User Acquisition reports and market data
Documents
What are Your Existing Users Worth & How to Extract Maximum Value
This presentation outlines methodologies for valuing existing game user cohorts and leveraging that value to optimize growth.
- Treat existing user cohorts as financial assets by modeling the 'area under the curve' to project future revenue and secure non-dilutive capital.
- Calculate the residual value of cohorts—the expected revenue after initial acquisition—to optimize user acquisition (UA) efficiency and align costs with projected lifetime value (LTV).
- Prioritize capital-efficient funding by stacking ad network credit and free cash flow before resorting to debt facilities or equity to avoid unnecessary dilution.
Superstar Session: Key to Success in Post-iOS 14 Advertisements: SKAdNetwork Data Reconciliation
The implementation of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy has fundamentally restructured the mobile user acquisition landscape by restricting access to the Identifier for Advertisers.
- The mobile user acquisition landscape has shifted from deterministic tracking to the privacy-centric SKAdNetwork framework following Apple’s App Tracking Transparency policy, which saw opt-in rates reach only 24 percent by mid-2021.
- Developers must pivot to aggregate analysis and channel-level monitoring because SKAdNetwork introduces reporting latencies of 24 to 48 hours and masks granular data through privacy thresholds.
- Long-term user value prediction now relies on the strategic use of conversion values as a proxy within the restricted tracking windows provided by SKAdNetwork.
Panel: What Changes in Ad Monetisation Post-IDFA - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
The removal of the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) and the implementation of App Tracking Transparency (ATT) have fundamentally restructured the mobile advertising ecosystem.
- The removal of IDFA and the implementation of ATT have forced a shift from granular, user-level tracking to fragmented measurement strategies, rendering traditional metrics like D7 ROAS less effective.
- Developers are pivoting to contextual intelligence and behavioral modeling, utilizing on-device data such as session depth and game category to identify high-value users without personal identifiers.
- The loss of deterministic data and effective retargeting capabilities has necessitated a move toward hybrid monetization models to maintain revenue efficacy.
Superstar Session: Publishing Isn’t ‘One Size Fits All’ - What Does Your Game Need?
Hyper-casual gaming maintains its position as a cornerstone of the mobile market, currently representing one-third of all mobile downloads and sustaining a robust 20 percent annual growth rate.
- Hyper-casual gaming accounts for one-third of all mobile downloads and is maintaining a 20 percent annual growth rate.
- The hyper-casual development cycle is high-velocity, requiring ideation to global release to occur within a four-to-eight-week window.
- Success relies on a fail-fast methodology that prioritizes rapid prototyping and iterative testing to validate concepts before scaling.
The Continued Rise of Hypercasual in the East & How to Break Your Game into the Chinese Market
China currently stands as the world’s most significant mobile gaming market, valued at $25 billion and representing a quarter of the global industry.
- China's mobile gaming market reached $29 billion in 2020, representing a 30% year-over-year growth and accounting for approximately 25% of the global mobile games market.
- Hypercasual games are the fastest-growing segment in China, leading at least 72% of total game sessions by the end of 2020.
- Foreign developers face significant legal barriers to entry, specifically the requirement for an ISBN certificate, which can take three to six months to obtain and is notably more difficult for non-domestic entities to secure.
iOS 15 Upcoming Changes & Impact on ASO
The iOS 15 update marks a fundamental evolution in App Store strategy, transitioning from a static user-centric model to a dynamic environment that empowers developers with sophisticated marketing and conversion optimization tools.
- iOS 15 introduces three major App Store Optimization (ASO) features focused on conversion: Custom Product Pages, In-App Events, and native A/B testing for store assets.
- Custom Product Pages allow developers to create unique landing pages for specific ad campaigns without requiring a new app binary submission, though all assets still require Apple's review.
- In-App Events can be targeted to specific user segments—new, active, or lapsed—and will be discoverable via the app's product page, search results, and Apple's 'Today' tab.
The Big Lie of User Acquisition: Strategies That do not Work in 2021
The mobile marketing landscape has undergone a fundamental shift following the deprecation of the Identifier for Advertisers and the implementation of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework.
- The deprecation of the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) and the implementation of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework have rendered traditional, granular tracking-based user acquisition strategies ineffective.
- Developers must prioritize a holistic marketing approach that integrates App Store Optimization (ASO) with paid acquisition to stimulate organic search intent and improve conversion rates.
- Rigorous A/B testing of visual assets, such as icons and screenshots, is a prerequisite for scaling paid campaigns and ensuring a positive return on advertising spend.
Levelling Up Your Mobile Gaming Strategy on Snapchat
Snapchat has established itself as a robust ecosystem for mobile gaming, leveraging a massive base of 500 million monthly active users that increasingly spans beyond younger demographics to include a significant 35-plus audience.
- Snapchat provides access to a monthly active user base of 500 million, which now includes a significant demographic of users aged 35 and older.
- Developers can use the Snap Kit toolkit to integrate social features like Bitmoji avatars, leaderboards, and authentication to improve organic user retention.
- The platform supports a full-funnel user acquisition strategy through immersive, full-screen ad formats including Snap, Collection, and Story ads.
Game Company Growth Strategies in 2021 | Zynga, Applovin, Skillz, and Jam City
The mobile gaming industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation as traditional content-based mergers and acquisitions yield diminishing returns.
- The mobile gaming industry is shifting away from traditional content-based M&A toward vertical integration and cross-platform models to counter the impact of IDFA deprecation on user acquisition.
- AppLovin is attempting to transition from an ad-tech provider to a content-focused powerhouse, risking the alienation of its external client base by creating a potential walled garden.
- Zynga is pursuing ad-tech integration and cross-platform expansion, though its strategy faces significant industry skepticism regarding data privacy and trust.
Game Companies Face Structural Change in 2021 | The Warning!
The gaming industry faces a period of significant structural transformation in 2021, driven by five converging factors that threaten to disrupt established business models.
- The gaming industry is transitioning from the 2020 pandemic-driven hyper-growth phase to a more complex, data-constrained environment characterized by normalized user behavior.
- The deprecation of Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) is eroding the efficacy of user acquisition, specifically threatening the monetization models of hyper-casual game developers.
- A scarcity of viable mid-tier M&A targets is forcing major firms to pivot toward riskier, larger public transactions or smaller, pre-revenue acquisitions to maintain growth.
PR Success.gif: How to Get Your Game Across in 5 Seconds
Animated GIFs serve as a critical, low-cost marketing instrument for independent game developers, functioning as essential tools to capture the attention of players, press, and publishers in an era defined by fleeting digital engagement.
- Animated GIFs significantly outperform static images, with one developer reporting that GIFs were shared 10 times more often than screenshots.
- A 'main GIF' should act as a mini-trailer that highlights the game's core hook within the first one to two seconds to capture the attention of scrolling users.
- Recycle existing trailer footage by cutting it into smaller 10-second clips and teasers to generate multiple marketing assets without additional production work.
TWIG 131 | Apex Legends Mobile, Fortnite Leaks and $9B Rev, Activision Q1 Results, JK Final Episode!
The gaming industry is currently navigating a period of significant structural and financial transition, characterized by aggressive investment strategies and shifting platform dynamics.
- Epic Games litigation revealed that Fortnite generated $9 billion in revenue between 2018 and 2019, with the PlayStation ecosystem accounting for 47% of that total.
- Mobile platforms continue to underperform in monetization and retention compared to consoles, casting doubt on the success of new mobile entries like Apex Legends Mobile.
- Apple’s IDFA opt-in prompts have seen a sluggish adoption rate of only 6–10%, creating ongoing challenges for mobile advertising measurement and monetization strategies.