerTeam Rock Games
Asia has pioneered the whole eSports phenomenon and is still the only region where you can talk about real mainstream acceptance.
Mobile gaming is going to be absolutely crucial to the increasing acceptance of eSports in the West.
Brian Baglow
Here in the UK, across the whole of the creative industries, I still run into people who have never come across Twitch and to whom the idea of playing games 'professionally' is utterly incomprehensible.
The inclusion within the Asian Games will be an enormous validation for the eSports world as a whole, but for a lot of regions around the world it's unlikely to accelerate the adoption of competitive pro gaming by the mainstream.
Mobile gaming is going to be absolutely crucial to the increasing acceptance of eSports in the West, especially the UK.
I suspect the first 'mainstream' eSports winners to gain recognition will be playing titles which are not considered 'real' games, but something like Bingo or Poker.
That should cheer the proper gamers right up!
Oscar Clark has been a pioneer in online, mobile, and console social games services since 1998. He is also author of the book, Games As A Service – How Free To Play Design Can Make Better Games.
Russian internet company and __game publisher Mail.Ru has opened a new $100 million investment arm called Mail.Ru __game Ventures.
The division will provide funding to game developers as well as industry expertise for partners. Chosen developers will gain access to Mail.Ru's analytics platforms and security solutions to use for their games.
It will also handle all logistical and managerial responsibilities for the developer to allow them more focus on working on their games, though it will only take a partial role if the developer prefers.
Logical next move
"Games remain one of Mail.Ru Group's top priorities. Starting a games investment division is a logical next move to facilitate business development by significantly increasing the company's potential in that segment," said Boris Dobrodeev, CEO (Russia) of Mail.Ru Group.
"Our new games investment division will expand Mail.Ru Group's investment platform allowing us to provide venture financing, as well as to increase our M&A activity."
Mail.Ru has experience in the mobile industry, having acquired Pixonic in October 2016 in a deal worth up to $30 million.
The mobile games industry is huge, and depending on which reports you read, is worth c.$50 billion.
Given the money flying around, many of the companies in the sector have floated on various stock exchanges around the world.
And that means those firms post their revenues every quarter for all to see. But keeping up with how the biggest public companies are doing can be a tricky affair.
So to help you keep track, we’ve put together this mobile games industry financials calendar that we’ll update each quarter.
We’ll be linking to our own articles that break down the key figures and news, as well as the financial documents themselves so you can check for extra info.
Click through to see the financial reports ending March 31st 2017.
King CEO Riccardo Zacconi needs little introduction.
He co-founded King in 2003 as a company focused on browser games.
After developing a series of games for its own site and other web portals, the firm turned its attention to Facebook as a rising games platform.
It quickly found success with Bubble Witch Saga, but struck real gold when it brought Candy Crush Saga to the social network in 2012.
Within a year, Candy Crush Saga would become the most played __game on Facebook and begin its journey on mobile. Today it still remains a stalwart of the app store top 10 grossing charts across the world.
And it's by far King's only hit since making the jump to mobile. There's also been Candy Crush Soda Saga, Farm Heroes Saga, Candy Crush Jelly Saga and Pet Rescue Saga. All sitting in the top 100 grossing charts on the App Store.
The company now employs well over 1,000 staff in studios across the globe to support these smash hits and develop new titles to take the app stores by storm.
Its success and reach in the mobile space convinced Call of Duty publisher Activision to acquire the publisher for some $5.9 billion in November 2015.
Behind all of this growth has been hugely talented teams and its CEO Zacconi, who has spearheaded the rise of one of the games industry's biggest companies.
What were your favourite games as a kid?
Space Invaders and Asteroids.
When did you realise you wanted to make games as a career?
I worked alongside my co-founders at King at previous companies, including uDate.
King has been my first role in the games industry and has been a huge amount of fun.
We all got on very well and worked really well together. Sebastian Knutsson, one of the co-founders of King, was really passionate about games, and we could see that there was a huge market for games as entertainment.
So, back in 2003, we started King together, along with Thomas Hartwig, Patrik Stymne, Lars Markgren, Sebastian Knutsson and myself.
What was your first role in the industry? How did that turn out?
King has been my first role in the games industry and has been a huge amount of fun. We’re constantly humbled that so many people around the world enjoy playing one or more of our games.
What do you consider your first significant success?
When I think about our company, the first thing I’m most proud of, is the team we have here.
We have built a fantastic culture and have some of the most talented people working at King, all around the world, who I enjoy working with every day. That’s been a great success.
We've also worked hard to create some of the best-loved mobile games franchises in the world.
When did the potential for mobile games become apparent to you?
Originally, King made games playable on the web and distributed them both on our own site, but also through partners including AOL and Yahoo! around the world.
A diverse games industry is a great games industry.
In 2009, almost overnight, we noticed a massive drop off in traffic and when we looked into it, we realised that players had jumped across to Facebook.
We had a massive challenge on our hands and we knew we had to innovate.
