Live Ops reports and market data
455 documents·27 writers·596 charts and tables
Documents
PocketGamer.biz30 min
Live Ops in Small Teams PG Connects Digital #2
The presentation outlines a strategic framework for implementing Live Ops within small game development teams, emphasizing that success relies on iterative product development, data-driven decision-making, and a commitment to long-term sustainability.
- Koron Studios achieved a 40 percent increase in average daily revenue per update by transitioning to a structured, monthly, objective-focused release schedule.
- Small teams can achieve profitability by prioritizing disciplined, objective-based updates over simple content expansion to balance revenue growth with cost management.
- The post-launch phase requires defining specific key performance indicators (KPIs) to accurately assess product health before initiating design iterations.
PocketGamer.bizAug 2020
PocketGamer.biz34 min
Keynote: From Live Ops to LIVE OPS PG Connects Digital #2
Modern game development requires a transition from basic, recurring content updates to a sophisticated, cross-functional model of Live Ops.
- Modern Live Ops requires restructuring studios into cross-functional, agile pods that integrate event management, CRM, business performance, and UX design.
- Sustainable engagement is achieved by deploying high-impact content that introduces new mechanics and narrative layers without disrupting the core gameplay loop.
- Success depends on a dual-pronged approach that balances rigorous quantitative A/B testing and performance tracking with qualitative analysis of player sentiment.
PocketGamer.bizAug 2020
PocketGamer.biz44 min
Panel: What are the Best Ways to use Tools to Bring Data into Design? PG Connects Digital #2
Data serves as a critical instrument for informing game design, functioning as a catalyst for collaborative problem-solving rather than a replacement for creative intuition.
- Data should be used as a tool to inform and validate creative intuition rather than as a replacement for the designer's vision.
- Effective design analysis requires synthesizing quantitative metrics, such as heat maps and player flow data, with qualitative insights gathered from direct playtesting.
- Studios must foster a culture of cross-disciplinary communication where designers, artists, and product managers collectively interpret data to solve engagement problems.
PocketGamer.bizAug 2020
PocketGamer.biz33 min
Building & Running Game Economies PG Connects Digital #2
Sustainable game economy design hinges on the strategic balance between player retention and monetization, with long-term engagement serving as the primary foundation for financial success.
- Sustainable game economies rely on a dual-currency framework where soft currency drives gameplay progression and hard currency is reserved for time-saving mechanics or exclusive cosmetics.
- Developers should anchor hard currency value in real-money equivalents to manage inflation and ensure that in-app purchases remain the primary acquisition method over free rewards.
- Resource management requires balancing sources and sinks by monitoring cumulative currency gains against spending objectives to identify and resolve progression bottlenecks.
PocketGamer.bizAug 2020
PocketGamer.biz54 min
Panel: Best Practices for Keeping Your PC Game Relevant PG Connects Digital #2
Sustaining relevance in the PC gaming market requires a fundamental shift toward treating live operations as a long-term commitment rather than a secondary post-launch consideration.
- Treat live operations as a core, long-term commitment integrated into the initial design phase rather than a secondary post-launch activity.
- Secure six to twelve months of dedicated post-launch funding to ensure operational stability and the ability to maintain consistent content updates.
- Implement data-driven monetization strategies that allow for flexible transitions between business models, such as free-to-play or tiered subscriptions, to match evolving player spending habits.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
Game Developers Conference32 min
How to Use Machine Learning, Live Telemetry Analysis, and Computer Vision to Manage Communities
Modern game development requires a fundamental shift toward integrating community management as a core design pillar rather than a reactive support function.
- Integrating in-game social features like chat systems can double player retention by providing a space for social interaction and peer-to-peer assistance without leaving the game environment.
- Successful game communities rely on 'social loops'—mechanisms where social notifications, such as clan messages or shared tactics, trigger further gameplay and engagement, mirroring the core game loop.
