1 / 27

One Year in the Life of a Top-Grossing Game: Operating and Growing Bejeweled Blitz

One Year in the Life of a Top-Grossing Game: Operating and Growing Bejeweled Blitz. Giordano Bruno Contestabile Executive Producer – Bejeweled, PopCap Games November 17 th , 2012 Twitter: @ giordanobc. Some quick facts. Launched in late 2000

cormac
Download Presentation

One Year in the Life of a Top-Grossing Game: Operating and Growing Bejeweled Blitz

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. One Year in the Life of a Top-Grossing Game: Operating and Growing Bejeweled Blitz Giordano Bruno Contestabile Executive Producer – Bejeweled, PopCap Games November 17th, 2012 Twitter: @giordanobc

  2. Some quick facts • Launched in late 2000 • History: Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2, Bejeweled Twist, Bejeweled Blitz, Bejeweled 3 • Key platforms: Facebook, iOS, PC/Mac • Units sold: > 55 million • Installs: > 200 million • MAUs: > 25 million • Total users: 500 million+

  3. OneVery Long Minute • History of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook & iOS • December 2008: Bejeweled Blitz launches on Facebook • November 2009: Blitz mode and FB Connect added to Bejeweled 2 iOS client • December 2011: Bejeweled Blitz iOS launches as a freemium title • 3+ years from launch, still consistently popular: • Facebook: top 10 games by DAU (3M+) • iPhone: top 10 highest-grossing games • One of the first games to be fully integrated across FB and iOS

  4. Traditional PopCap model 3. Profit!!! 1. Make game 2. Wait (years) for game to be made 3 YEARS

  5. Live service model 7. Open beta 3. Production! 5. MVP 1. Prototype 9. Keep going! 8. Launch 6. Closed Beta 2. It’s fun! 4. Telemetry first MONTH 4-9 MONTH 1-3 MONTH 9-12 YEARS 2-10

  6. Why We Changed • Every game we make is a service • Needs to be updated and improved over time • Every game we make is free to play • Reach 10x the audience, need regular events to keep engaged • The distinction between product and business has disappeared • One interdisciplinary team • Product innovation drives business innovation, and vice versa

  7. How Does Our Business Model Work?

  8. Boosts • Low-priced in-game effects meant to be used regularly • Balanced not to grant excessive advantages • The better player will still score higher on average

  9. Rare Gems • Higher-impact bonuses • Can be activated every few games, appearing randomly • Require skill to be fully taken advantage of • Entertainment value as important as effect

  10. Daily Spins • Slot machine mechanic granting in-game currency • 1 free “daily spin” every day • Additional “daily spin” can be purchased

  11. Key tenets • “Play forever”: no pay walls or limitations for non-paying users • Game is fun and balanced also without paying • Pay to have fun, not because the games forces or punishes you • Server-side code to tweak economy in real time • Events really important: busy marketing calendar

  12. Marketing Efforts

  13. Marketing Mix “Free App Of The Day” programs “Apple Love” Mobile Ads Ads on Bejeweled Blitz Facebook

  14. Result analysis • Vast majority of downloads from: • “Apple love” • Chart position • Organic searches • Existing Blitz players • Free app programs didn’t drive significant installs • Encouraging conversion from paid advertising • Very high CPI on iOS ($1 to $4) • Organic growth more valuable than paid growth • Sustained efforts more effective than “burst” actions

  15. What Did We Learn?

  16. “Casual” gamers? • 86% of active players play every day

  17. iOS: A Very Efficient Platform But iOS players have multiple, shorter, sessions iOS performs 2x Facebook in several key metrics

  18. Not all mobile players want to be social Approximately 18% of Blitz iOS downloads have activated Facebook Connect… …but over 40% of DAU use FB Connect • FB Connect was required to unlock full features • Launched “Universal Mode” in June 2012 • FB-connected users tend to spend more

  19. UI matters. A lot Snazzier presentation! To this: Clearer payouts! Satisfying lever pulling! • Average revenue from Daily Spin increased 131% From this:

  20. UI matters. A lot 2X

  21. Key Lessons

  22. Be metrics-informed, don’t be metrics-driven

  23. Specialize, but share knowledge

  24. Huge features are dangerous: go for small sprints when you can

  25. Cross-platform is hard, but can be worth it

  26. Don’t underestimate players’ willingness to spend (but give them fun in exchange)

  27. Thanks! Questions? @giordanobc

More Related