Matej Lancaric

Cup Heroes: Voodoo's new hybrid casual hit, making 🤑 $160k/day! Steady growth with ad placement excellence. What about their UA? uff! 👇 Cup Heroes makes around 50% of its revenue from ads, making it a true hybrid casual game. There are 29 ad placements in 1 run = 15 waves that the player encounters. With 45-50 minutes played daily, averaging five sessions per day and around 7.5min per session, that’s almost ad juggernaut. (wink wink, Felix!)This is a detailed review of Cup Heroes by Voodoo, discussing its hybrid casual gameplay, performance metrics, monetization strategies, and user experience. We explore the game's growth trajectory, retention rates, and how it compares to Mob Control other titles in the market.Discussing the effectiveness of decoys and rewards in gameplay, the impact of skill randomizers on player experience, and the creative approaches used in-game advertising.But […]

🚀 The Zipline Hook: Unveiling the Evolution of a Game-Changing Trend Remember when Fortnite introduced the Zipline in Season 7 back in 2018? It was a game-changer—players were thrilled to zip across the map, adding a new layer of excitement (well, almost everyone loved it)! Then came 2019, and with it, the global launch of Apex Legends (Electronic Arts (EA). Pathfinder's ability to deploy ziplines took battle strategies to new heights. YouTube exploded with tutorials on mastering zipline skills, and gamers couldn't get enough. But things really took off when UEFN was introduced in Fortnite Creative. Suddenly, creating custom ziplines and building unique games became the new craze on YouTube. The community's creativity knew no bounds! So, who took notice next? Mobile game developers, of course! Companies like Evony quickly integrated this mechanic into games like Age of Origins. It's […]

Reelshort Review: Netflix should take notes! Short-form entertainment game making $25+mil/month redefining the interactive novel genre👇 Influencing the story? Make choices during the short-form videos. Sounds like a game? It is! Reelshort gets all the stories from Chapters but with real people with all drama short plots! The minutes-long shows, catering to mobile-primed female audiences, aren’t exactly highbrow—think rags-to-riches revenge plots and werewolf-vampire fantasies—but they’re addictive, and viewers are paying to stay tuned to hits like "Fated to My Forbidden Alpha" and "The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband." CEO Joey Jia says the app has been downloaded over 30 million times. It also reportedly generates an average monthly revenue of $10 million; one show, which might have 60-90 short episodes, costs an average of $300,000 to produce. Reelshort is doing a cross-promo on steroids! Offerwall light in their own apps […]

🎉 Slingshot Hook: The Iteration of a New Trend👇 Evony has emerged as a significant player in leveraging the "slingshot hook" within its marketing creatives. The company is actively iterating on this concept, releasing several new versions each month that include:▶️ More Heroes: Introducing additional characters to engage players.▶️ Mjolnir Integration: Incorporating the legendary hammer may raise legal considerations. (lawsuit in 3..2..1..)▶️Alligator Elements: Adding dynamic wildlife interactions to enhance visual appeal.Why Is It So Effective?The slingshot mechanic is a compelling visual tool that captures audience attention almost immediately. Despite minor delays—such as waiting for alligators to appear—the concept is straightforward and easily understood. It provides instant feedback, tapping into the audience's appreciation for tension and release dynamics, which can lead to increased engagement.What's the Next Twist?There is already an expansion on this hook, and Evony appears to be intensifying its focus […]

Ad monetization trends in mobile games for September - UA is driving game design & admon, but "It's all about ad placements." 👇 Felix brought graphs, gameplay, and insights! Some takeaways from the last episode:▪️ User acquisition is increasingly influencing game design & ad placements.▪️ Hiding content behind ads is a growing trend. Again!▪️ Ultra casual games are gaining popularity due to their accessibility.▪️ Innovative monetization techniques are emerging in the gaming industry.▪️ Ad revenue-based games are shifting towards subscription models based on App business.📺 Watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dT2XGzSd🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/dfw9ViiY🦄 Subscribe to the Brutally Honest newsletter: lancaric.substack.com🗣 Join the discussion in our Slack channel: https://lnkd.in/dbrDdGiJThanks a lot, Sensor Tower, for all the data!Jakub x two & a half gamers

🎉 Slingshot Hook: The Evolution of a New Trend 👇 Guess what's making a comeback from the "ancient history" of gaming? The classic slingshot mechanic! It's been out of the spotlight for a while, but it's exciting to see this tried-and-true feature from Angry Birds being reinvented in creatives.From Dice Dreams using it in their ads (congrats to SuperPlay for joining the Playtika family!) to its recent appearance in Evony or Royal Match.Evony is quite an interesting beast. They run a ton of creatives and are already iterating on the Slingshot hook. Looks like this is the next big thing on the menu for multiple games!And now, even Royal Match is experimenting with this and incorporating the Slingshot Hook in their creative testing.Plus, a big surprise coming from Century Games recently. This is a new creative for Whiteout Survival (very […]