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2 min read
#Tool & Product

Metrics API from GameAnalytics – Video Overview

Metrics API Fetch your metrics for all of your games – Build custom dashboards showing essential metrics you care about. Compare all of your game’s KPIs and pulse at a glance. Fancy learning some more about DataSuite? Watch our other videos: Player Warehouse from GameAnalytics Raw Export from GameAnalytics
Archero hybrid cover example
9 min read
#Marketing & Publishing

Hybrid-casual: the secret sauce to higher retention and better engagement

Hybrid-casual is a fairly new concept to enter the gaming world. You may have heard the whispers around the industry and a few hybrid-casual games already entering the app stores. But it’s starting to make its mark in the market. Players are starting to spend more time in games (with time spent in apps up 80% from 2019 to 2021). And in response, Developers and studios alike are turning their attention to this new type of game development and reaping the benefits (if done correctly). So what exactly is hybrid-casual? How does this differ from hyper-casual? And what do you need to do to get started? That’s what we aim to cover. Let’s dig in. So, what are hybrid-casual games? It’s when you mix together the simple core gameplay of hyper-casual, with the features and monetization models of mid-core. The...
TapNation
#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...
Mobile games to VR cover
7 min read
#Game Deconstructions

Five mobile games that nailed shifting to VR

Virtual reality is no new concept. Have you ever heard of Sword of Damocles? It was invented by Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull, it was arguably the first VR / AR head-mounted display connected to a computer. That was in 1968. Today mobile games are at the start of shifting to VR But it wasn’t until 1987 that Jaron Lanier used the name ‘virtual reality’ for the first time. He coined the term to help better describe his research. His company was the first ever to sell VR goggles, called the EyePhone, which cost upwards of $250,000 (including the computer to run it). Image source: Flashbak Of course, technology has come a long way since 1968.  In 2021, the global VR market size was just under $5 billion, and research shows that we’re now predicting the market to increase to more...
3 min read
#Ads & Monetization

Top 10 Hyper-casual Game Ad Networks in 2022 (Q2)

Editor’s note: This article was written and published by Tenjin. You can find their original version here.  Let’s explore how the hyper-casual market has changed compared to 2021 Q3 and go through the top 10 ad networks and countries for 2022. This time, we partnered with our friends from GameAnalytics to bring you day one and day seven retention benchmarks in this report edition. The complete information is available at the bottom of the post.  Hyper-casual ad spend by platform. In 2021 Q3, hyper-casual ad spend by the platform was a bit higher on Android (55%) than iOS (45%), marking a decrease of nearly eight percentage points in ad spend on iOS compared to 2020. In 2022 Q1, advertising spends on iOS  and Android now shows a 50% / 50% split, suggesting that advertisers are becoming more and more comfortable with mobile...
Mobile Multiplayer Part 2 cover
8 min read
#Game Design

Getting Mobile Multiplayer Right (part 2): Design, testing, and scaling

Image courtesy of Hypernia Gaming News. As we saw in part one of our multiplayer series, the mobile multiplayer opportunity is bigger than ever. And there are a lot of reasons you should make multiplayer part of your next mobile release. But how do you get started with actually implementing multiplayer into your mobile game? There’s a lot to consider. And a bounty that makes it easier than ever to get right. You’ll need to read more than a two-part blog post to master it all, but we’ve done our best to round up as many pointers and links to get you started on the right path. So let’s dig into part two. There are rules to mobile Over the years, mobile gaming has diversified (and then some). Game genres like casual, mid-core, hyper-casual, pay-to-earn and premium now offer very...
Homa Games LaunchOps Cover
6 min read
#Marketing & Publishing

How Homa’s LaunchOps team helps you transform your prototypes into Monster Hits

Editor’s note: This article was written and published by Homa Games. You can find their original version here.  So what exactly happens once you submit your prototype at Homa, and how does it all work? In this article, Homa’s team take you through the process and explain all the essential info you need to know about scaling your next hit. Here’s what they said. The main challenge behind game publishing Publishing a game might seem straightforward; however, the list of actions to make it the next hit is quite long. In a short period, you need to make sure there are no bugs, the ad monetization is working properly, the testing metrics are good, and the data is analyzed correctly. Don’t you worry; the Homa Games team is there to help you figure it all out! The Homa Squad supports...
4 min read
#Tool & Product

