User Acquisition reports and market data
Documents
What we learned during Tap My Katamari's soft launch
The soft launch of the idle game Tap My Katamari provides a framework for optimizing mobile game development through iterative testing and data-driven decision-making.
- Refining the game's reset mechanic and emphasizing permanent purchase value during soft launch resulted in a 260% increase in ARPDAU and a 230% increase in conversion rates.
- Idle games require a seamless, continuous progression loop; any gaps in this cycle lead to rapid player disengagement.
- The development team utilized a five-month soft launch period across Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand to iteratively test and refine core mechanics.
FTUE: Dawn of Titans
Dawn of Titans, a build-and-battler strategy game developed by NaturalMotion and published by Zynga, represents a high-stakes mobile title that underwent an extensive two-year soft launch period.
- NaturalMotion and Zynga utilized an extensive two-year soft launch period for Dawn of Titans to prioritize long-term retention and technical polish.
- The game features a hybrid gameplay loop that integrates traditional base-building with tactical, hero-led combat using disposable units and powerful 'Titan' characters.
- The first-time user experience employs a scripted loss during the tutorial to demonstrate the strategic necessity of Titans in overcoming difficult encounters.
How not to onboard (Game Center fail)
The initial user experience of Mobius Final Fantasy highlights critical friction points in mobile game onboarding, specifically regarding technical integration and permission requests.
- Mandatory Game Center integration creates technical barriers that prevent players from accessing the core gameplay loop, leading to potential churn before the game even begins.
- Forcing users to troubleshoot authentication errors or navigate complex system settings during the initial onboarding phase significantly alienates players at their most vulnerable point of engagement.
- Displaying push notification prompts immediately upon launch is a design flaw that causes users to dismiss requests before they have established any connection to the game.
FTUE: Mobius Final Fantasy
The first-time user experience (FTUE) for Mobius Final Fantasy highlights significant friction points common in Japanese mobile RPGs, specifically regarding onboarding and technical implementation.
- Cumbersome initial setup processes, including lengthy mandatory asset downloads, can drive day-one user retention rates as low as 20%.
- The use of a 'stub file' technical architecture creates stagnant waiting periods that prioritize data transfer over immediate player engagement.
- Poorly timed system prompts, such as push notifications and Game Center requests, occur before the user has established any investment in the game, creating unnecessary friction.
FTUE: Batman: Arkham Underworld
Batman: Arkham Underworld, a mobile strategy title developed by Turbine and published by Warner Bros., serves as a case study for the integration of high-profile intellectual property into the free-to-play mobile market.
- Batman: Arkham Underworld utilizes a hybrid model combining base-building mechanics similar to Clash of Clans with squad-based tactical combat.
- The game relies heavily on the DC intellectual property and film-related cross-promotion to drive user acquisition rather than mobile-first innovation.
- Aggressive push notification prompts early in the user experience risk permanent rejection due to iOS limitations that prevent re-prompting after a denial.
FTUE: Suicide Squad: Special Ops
Suicide Squad: Special Ops serves as a promotional mobile tie-in for the Warner Bros. film, functioning primarily as a high-fidelity but shallow first-person shooter.
- Triggering the iOS push notification prompt immediately upon launch is a critical design flaw that risks permanent loss of re-engagement capabilities if the user denies the one-time system request.
- Best practices for mobile retention dictate using an internal, non-system splash screen to gauge user interest before triggering the irreversible system-level permission prompt.
- The game prioritizes high-fidelity visual presentation over mechanical depth, resulting in a shallow experience that lacks the long-term engagement hooks required for the competitive mobile shooter market.
FTUE: Arma Mobile Ops
Arma Mobile Ops functions as a conventional entry in the mobile strategy genre, mirroring established mechanics found in titles like DomiNations.
- Arma Mobile Ops utilizes a derivative base-building and resource management loop that mirrors established genre leaders like DomiNations without offering mechanical innovation.
- The game prematurely triggers the iOS system-level push notification prompt during the first launch, forfeiting the opportunity to use more effective, re-engageable internal soft-prompts.
- The tutorial design is overly brief and relies on the assumption that players already possess prior knowledge of mobile strategy game conventions.
FTUE: Heroes of Incredible Tales (HIT)
The first-time user experience (FTUE) of Nexon’s mobile RPG, Heroes of Incredible Tales (HIT), serves as a case study in the friction points that can hinder player retention during the critical onboarding phase.
- Nexon’s Heroes of Incredible Tales (HIT) demonstrates that design choices optimized for the Korean market can create significant friction and retention barriers when introduced to Western audiences without deep localization.
- Aggressive onboarding tactics, such as immediate push notification requests and premature sales offers, prioritize developer monetization goals over building player trust and engagement.
- The game’s 'power fantasy' design—thrusting players into an advanced state of gameplay before stripping it away—risks alienating users by undermining their initial sense of progression.
What's the deal with Game of War's terrible playable ads
The mobile gaming industry faces a growing disconnect between promotional content and actual gameplay, exemplified by the aggressive advertising strategies employed by Machine Zone for titles like Game of War and Mobile Strike.
- Machine Zone utilizes deceptive playable ads for titles like Game of War and Mobile Strike that feature mechanics, such as tower defense or dungeon runners, which are entirely absent from the actual core gameplay.
- The industry-wide practice of prioritizing high-volume user acquisition through misleading ads creates a disconnect that frequently leads to immediate player frustration and uninstalls.
- Aggressive, non-representative advertising strategies risk long-term brand degradation and damage the retention metrics of both the advertised product and the host application.
FTUE: Rise of Tyrants
Rise of Tyrants, a mobile strategy title developed by Z2Live and published by King, represents a strategic effort by the casual-gaming giant to expand into the midcore market.
- King is attempting to diversify its portfolio beyond match-three games by entering the midcore strategy market with the soft-launched title 'Rise of Tyrants'.
- The game is developed by Z2Live, a studio with historical experience in free-to-play titles like Battle Nations, and is currently available on mobile app stores.
- The core gameplay loop integrates base-building mechanics with grid-based, turn-based tactical combat featuring hero units and varied troop types.
FTUE: How not to onboard
Poor first-time user experience (FTUE) design significantly undermines player retention and wastes user acquisition investment.
- Poor FTUE design causes high abandonment rates before players ever reach core gameplay, effectively wasting the entire budget allocated to user acquisition.
- Forcing users to endure lengthy mandatory downloads and intrusive permission requests immediately upon launch creates unnecessary friction that alienates Western audiences.
- Developers should implement modular asset loading to allow players to begin tutorials or limited gameplay sessions while the remainder of the game downloads in the background.
FTUE: Dawnbringer
The mobile action game Dawnbringer, published by Kiloo, serves as a case study for the critical importance of effective onboarding and first-time user experience (FTUE) design.
- The first ten minutes of gameplay are critical for player retention, as a poor initial experience creates an immediate barrier that discourages long-term engagement.
- Kiloo’s Dawnbringer demonstrates that even experienced publishers can fail if complex mechanics, such as Infinity Blade-inspired combat, are not introduced with sufficient clarity.
- Unintuitive control schemes, specifically those requiring complex camera manipulation and movement, must be explicitly and clearly communicated to the player during the onboarding phase.