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#Data & Analytics
Three ways to reduce the costs of your HTTP(S) API on AWS
Here at GameAnalytics, we receive, store and process game events from 1.2 billion monthly players in nearly 90,000 games. These events all pass through a system we call the data collection API, which forwards the events to other internal systems so that we eventually end up with statistics and graphs on a dashboard, displaying user activity, game revenue, and more. The data collection API is fairly simple in principle: games send events to us as JSON objects through HTTP POST requests, and we send a short response and take the event from there. Clients either use one of our SDKs or invoke our REST API directly. We get approximately five billion requests per day, each typically containing two or three events for a total of a few kilobytes. The response is a simple HTTP 200 “OK” response with a small...
#Game Deconstructions
Five Exciting Indie Games Released in November
Despite November being a slower month for new releases, I’ve had my hands full with exciting new games to try out! And despite Apple Arcade launching new titles every month, I’ve turned my attention away from the new service, and back to what you indie developers have been publishing. So as always, I’ve cherry-picked five brilliant games I played last month, and shared exactly why these games caught my eye, and what developers, like you, can learn from them. Let’s get started. 1. Figment Developer: Bedtime Digital Games Launch date: November 28th, 2019 Price: First Chapter is free, then it’s $4.99 to unlock the full game. Available on: iOS, Steam, Switch, Playstation The developers at Bedtime Digital Games have created yet another magical title, again looking like something out of a children’s dreams. This action/adventure game follows the story of...
#Data & Analytics
Hyper-Casual vs Idle: The Latest Trends in Mobile Games
Back in October, we held our second Making Hit Casual Games event, this time focusing on idle games. As usual, we invited the best minds within this particular genre, and was joined by idle experts Homa Games and Kolibri Games. If you would like to see what expert advice they shared, you can find a copy of their decks and recordings here. But for this post, we’ll be digging into our very own session ‘The Latest Trends for Idle Games”, while seeing how idle particularly compares to the hyper-casual genre. Here’s a copy of the recording, if you’d prefer to watch instead. A bit about our data We featured a heck of a lot of insights in this talk, with aggregated data from over 1.2 billion monthly players, across 80K games from Q3 2018 through to Q2 2019. For this...
#GameAnalytics Updates
New GameAnalytics User Interface
We’re excited to share a few updates and the latest changes to the GameAnalytics platform. Not only is the brand new version of Remote Configs now available in our tool, but we’ve also released A/B Testing, which you can apply to early access to here. (And for more information on these features, check out our last post here). That being said, this isn’t the biggest update we want to talk about. Alongside creating new features, we’ve also been working on updating the User Interface (UI) for our platform. We haven’t rolled this out for the entire tool, yet, but instead, we’ve applied these new designs to both Remote Configs and A/B Testing to give you a taste of what’s to come. Our new designs will make the tool a heck of a lot easier to navigate, but we appreciate that...
#Marketing & Publishing
Launching Mobile Games in China (Tips from JoyPac)
China is already the biggest mobile game market in the world. Over the past few years this market has undergone astonishing growth yet, even so, the sheer potential of this market remains untapped by the majority of Western games developers. With this being said, more studios and publishers need to update their strategy to take this market into account and avoid overlooking a potential goldmine. Be aware, however, that publishing in China comes with a range of challenges unique to the market. To make things easier, many developers and publishers opt to work with local partners (like JoyPac), to help overcome certain pitfalls and gain access to this powerful economy effectively. In the past, working with Chinese-based companies has been a bit of a headache. There are many reasons for this, including cultural and language barriers, as well the more...
#Data & Analytics
Customizing Your Game for the Chinese Audience
Editor’s Note: this post was originally published by Arttu Anttonen, Game Analyst. Aside from turning Chinese games inside out, Arttu has a solid understanding of what works and what doesn’t in the mobile game market in the East. Everyone working with mobile games in the West already knows Archero. The successful shoot-em-up style ARPG-esque roguelike-ish action game, where players clear sequences of short levels of enemies with their archer hero while avoiding getting shot themselves. And, since many Western game developers struggle with the age-old dilemma of how to make their game more appealing to the Chinese audience, you could be asking yourself: “What would Chinese Archero look like?” Baozou Daxia has been grossing steadily since launch (source: GameRefinery service). Well, a textbook example of how to do it emerged in early September, although made by a Chinese developer, Dream of...
#Data & Analytics
Mobile Gaming Industry Analysis for H1 2019
100k titles. 1.2 billion+ MAU. A whole heck of a lot of data. Let's look at the state of the mobile games industry.