GameAnalytics A/B testing allows you to go deeper

We’ve improved our A/B testing feature on GameAnalytics so you can optimize further your games and try out new great ideas and concepts. You can now stop user acquisition and exclude offline users from your tests. A/B Testing: Stop acquiring users We notice many game developers want better control over the allocation of users in an experiment. There are situations where developers would prefer a cohort to remain active; however, no more users join this experiment. For this reason, we introduced a functionality where you can choose if and when you’d like your experiment to stop allocating more users. How does it work? While an experiment is running (active), the number of users allocated to the test is displayed on the page.  When you want your test to stop assigning more users, click the Stop Acquiring Users option from the...
Multiplayer Games Part 1 Cover Image
7 min read
#Game Design

Getting Mobile Multiplayer Right (Part 1): History, Genres, and Motivations

Adding multiplayer elements to your mobile game is a straight-up win-win situation. It creates a sense of community, brings a competitive edge, and gives your players a reason to come back. Taking all that on might feel intimidating. But today, building quality mobile multiplayer is easier than you might think. But how exactly do you make your mobile game multiplayer? What steps do you need to take? And what do you need to consider? We will cover in this two-part article that will help set you on the path to mobile multiplayer glory. This first part will look at the broad concepts and overarching considerations. And next time, we’ll dive into the tech and techniques for part two. Yes, your game is suitable for multiplayer We appreciate there are different types of games. But multiplayer isn’t purely about competition and...
5 min read
#Ads & Monetization

How will monetization models change in 2022?

Editor’s note: This article was written by the clever minds at HyperBid.  Hello there. I’m Ahmet, the business director here at HyperBid. Aside from the obvious ups and downs last year, we also had some big changes in how the monetization industry works. From new models improving revenue for developers to changes on how we can collect data. So I thought it’d be useful to summarise the four big changes we’ll see in 2022. 1. The waterfall model will take a step back There are two models you can use when selling the advertising space in your game. Either you use waterfall, which methodically runs through a set list defined by you, until you get an ad bid above your defined floor price. Or you can use in-app header bidding, where you programmatically scan through every bid for the best...
Multiplayer Games Part 1 Cover Image
9 min read
#Strategies

Our seven predictions for mobile gaming in 2022

The GameAnalytics crew dug out the crystal balls, consulted the oracles and tossed tea leaves all over the office. None of that helped and it was a pain to clean up, so we decided to ask our experts instead. So after a lot of thought, consideration, and a couple of debates, here’s what our team predicts will happen in 2022 for the mobile gaming industry. 1. Augmented reality games and technology will grow We’re going to see a surge of Augmented Reality (AR) games and technology in the next year. Over the last few years, AR has been simmering beneath the surface, getting ready to boil over into the mainstream. It’s clear that big things are on the horizon. The biggest player in AR, Niantic, was recently valued at $9 billion and raised $300 million in investment, which it says...
7 min read
#Mechanics & Features

Flex Run 3D: how to make your first hit in nine months

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the clever clogs at Voodoo. You can read the original version here.  In December 2020, two young programming students called Harvey and Mathis founded Blue Monkey Studio. By September 2021,  only nine months later, their first hit game had entered the charts. Flex Run 3D reached number 1 in the Android charts in 39 countries, including the US, and number 2 on iOS US. But what’s the story behind this super speedy success? How did they go from hyper-casual beginners to the top charts in just nine months? The two co-founders, Harvey and Mathis, joined us at the recent Voodoo Live event in Paris to reveal exactly how they managed to bag their first hit game in such little time. Read on to find out more about Flex Run 3D and their three key secrets to success....
5 min read
#Tool & Product

2021 Roundup: What we’ve done, what we’re doing, and where we’re going

Over the last couple of years, we’ve released a new website, tools and features, completely new product lines. We’ve been building your toolkit to not only perfect your titles, but to scale and thrive in an ever competitive industry. So in this blog, we’re going to cover: A recap of all of the tools and products we’ve released. Our company structure and what’s new. And our plans for 2022. But before we move on, we want to say a massive thank you to all of our users and supporters, and give a shout out to the crew behind GameAnalytics. We’re lucky to have an excellent team in our cavalry, and a great community to listen to – your ongoing support and feedback has helped shape our tools and our business. Let’s get to it. A look back: What we’ve done...