Hundreds of articles for game developers

Once your game is published, you’re always looking to grow your player base. But it’s not just about quantity; it’s about quality. Acquiring users who genuinely resonate with your game is vital to building a sustainable, loyal player base. Therefore, finding the right audience quickly is crucial when acquiring new users. The faster you identify your core players, the more efficiently you can allocate your marketing budget, maximizing ROI and attracting high-quality players likelier to stick around. So, how do you go about identifying these users, and how has targeting evolved to meet new challenges? The shift in targeting: How privacy changes reshaped the landscape In recent years, user acquisition targeting has undergone quite a shift. Changes to Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) policy have led to a new realm for mobile marketers, affecting the ways you can reach and...

MarketIQ helps bridge this gap by offering clear insights into what’s working across formats, platforms and more. UA Managers get the metrics they need for data-backed decisions, and Game Marketers get insights on trends and creative strategies to keep campaigns fresh and engaging. As competition is fierce, marketers are hyper-focused on ROAS and want metrics that deliver high-performing campaigns without wasting spend. MarketIQ makes this easier by allowing them to efficiently compare ad performance, analyze top creatives, and spot trends across networks, cutting down on time spent but keeping results high. Additionally, the need for creative inspiration and access to data that shows how different creatives capture attention has been inaccessible to most. With MarketIQ, you can dive into leading creative examples and understand what users respond to, shaping ads that are both targeted and impactful. There is not just...

Game discoverability continues to be a big challenge for studios of all sizes. With an ever-changing landscape of new policies, data restrictions, and a growing competitive environment, it’s the #1 challenge for indie developers and #2 for AAA and AA developers (Game Developer Audience Insights, August 2024). Creating a successful game is no easy task. From initial concepts to launch day and beyond, it requires continuous testing and iteration to find the balance between creating an enjoyable game and running a (hopefully profitable) business. Keeping a keen eye on the performance of your game is step number 1, but to power those insights you need a statistically significant sample size of players to begin with. Bringing us quickly to the first hurdle of game discoverability. To help solve this obstacle, we’re excited to announce MarketIQ – a powerful advertising and...

In-app purchases and advertising aren’t the only ways to generate revenue for your hybrid-casual game. Let’s explore some alternatives.

The legacy version of GameAnalytics (V2.5) will no longer be available from 1st of October. We’ve been gathering feedback from users of our legacy platform to identify functionality they miss in the new platform. Most of the requested features are now available, with the remaining areas either in development or set to be released soon. Read on to learn what has been added and what’s coming next. Our previous updates GameAnalytics V3 now live GameAnalytics H1 Update: New Product Improvements GameAnalytics’ Journey to Analytics Excellence – H2 2023 Updates and Improvements Recently added Current day Viewing live data was only possible via our real-time feature, showing data from the last 24 hours. Now, you can view all metrics for the current on-going day (UTC). Select the current day manually or click the toggle in the date picker to disable/enable. Metrics...

This article was originally published on the TapNation’s blog. Mobile gaming has become a thriving industry, with a multitude of games vying for the attention of players. In this competitive landscape, mobile game publishers bridge the gap between game developers and their target audience. They are the ultimate pirates that will launch your games and scale them to new heights. Mobile game publishers serve as a vital link in the gaming ecosystem. They offer assistance in various areas, such as financing, scaling, distribution, and monetization. Their expertise and resources can significantly impact a game’s success in the market, whether domestic or international. Benefits of Working with a Publisher Partnering with a mobile game publisher brings a multitude of benefits to developers. Publishers provide access to industry expertise and market knowledge, offering invaluable insights that can shape the trajectory of a...

When developing a mobile multiplayer game, there’s an added layer of complexity. It’s not just the technical challenge of connecting the players together, but every element of your game is affected – from the monetization to the gameplay itself. With that in mind, we’ve brought together the tools and resources that’ll help you make your multiplayer game. Which engine is best for multiplayer games? Most engines feature multiplayer support in one way or another, whether it’s built-in or a plugin. Unity. Despite recent concerns, Unity is still the go-to choice for many mobile developers. Not only do they have guides on their website, they also have tons of the backend tools and features you’ll need to make your multiplayer game run smoothly. Defold. Completely free and open source. Defold is a very lightweight engine that’s perfect for mobile games. But...