#Marketing & Publishing
How to Position Your Game to Influencers (Part Two)
In the first part of our guide, we shared a few key tips game developers can use when reaching out to influencers. So, if you’re working on your pitch, or still figuring out which one is best for you, then we recommend you to head to part 1 before reading this one. For part two of our series, we’re going to give you the lowdown on how to build a (manageable) timeline for your influencer marketing campaigns, no matter what your company’s size or budget is. And just like any other strategy or timeline, this isn’t a “one size fits all” plan. Rather, you can use this as a simple framework to follow when building your own strategy. This is what we will cover: How to estimate how much time you’ll need Pre-campaign planning Production/creative process If you’re beta-testing Post...
#Game Design
Making a Hit Idle Game – Eight Lessons from Kolibri Games
In October, we held our second Making Hit Casual Games event, focusing on idle games (aka ‘clicker’ games). We wanted to know what made Kolibri Games’ Idle Miner Tycoon so successful. So we invited Kolibri’s Director of Business Development, Nate Barker, to tell our audience what lessons they learned from making their debut hit – and how they put them to use in developing their next big game, Idle Factory Tycoon. If you couldn’t be there in person, here’s Nate to fill you in on all the idle games wisdom you missed: So what is an idle game? There are lots of different ways to answer this question. But here’s our answer: An idle game is a spreadsheet with an interface. It’s not a very fun-sounding description, but it’s accurate. The mathematics behind idle games are mostly similar. You start...
#Game Design
Bam, Splat, Kapow: How to use Sound Effects to bring your Mobile Game to Life
It goes without saying that to make your mobile game successful you’ve got to have great visuals. They don’t necessarily need to be super sophisticated or complicated – but they’ve got to look good. So once you’ve sorted out your gorgeous gameplay, you might be tempted to sit back and relax. But there’s something else you shouldn’t forget – the sound. We’ve already talked about the importance of getting music right (and how to use it as a core mechanic). So in this post, we turn our attention to sound effects, and how simply adding these can make a real difference to gameplay. Are sound effects really that important? Yes. Sound effects are crucial for adding atmosphere and building emotion. If your player is walking through a scary, damp cave, for example, some dripping water sounds or distant footsteps can...
#Game Design
Making Hit Idle Games Event – Homa Games, Kolibri & GameAnalytics
It’s been a couple of months since our first event back in June, but the Arcade R(E)volution is back, and this time we focused on the idle genre. Accompanied by publishing giants, Homa Games, and Idle experts, Kolibri, we presented an evening full of insights, stats, stories, advice, and lessons. All on how to create hit idle games. If you made it that evening, brilliant! Thanks so much for coming. And if you sadly missed it, no worries. We recorded the entire evening, saved the decks, and put together some key takeaways. So you can get the low-down on what’s happening in the idle world, all of which you can find below. But before you dig in, we just wanted to share some information with you about the Arcade R(E)volution, and when you can expect to find the next one…...
#Game Deconstructions
What we learned: Idle Miner Tycoon and Idle Factory Tycoon – Kolibri
Having created one of the most popular idle games on the market, Idle Miner Tycoon, Kolibri shared with us their latest game, and how they built on what they learned from their first title to create their next big hit, Idle Factory Tycoon. And if you fancy watching the other talks from our event, you can check them out here: The Latest Trends for Idle Games – GameAnalytics The Story of Idle World – Homa Games Hyper-Casual vs Idle: The Latest Trends in Mobile Games
#Game Deconstructions
The Story of Idle World – Homa Games
Idle publishing experts, Homa Games, agreed to shine a light on one of their biggest hit games, Idle World (reaching over 4 million downloads worldwide), as well as what it takes for an Idle game to get published in today’s market. Psst… If you’re craving some more insights about idle games, check out Homa’s latest article: Arcade Idle: 5 Tips for Testing Creatives, their games spotlight on Tiny Cars, as well as their takeaways from their Arcade Idle Game Jam. And if you fancy watching the other talks from our event, you can check them out here: What we learned: Idle Miner Tycoon and Idle Factory Tycoon – Kolibri The Latest Trends for Idle Games – GameAnalytics Hyper-Casual vs Idle: The Latest Trends in Mobile Games
#Editor's pick
Game data pipeline: Building vs buying
As a large number of studios, publishers, and game developers are heavily relying on data to guide their decisions, they need to decide between building or buying. But which one is more efficient? To assist you in understanding the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), we broke down the following key considerations: Setup requirements Cost calculation Team needs and recruitment
#Editor's pick
Mobile gaming benchmarks for Q1 2024
Uncover the industry’s performance with Q1 2024 benchmarks. Explore key metrics like retention rates and session engagement to benchmark your games against industry standards. What’s inside? Retention benchmarks for casual, classic, and mid-core games Session length benchmarks for games launched in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Session count benchmarks across 15 game genres
#Editor's pick
Grow your revenue with Xsolla Web Shop for Mobile Games
“Xsolla anticipated this seismic shift earlier this year, when we launched multiple products that are being actively used by some of the world’s largest game companies to increase profit and build closer relationships with their mobile and pc players. We’ve now combined these products and learnings into an elegant new solution called Xsolla Web Shop for Mobile Games,” said Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. Through Xsolla Web Shop for Mobile Games, developers can expect significant revenue growth and can reach new players in new geographies previously unavailable to them. This solution solves many challenges developers face; such as discoverability, declining profit margins, lack of control over the user experience, access to localized payment methods, cross game marketing, more efficient user acquisition, effective collaboration with creators and influencers, and much more. Three industry-changing announcements make this opportunity more timely than ever:...