We focused our team on starting six different experiments to bring our games to Facebook. The __game we first launched on that platform was a game called Bubble Saga, and it immediately did very well.
Then, mobile started to become huge, with the launch of iPhone and Android phones. We could really see the potential to create games that you could play anywhere, on any device and not lose your progress.
What do you think is the most significant event in mobile gaming to-date?
There’s too many to pick just one!
We’re most proud of the fact that we spotted the opportunity to create games that our players could pick up and play wherever they were and on any device providing a truly seamless experience across all platforms.
Which mobile games have you most enjoyed recently and why?
There are so many great mobile games coming out at the moment - including some of ours! I love games that help connect people or are quite social – that’s the best way to play games, I think.
What are your predictions for the future of mobile games?
It will remain a growing industry, and I think we’ll see more and more games that allow people to share the game experience and play in a more social way. Games that bring people together.
I love games that help connect people or are quite social – that’s the best way to play games.
In which area of the industry do you hope to make a difference in future?
To me, it’s all about talent.
We’re very focused on diversity at King, supporting a number of programmes which encourage more and more young people to consider a career in games.
For example, we are a Founding Partner for a new college in the UK, ADA, which is the first national college of digital skills and we are supporters of the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign for LGBT rights.
A diverse games industry is a great games industry.
Starting out in simple monochrome in the days of Snake and WAP, the past decade has seen the mobile games industry kaleidoscope into a glorious, multi-billion dollar sector that's driving global innovation.
So it's high time we celebrate some of the people who helped make that journey possible - something PocketGamer.biz is doing in its regular Mobile Gaming Hall of Fame feature.
You can read our previous Hall of Fame articles here.
Ubisoft has partnered with publishing behemoth Tencent and mobile __game developer Playcrab to bring its Might & Magic franchise to mobile in China.
The partnership has resulted in card-based strategy __gameMight & Magic Heroes: Era of Chaos. It is expected to launch in June 2017.
The game has largely been developed by Playcrab, though teams from Ubisoft Mobile and the Might & Magic brand have also contributed to the game.
An "enticing vision"
"Playcrab was among the first studios we selected based on this strategy," said Aurélien Palasse, Head of Licensing and Publishing at Ubisoft Mobile China.
"First, they had an impressive track record of high quality and commercially successful mobile games. Then they really convinced us all by showing a genuine passion and enticing vision for the Might & Magic franchise."
Ubisoft is also looking to partner with other local publishers and developers in the future to grow its mobile presence in China. Palasse stated that "we have other exciting projects in the works with great partners".
The developer has already partnered with China's Ourpalm to release an MMO based on the Assassin's Creed franchise. It was being developed in partnership with Ubisoft's Montreal studio specifically for the China market.
Berlin-based mobile marketing platform MobAir is expanding its business in Asia with a new office in Shanghai.
The company is looking to establish new connections in the area and offer more personalised services to its current clients. MobAir has been working with Chinese advertisers and publishers since 2015.
Richard O'Connell will be heading up the new office as General Manager. He was formerly the VP of Marketing for PapayaMobile, where he built and managed teams of in-house media buyers.
Accelerating in growth
"China's app economy is accelerating in growth, putting it within striking distance of Japan and the United States," said Barak Aviad, CEO of MobAir.
"Gaming apps are the biggest market winners in terms of revenue. Therefore, our company, equipped by years of experience in utility and gaming verticals, sees enormous potential in the Chinese mobile market in terms of app advertising growth."
MobAir is not the only Berlin-based marketing firm to open an office in China of late. Digital marketer ad2games opened its own office in Shanghai in March 2017 to serve its local customers more efficiently.
Apple is starting to clamp down on app reskinners by making changes to the App Store's search ranking algorithms.
That's according to research conducted by ad network Tapdaq, which found certain apps and developers have seen a significant drop in daily app sessions.
After collecting app session data from five developers of differing size and influence, Tapdaq found that developers with more apps have seen a notable decrease in app sessions.
More is less
However, Apple isn't strictly punishing those developers with more apps to their name, otherwise huge companies like EA would be driven off the App Store.
Instead, Tapdaq's co-founder and CMO Dom Bracher has theorised that Apple is actually targeting developers who are seemingly mass-producing mediocre apps, with the Cupertino-giant analysing user reviews to sort the wheat from the chaff.
A change seems to have occurred at the end of August
Bracher also believes that, in order to fight back, reskinners should aim to improve the quality of their apps by focusing on getting large quantities of good user reviews; improving the overall quality of their apps; and finding, leveraging, and building strong user communities.
“Having analysed data on over 10 million app sessions from 6 different indie reskinners, the evidence certainly suggests that [Apple is hardening its stance on reskinners],” explained Bracher.
“To see such a significant and rapid decrease in app session data across multiple developers seems like an unlikely co-incidence, leading us to believe that Apple are taking steps to clamping down on app reskinners.”
