Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian &...

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Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games David P Chiu Director of Business Development & Developer Relations (Kongregate) Principal, Business Development (GameStop Digital Ventures) Emily Greer Co-Founder & COO (Kongregate) $$$$$$$

Transcript of Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian &...

Page 1: Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games David P Chiu Director of Business Development.

Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games

David P ChiuDirector of Business Development & Developer Relations (Kongregate)Principal, Business Development (GameStop Digital Ventures)

Emily GreerCo-Founder & COO (Kongregate)

$$$$$$$

Page 2: Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games David P Chiu Director of Business Development.

What is Kongregate?• Open platform for browser-based games

– Flash, Unity, HTML5, Java, etc.

• 15M monthly uniques visitors worldwide• Core gamers – 85% male, average age of 21• MMOs, RPGs, CCGs/TCGs, TD, shooters, etc.• Platform level virtual currency “Kreds” for F2P games• Mobile publisher of F2P games for core gamers• Acquired by GameStop July 2010

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Some of Kongregate’s Existing Developer Partners

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Stats both reflect & shape mind-set

So what statistics does F2P focus on?Daily Active Users, DAU$/DAU1- & 7-Day RetentionTo a lesser extent MAU & 30-Day

30-Day Retention is a good stat, but 30 days is not “long-term” retention, it’s the start.

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A little background• All stats are lifetime, min 6 weeks on platform• ARPU: average revenue per user• ARPPU: average rev per paying user• Player: a Kongregate registered user who loaded

the game page at least once• Plays = Sessions: our preferred method to measure

retention

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ARPU and ARPPU

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Big spenders matter

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Linear Growth x Many Years = Awesome Business

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Asian F2P vs Western F2P

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ARPU and ARPPU

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ARPU & ARPPU• ARPPUs for single-player games cluster around $5-$10• Multiplayer games range $20-$350

• Average ARPPU for a multiplayer game from Asia: $181• Average for Western multiplayer game: $51• Only 9 Western games have an ARPPU above $100• ARPPU is the main factor in high ARPU for Asian games,

important factor for all games

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ARPU and % Buyers

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ARPU and % Repeats

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ARPU and % 50+ gameplays

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Asian vs Western Style• Asian games: High ARPPU, tight player funnel

– Monetization caters well to big spenders

• Western games: Lower ARPPU, wide player funnel– Monetization focuses more on initial retention and

broad conversion to paid at lower prices– Pay 2 Win is not as accepted by Western devs

• Mixed games: can combine the best of both– High conversion, wide funnel, still create big spenders

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Page 17: Maximizing Player Retention and Monetization in Free-to-Play Games: Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games David P Chiu Director of Business Development.

F2P Best Practices

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Best Practices for Optimizing Retention:Keeping players engaged

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Daily Play Bonuses• Daily play bonuses are good to get users coming back regular• But improve on the typical 5-7 day daily bonuses

• Reward playing game regularly in longer term

• Doesn’t reset after 5-7 days • Doesn’t “punish” players for

missing a day

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Daily Play Bonuses

• Add an element of chance - make it exciting!

• Repeat logins opens up bigger potential rewards

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Don’t punish people for taking a break• Psychologically, punishments or the possibility of punishment deters

unwanted behavior• Base/castle raided, loot stolen, crops withered, troops dead, account

de-activated, etc. deter players from being away too long• But it can be a two-edged sword• Players sometimes need to take a break (exams, vacation, illness)• Punishment may drive re-activated users away again

“I just got back from vacation/work conference/being sick but my base is completely destroyed, my resources are gone, troops are dead. No point in getting back in the game since I lost everything already.”

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Don’t punish people for taking a break• It can sting but it shouldn’t handicap

you permanently• Limit amount of resources that can

be looted or # times you can be attacked while gone

• Enable shield or protection time if you lose a significant amount

• Mix positive reinforcement with punishment

• Quick one-button rebuild• Resources still available for harvest• Gain XP or gold while away

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Keep players busy!More things to do = more players staying

• Solo and team PvE• Solo and team PvP• Asynch raids• Guild battles• World boss raids• Farming• Town Building• Weapon/Gear

Synthesizing & Upgrading• Astral Collecting and

Combining• Etc.

