Joe Traverso

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the phenomenon that is Glu Mobile’s Kim Kardashian: Hollywood (iOS / Android). Even if you haven’t played the game yourself, you’ve almost certainly entered its orbit. It inspired intellectual criticism that foreshadowed GamerGate! It generated discussion about the value of intellectual property in an industry increasingly sensitive to cost-effective user acquisition! It’s one of the biggest game releases of the year by any measure! It’s a franchise! We’re not here to talk about any of that. We’re here to dissect Kim Kardashian (the game, not the person!) and understand its performance. Given all the hype, you’d be forgiven for assuming the game does something magical to retain and monetize users. In fact, there is a lot of magic here, but it’s not the kind...