Project Makeover
Game
Documents about Project Makeover
Iteration over Innovation: Makeover Match
The analysis examines Tactile's new Match-3 game, Makeover Match, launched in March 2023, focusing on its gameplay mechanics and narrative design.
- Tactile’s Makeover Match achieves superior core gameplay by mirroring the high-quality board clarity and fast-paced mechanics of market leader Royal Match.
- The game’s level design optimizes player retention and monetization by intentionally creating a high frequency of near-finish and near-fail moments to drive extra-move purchases.
- Makeover Match’s narrative is criticized as a derivative, uninspired imitation of Project Makeover that fails to utilize Tactile’s historical strengths in immersive storytelling.
AppLovin Form 10-Q: Q1 2023
AppLovin’s Q1 2023 financial report details a period of significant operational transition and improved fiscal performance.
- AppLovin achieved $715.4 million in Q1 2023 revenue, a 14% year-over-year increase driven by the Software Platform segment.
- Net loss narrowed significantly to $4.5 million in Q1 2023, compared to a $115.3 million loss in the same period of 2022.
- The company generated $283.1 million in free cash flow while prioritizing Adjusted EBITDA margins by reducing user acquisition spending in the Apps segment.
Project Makeover: Its Fall From Grace
"Project Makeover: Its Fall From Grace" analyzes the decline of the mobile game Project Makeover amidst increased competition and evolving player expectations.
- Project Makeover has experienced a significant decline in market position since early 2021, with year-over-year downloads dropping by 55%.
- The match-3 genre has seen a shift in dominance toward Candy Crush Saga and Royal Match, as post-IDFA privacy changes on iOS negatively impacted download metrics for most competitors.
- Project Makeover’s core gameplay is less competitive than peers due to a 'puzzly' level design that creates a higher chance of losing, which diminishes the pressure to maintain win streaks and weakens monetization.
Hypercasual Market: Q3 2022
This analysis provides an overview of the hypercasual mobile games market during Q3 2022, focusing on overall market trends and the top 10 most downloaded titles.
- Total hypercasual game downloads in Q3 2022 reached 4 billion, a 10% decrease from Q2 2022.
- Despite the quarterly drop, 2022 year-over-year downloads are projected to slightly surpass 2021 by 5-7%, primarily driven by growth in developing countries, while developed countries show a slight decrease.
- Several 'old-timer' hypercasual games like Bridge Race, Race Master 3D - Car Racing, Tall Man Run, and Going Balls maintained positions in the Q3 2022 top 10 downloads.
Analyst Bulletin: Mobile Game Market Review September 2022
This analyst bulletin provides a review of the mobile game market for September 2022, focusing on key updates, events, and top-grossing chart entrants across the US, China, and Japan.
- Mobile developers are increasingly adopting aggressive monetization strategies, such as adding new or additional battle passes, in anticipation of Apple's price hikes in European and select Asian markets.
- League of Legends: Wild Rift saw a nearly 10x revenue spike in China following a September update that introduced a 1v1 PvP mode and new gacha monetization mechanics.
- Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle achieved the top-grossing position on the iOS Store in both Japan and the USA in September, driven by the success of its 'Worldwide celebration: The Strongest in the Universe' campaign.
Analyst Bulletin: Mobile Game Market Review June 2022
June 2022 in mobile gaming was defined by minigame event modes, anniversary celebrations, and a strong showing from RPGs, according to this monthly analyst bulletin covering the US, China, and Japan markets.
- The global launch of Diablo Immortal in June 2022 propelled the title into the top 10 grossing games in the US market.
- RPG elements are increasingly being integrated into non-RPG titles, as seen in Rise of Kingdoms' narrative-driven 'Words of Eternity' event and the introduction of minigame mechanics in titles like Game of Sultans.
- Anniversary events served as major revenue drivers in June, notably causing significant spikes for The Seven Deadly Sins and Dragon Ball Legends.
U.S. Mobile Puzzle Game Spending: Year-Over-Year Analysis
U.S. mobile Puzzle game player spending grew 4.2 percent year-over-year to roughly $5 billion for the April 2021 to March 2022 period, according to Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates.
- U.S. mobile puzzle game spending increased by 4.2% year-over-year to $5 billion between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, making it the No. 1 revenue-generating genre in the U.S. during this period.
- Classic Match 3 games, including Candy Crush Saga and Candy Crush Soda Saga, generated $1.6 billion, representing a 12.3% year-over-year increase, and led all 11 Puzzle subcategories in revenue.
- Candy Crush Saga was the top-grossing Puzzle game in the U.S. during the last year, generating $845.5 million.
Hybrid-Casual Games: Recipe for Long-Term Engagement
Hybrid-casual games blend a simple hyper-casual or casual core, such as match-3 or shoot-'em-up mechanics, with mid-core meta layers, live operations, and combined ad and in-app purchase monetization.
- Hybrid-casual games combine simple hyper-casual or casual core gameplay with mid-core meta layers to significantly improve retention beyond the 7-day mark typical of hyper-casual titles.
- Hybrid-casual games demonstrate superior engagement metrics compared to hyper-casual titles, with players spending nearly double the amount of time in-session.
- The genre enables higher monetization potential, with publishers like Voodoo projecting one-year lifetime values (LTV) of approximately $3 per user through a combination of in-app ads and in-app purchases.
Casual Gaming Trends Snapshot Report
GameRefinery's March 2022 analysis of the US casual mobile market argues that competition is intense and that success increasingly depends on meta layers built around core gameplay.
- Every top-100 casual game released in the last two years now incorporates renovation elements to drive visual progression and player satisfaction.
- The integration of construction mechanics in top Match3 games has surged from 7% to 49% over the past six years.
- 70% of top-grossing Match3 titles currently utilize hybrid designs that blend core puzzle mechanics with complex meta-layers like RPG elements or collectibles.
2022 Predictions: The King Is Back, Merge Overheats and Hypercasuals Falter
Western mobile casual gaming entered 2022 as a mature, increasingly top-heavy market in which revenue growth outpaced install growth.
- The Western mobile gaming market is becoming increasingly top-heavy, evidenced by a decade-low in new game launches and a deceleration in overall in-app purchase revenue growth.
- King has reclaimed market leadership in the puzzle genre from Playrix, driven by the sustained performance of its core portfolio and the success of new titles like Royal Match.
- Despite IDFA-related privacy restrictions, the hypercasual sector saw a 15 percent increase in downloads and a 50 percent surge in in-app purchase revenue during 2021.
State of Mobile: Germany 2022
App Annie's analysis of Germany's 2021 mobile market, set against global benchmarks, shows a market growing steadily in usage and especially in monetization.
- The German mobile market reached $4.0 billion in consumer spending in 2021, marking a 72% increase over two years.
- Gaming remains the primary economic driver, generating $2.8 billion in revenue and accounting for over 70% of total app spending, led by titles like Genshin Impact and Coin Master.
- Daily mobile engagement reached 3.4 hours per user, with social and video applications capturing 60% of that time.
Switchcraft Monetization: Tactics for Match-3 Games
Switchcraft, a match-3 title launched globally in October 2021 by Playtika-owned studio Wooga, is analyzed here for its monetization design.
- Switchcraft utilizes a hybrid monetization model centered on in-app purchases (IAP) for premium currency (coins) and rewarded video ads to drive engagement.
- The game features a $1.99 entry-level price point for coin packs, which is identified as the best-selling offer on the US App Store.
- Interactive storytelling serves as a primary retention driver, allowing players to make choices that influence the narrative flow and character relationships.
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