It is important to pace the introduction of new features/gameplay modes to not overwhelm players with a long and intimidating tutorial.

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Without progress you have nothing

The foundations of a F2P game are a strong RPG elements and a sense of progress over time. Surprisingly it’s more important than multiplayer

Type % 50+ Plays % Buyers ARPPU ARPU

Multiplayer RPG 2.6% 0.75% $69 $0.51

Multiplayer Non-RPG 1.0% 0.45% $9 $0.05

Single-player RPG 1.8% 1.29% $12 $0.10

Single-Player Non-RPG 0.2% 0.53% $4 $0.02

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Asynchronous > Synchronous

Type % 50 Plays % Buyers ARPPU ARPUSynchronous 1.4% 0.54% $43 $0.25

Asynchronous 3.6% 0.80% $88 $0.66

Both 2.9% 1.07% $51 $0.55

Single-Player 0.8% 0.85% $7 $0.05

Multiplayer is a good way to keep players engaged and busy in the long run but not all types of multiplayer are created equal

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Best Practices for Optimizing Monetization:A happy customer is a paying customer

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Shopping should be easy and frictionless

• Location, location, location – make the store easy to find!• Make it easy to find the right item

– Meaningful categories and item descriptions– No massive scroll bars

• Mix soft currency and hard currency items • BUT – don’t try to sell too hard, too fast. First few sessions should

focus on fun & giving players reasons to come back to play and get hooked.

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Buy Screen

• Bonuses % or/and items provide incentives for buying larger hard currency packages• Clearly call out bonuses of larger packages!• Make all packages visible in one page• Hide $100+ packages until after first purchase

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Making the shopping experience interesting

• First time buyer/ Starter packages• Seed players with some paid/hard currency and guide “intro purchase”• Deals/events to get people into the habit of spending regularly• Offer items that enhance the gameplay experience (not just speedups)• Intro the right items at the right time

– Lvl 1 players should not be shown the lvl 100+ holy sword that’s on sale for $100)

• Keep them coming back – keep store fresh by adding new items, unlocking items as players level up and featuring seasonal and time-limited items

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Gamification of buying• VIP program – customer loyalty program like airlines and hotels• The more you buy, the more status points you earn which unlock more benefits/bonuses

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Make sure players can spend as much as they want

• The longer someone plays your game the more likely they are to buy and the less price sensitive they become

• Give committed players the ability to spend at $1,000+ if they want• Have lots of items that are appealing and useful to a committed player

and price them higher (if possible) than items meant for early/mid-game play. [Higher means $30-100, not $1000]

• If you make a fun game, someone may want to spend an infinite amount.• Don’t create a situation where spending is capped by availability or utility.

• Again, remember to make it easy for players to buy!

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Best Practices for Community Building:When you’re here, you’re family!

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Make it easy for community to buildChat, forums, player-to-player messages are all great

Real relationships build when people interact. The more ways they can do it, the better.

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Guilds are awesome

100% of our top games have them.

Some reasons they make a difference• Social incentives to return I want to see my friends• Social pressures to return I don’t want to disappoint them• Improves the psychology of purchases I’m doing it for the

team, not me• Upends the dynamics of pay-to-win can set up a symbiotic

relationship between buyers and non-buyers where both add value to the same group

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Community Management and Customer Service

If a player invests many hours into a game they begin to feel some ownership. It may be YOUR game, but it’s THEIR experience

1. Be visible – forums, chat, email2. Listen to their concerns and acknowledge their emotions3. Be transparent, honest, and accurate4. Give advance notice of changes and downtimes5. Don’t feed the trolls

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Opportunity Complains

Customer service is a chance to surprise and delight• Handle things quickly• Be generous with compensation• But don’t do something unless you’re willing to do it

for everybody

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Surprise and delight• IGG rewards its players with some resources after each of its

weekly 30-minute maintenance

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Have fun with your community

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THANK YOU

For a copy of the presentation or questions, email [email protected] or come by the Kongregate booth in the Silver Sponsors room (Table#5)

For more talks & data visit developers.kongregate.com

For web games contact us at [email protected]

If you’re interested in mobile publishing it’s [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter: @EmilyG & @KongregateDevs