- Developers should implement lightweight replay systems that record event data rather than raw video, allowing for easier analysis and the automated generation of highlight reels for player sharing.
Game Developers ConferenceJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz50 min
Panel: Live Ops is not a Sprint! - How do You Plan a Recurring Series of Activities Indefinitely?
Live operations function as a permanent, data-driven business cycle essential for maintaining player engagement throughout a game's entire lifecycle.
- Treat live operations as a continuous, permanent business cycle rather than a series of isolated development sprints to ensure long-term game sustainability.
- Prioritize the development of flexible, server-side infrastructure early to enable content updates and configuration changes without requiring constant client-side patching.
- Implement a multi-layered event strategy that balances daily, weekly, and monthly activities to meet specific business objectives like retention, monetization, and onboarding.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz50 min
Panel: When is the Right Time to Start Thinking, Testing & Delivering Live Ops? PGCD#2
The transition from traditional, static game development to a service-oriented model is essential for long-term commercial viability in the modern gaming industry.
- Live Ops should be integrated into the development process as early as possible, ideally during the pre-launch and soft-launch phases, to effectively balance game economies and validate lifetime value assumptions.
- Automation is essential for effective Live Ops, as it frees up team capacity to focus on new content and sophisticated, personalized player experiences rather than repetitive manual tasks.
- Game developers should treat their titles as 'nightclubs' that require constant management and engagement rather than one-off 'rockstar performances' that end at launch.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
PocketGamer.biz32 min
Superstar Session: The Live Ops Readiness Checklist PG Connects Digital #2
Long-term success in the modern gaming landscape depends on transitioning from a static product development mindset to a dynamic, service-oriented operational model.
- Live operations must be integrated as a foundational pillar of game design from the start rather than treated as a post-launch afterthought.
- Operational success requires building technical pipelines that support iterative updates, staging, and rollbacks without requiring constant client-side version pushes.
- Teams should shift organizational culture toward a 'never done' philosophy that prioritizes predictable, consistent content cadences over the pursuit of perfection.
PocketGamer.bizJul 2020
GameMakers43 min
Battle Pass Game Design: Engagement to Monetization
Battle passes function primarily as sophisticated engagement mechanisms rather than standalone revenue engines.
- Battle passes function primarily as engagement and retention tools rather than standalone revenue engines, as they lack the recurring spending mechanics required for primary monetization.
- Developers should transition from passive reward tracks to active monetization drivers by designing progression hurdles that act as strategic stat checks, forcing players to acquire gear or characters to advance.
- Pricing strategies must be aggressive at launch because the rigid structure of battle passes makes it difficult to increase costs later without triggering significant player backlash.
GameMakersJul 2020
Game Developers Conference26 min
It's About Time: System Design for Mobile Free-to-Play
System design in mobile free-to-play games centers on the universal resource of time.
- System design in free-to-play games must be anchored in time as the universal resource, balancing player progression against energy limits, session frequency, and the time required to acquire content.
- Designers should establish a progression model by defining the desired time-to-level, then calculating the necessary daily payouts based on the number of sessions and actions a player performs.
- When tuning upgrade costs, a common formulaic approach is to increase costs by a fixed percentage—such as 250% per level—while rounding to larger increments to ensure the UI remains clean and readable.
Game Developers ConferenceJul 2020
GameMakers38 min
Battle Pass | Supercell's Tale of 2 Cities: Clash of Clans vs. Clash Royale
The implementation of Battle Passes within the mobile gaming sector reveals that monetization success is inextricably linked to the underlying economic architecture of a title.
- A Battle Pass's effectiveness is determined by the game's underlying economic architecture rather than being a universal engagement tool.
- Clash of Clans successfully leverages a deep, scalable economy that requires constant investment across a broad spectrum of units, maintaining high Battle Pass value.
- Clash Royale’s rigid, card-based progression limits players to mastering a single deck, which reduces the perceived value of collecting new items through a Battle Pass.
GameMakersJun 2020