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This is a chapter from my upcoming book "Game Shops. Ultimate Guidelines". Follow and subscribe, so you will not miss future updates. ...but first, let’s take a look at the history of in-game shops in mobile games. Not so distant, but starting from smartphones. Early Pioneers (2009–2011) The era of free-to-play mobile gaming began in late 2009 when Apple first allowed in-app purchases in free iOS apps, opening the door for monetized in-game shops. Early pioneers quickly experimented with selling virtual goods. For example, Tap Tap Revenge 3 (Oct 2009) initially launched as a paid app (due to Apple’s old rules) but soon went free, letting players buy song packs and avatar items via an in-game store. Similarly, Eliminate Pro(2009) introduced a “freemium” model where energy for matches could be refilled by purchasing “power cells” in its shop. By 2010, […]

Top games hook you fast. Based on Playliner research, here’s how today’s mobile hits do it:𝟭. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 🎲 • 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰 uses classic board game mechanics • Simple “no-brain” autoplay • Flashy rewards on every step • Multipliers for bigger wins𝟮. 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 🏗️ • Build cities, castles, or entire settlements • Upgrade to boost rewards per turn • Outrace rivals to become the top magnate𝟯. 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 • Rob or destroy rival cities (𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰) • Invite friends with referral rewards • LiveOps events for timed challenges and leaderboards𝟰. 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 🎨 • Colorful, fresh puzzle layouts (𝘙𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩) • Clean UI that’s easy to navigate • Smooth animations after each milestone𝟱. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 📈 • Easy to start, gradually gets harder • New mechanics […]

𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛 𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗛𝗔𝗖𝗞 Overwatch's new Stadium mode officially marks the launch* of Overwatch 2, building on the previous release's perk system. Inside Stadium, there's one content productivity hack, known previously only to the savviest Steam roguelike indie developers: conditional passives. Retention is the sum of each piece of content multiplied by the level of retentive units that content adds. For example, a profile picture may be low-cost but will likely add only a few units of retention per profile picture. In a world where titles like Call of Duty employ thousands of developers, the counter-thesis can't be to just produce smarter, but under an entirely different system instead. FPS developers quickly realized that map packs are poor retentive units producers. Packs typically resulted in a 2-3 week bump in week-over-week retention before resuming long-run equilibrium. The […]

Spotted a clever twist in Chum Chum’s battle pass! After you claim a reward from the free track, the game offers a rewarded video to grab that same reward again. 👀 It’s a smart way to add extra value to the free pass without affecting the premium tier — and a nice bonus for ad-friendly players.