#Editor's pick
2023 Roblox report: Behind the data with GameAnalytics
Download a comprehensive report of Roblox player behavior and game performance based on GameAnalytics data from 2023. This report highlights critical benchmarks and insights to help Roblox creators optimize their games. What’s inside? Devices analysis Players’ daily session frequency Average revenue spent per user Session length and count benchmarks Retention benchmarks Revenue benchmarks
#Editor's pick
The Game Developer’s Handbook to Mastering Data Solutions
Data is the key to success in the ever-evolving landscape of game development. Explore this guide to transform your data into insights using our turn-key data solutions. What’s inside? Our comprehensive guide explores cost-saving strategies and real-world applications for advanced use cases. Learn how to seamlessly integrate data sources, unlock detailed player insights with Player Warehouse, access real-time data with Raw Export, and ensure data privacy compliance.
#Case study
Developing a #1 VR MMO: Ramen VR’s Journey with GameAnalytics
Discover how Ramen VR used data-driven game development to launch "Zenith: The Last City", which became the #1 bestselling game all major VR platforms—including Meta Quest/Rift, Steam and PlayStation VR.
#Editor's pick
Using AI to Supercharge Your Game Art Design
Discover how tweaking AI tool settings can help you generate varied art styles, produce better concepts, and speed up the process from prototype to final design. With AI on your team, creating unique game art has never been easier or faster.
#Editor's pick
Event Design & Tracking Guide for GameAnalytics
Learn how to create an adaptable tracking plan, enabling you to unlock richer insights and maximize the value of your data within GameAnalytics.
#Editor's pick
How studios use DataSuite to find hit games
Learn how successful publishers evaluate hundreds of games per month, to find the next hit game.
#Editor's pick
Among Us VR dev talks about how to create immersive worlds
VR is all about immersion. It’s about allowing players to lose themselves in more than just a game, but a new world. You have to build VR experiences the right way to make this happen. This goal is always top-of-mind for Schell Games. In this interview, we spoke to Schell Games’ Vice President of Product, Charlie Amis, to learn their story. “For VR, you want to make the player feel like they’re actually in the world you’ve created. This isn’t as true or a high priority in PC and console games. If people start to lose that sense of presence and immersion, then a lot of the reason they put the headset on is hurt. They want to go to another world or be someone new. So you need to help them feel like they’re really there and really that...
#Editor's pick
GameAnalytics H1 Update: New Product Improvements!
It’s been a busy time since February, when the largest update in GameAnalytics history was launched. Read on for more information about what’s changed recently, and new functionality coming to the platform very soon.
#Case study
How TapNation uses DataSuite to increase the LTV of 19 hit games by 50% in only 6 months
Smashing obstacles with Giant Rush While they’ve seen huge improvements using DataSuite across their portfolio, one game stands out in particular: Giant Rush. (And not just because the character is huge.) The title has now reached over 140 million downloads. And, through a series of A/B tests and insights from the data they collected, they’ve been able to increase the LTV by a whopping 200% over six months for this specific title. “It’s because we A/B test every day,” Philippe Grazina from TapNation says. “We ask questions like: When are players leaving the game? For example, the boss in Giant Rush. If we spot that they’re leaving at the same point every time, we know we need to make a change. Small details like that really help.” Through these granular insights, TapNation can iterate and improve on their game step...
#Editor's pick
How to Build a Data Warehouse for Games from Scratch
Over our last couple of blogs around data warehouses, we’ve explained how they let you analyze data from across your portfolio and look at what insights you can gather from them. Now, we’ll dive into how to build a data warehouse. What steps do you need to take and what resources will you need? To figure this out, we’ve rounded up the costs, steps, and tools we think you’ll need to get started. Please note, that we haven’t included the cost of running an engineering department (which you’ll need), which can end up being a lot of $$$. What do I need to get started? Before you start, you’ll need to ensure you have the right people. You’ll likely need a software or data engineer, and perhaps an architect or DevOps engineer. You’ll also need to budget for tools like...