The GameAnalytics monetization series: Exploring game monetization: Traditional strategies Exploring innovative game monetization: Alternative approaches Exploring monetization: Maximizing game revenue Exploring monetization: Using data to guide decisions ______________ Why is revenue data important? Having access to data is important for optimizing your monetization strategies and ensuring their effectiveness for several reasons: Insights into player behavior: By tracking purchase events and other business metrics, game developers can gain deep insights into player behavior. This includes understanding which items or features are most popular, how often players make purchases, and what factors influence buying decisions. Performance evaluation: Data allows developers to evaluate the performance of different monetization strategies objectively. They can measure metrics such as conversion rates, average revenue per user (ARPU), and the lifetime value (LTV) of players. Optimization and iteration: Armed with data, developers can iterate and optimize their monetization...

The GameAnalytics monetization series: Exploring game monetization: Traditional strategies Exploring innovative game monetization: Alternative approaches Exploring monetization: Maximizing game revenue Exploring monetization: Using data to guide decisions ________________ In our exploration through Part 1 and Part 2, we established the two primary monetization models: freemium and premium games, including numerous examples of monetization strategies. While much attention and effort is often directed towards monetization within free-to-play games, premium games also offer revenue generation opportunities. Regardless of which model your game aligns with, the core principles of successful monetization remain the same – prioritizing player satisfaction while maximizing revenue potential. Successful game monetization strategies To ensure that you’re effectively implementing and managing your monetization efforts, several approaches can be taken: 1. Tracking revenue and player behavior Tracking revenue and player behavior involves collecting and analyzing data related to in-game transactions, player...

The GameAnalytics monetization series: Exploring game monetization: Traditional strategies Exploring innovative game monetization: Alternative approaches Exploring monetization: Maximizing game revenue Exploring monetization: Using data to guide decisions ________________ Last week we explored traditional monetization strategies commonly employed in the gaming industry, focusing on freemium and premium models. We outlined various methods such as in-app purchases, advertising, and limitation removal, highlighting their implementation and impact on player experiences. However, it is not a secret that our industry is constantly changing as player preferences and market trends are shifting over time. What worked once will not necessarily work the second time, and a strategy that uplifted one game could be detrimental to another. This is why Game Developers, Growth Managers and Game Designers should be aware of as many innovative monetization solutions as possible. Beyond revenue generation, these alternatives offer resource-efficient options...

The GameAnalytics monetization series: Exploring game monetization: Traditional strategies Exploring innovative game monetization: Alternative approaches Exploring monetization: Maximizing game revenue Exploring monetization: Using data to guide decisions ________________ Decades ago, you’d place your game with a price tag on a shelf and hope for the best. However, with everything moving into the digital world, there are plenty of ways to earn from your game. Do you charge players upfront, or opt for the freebie route and make money from ads and in-app purchases? It could be a bit of a maze out there, but we’re here to guide you through the world of game monetization. Why should you monetize your game? Before exploring typical approaches, let’s take a moment to remember why we monetize our games in the first place. Understanding the purpose behind monetization is important as it guides...

By removing platform-imposed roadblocks, you can define your own path when distributing your game in-store and out-of-store. Xsolla continues to lead the way in helping all our partners generate more profits for their mobile games with Xsolla products and solutions such as Web Shop, Payments SDK, and others to match mobile game developers’ needs. In 2023, we powered over 150 video games’ Web Shops that help our partners accelerate revenue by monetizing beyond the app store. Knowledge is power. Xsolla can help you reach out to users by proactively adjusting your strategy to address, navigate, and comply with these changes. This blog post breaks down the market shifts, future caveats, and emerging benefits affecting you and game companies worldwide. What to expect in 2024? Beyond Epic’s initial litigation, the looming DMA’s compliance enforcement and related global rulings have pressured Apple,...