Gardenscapes Billion-Dollar LiveOps Strategy

Gardenscapes Billion-Dollar LiveOps Strategy Here are 7 event types that keep players engaged and spending:Detailed analysis of the live ops for Gardenscapes𝟭. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 (𝟭–𝟮𝘅/𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵) 🗺️• Long-term narrative events on unique maps• Players explore, overcome obstacles, and find hidden rewards• Often paired with high-engagement events like Gem Fever• Examples: Doppelganger Alert, Flair Witch!, Atlantis𝟮. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 (𝟯–𝟰𝘅/𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸) 🏆• Leaderboard-driven challenges with time pressure• Players complete tasks quickly for milestone rewards• Boosts short-term retention and intensity• Examples: Trailblazer Dash, Bowling Match, Fiery Sprint𝟯. 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝟭–𝟮𝘅/𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸) 🤝• Teams collect points to hit shared milestones• Rewards like boosters and unlimited lives are split equally• Encourages social play and return sessions• Examples: Team Chest, Bumper Crop𝟰. 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 (𝟯–𝟰𝘅/𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸) 🔥• Consecutive wins unlock escalating rewards• One loss resets progress—creating pressure to win• Drives monetization through retries and resources• Examples: Treasure Hound, Catch […]

Anton Slashcev April 30

Journal

Top 10 Merge-2 Games by Revenue in Q1 2025

Top 10 Merge-2 Games by Revenue in Q1 2025 🤘 After exploring Travel Town’s LiveOps, we decided to also take a step back to see what’s cooking on Merge-2 market. 🔎 Market OverviewThe market keeps growing fast with 21% QoQ (Q1 2025 vs Q4 2024) and 110% YoY (Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024) growth of quarterly revenue. 🚀 Rising Titles— Gossip Harbor holds the lead, up 35% QoQ and 279% YoY.— Merge Cooking is this quarter’s rocket: +61% QoQ, +440% YoY.— Seaside Escape remains №3 with +33% QoQ and 195% YoY.— Merge Hotel Empire climbed +32% QoQ, +278% YoY.— The latest launch in the top, Merge Prison (Feb 2024), keeps rising: +18% QoQ.📉 Falling Titles— Merge Mansion drops 10% QoQ (but still +28% YoY).— Adventure Island Merge: -31% QoQ, -13% YoY.— Love & Pies: -4% QoQ, -35% YoY.❓The question remains […]

Andrei Zubov April 30

Journal

Maximize LTV without hurting retention?

Founder: "How to maximize LTV w/o hurting retention?"Me: Use 👏 a 👏 proven 👏 economy 👏 model! 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 '𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗻' 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀?, 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱?This is the easy part.𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 have seen broad adoption and success.You are likely familiar with all five:1. Puzzle Progression + Loss Aversion (Royal Match)2. Energy-gated recipe redemption (Gossip Harbor)3. Legendary Gacha: collection & fusion (AFK Journey)4. Sprawling Tech Trees (Whiteout, Clash of Clans)5. Casino Progression (Coin Master, Monopoly GO)When founders use language like "we haven't quite figured out our monetization strategy,' this is usually a clear signal that we've a problem on our hands. 😅Failing to use a proven economy model, capable of producing $25k (casual) / $200k (core) spend depth is one of the most common points of failure I've seen when working with F2P game teams and products.What makes these models special, and […]

Matthew Emery April 29

Highlights

AppsFlyer’s State of Creative Optimization 2025

If you think cranking out thousands of creatives is enough to win in 2025, you are right. The latest State of Creative Optimization 2025 by AppsFlyer report makes one thing clear – churning out more ads won't save you if they all feel the same. The mobile marketing winners are those who mix it up, test new angles, and truly understand what makes users tick, as I wrote in my creative bible. So volume: yes. Creative depth: also yes. Now kiss! This comprehensive deep dive will explore the report’s key findings – from creative trends and KPIs to emotional hooks, platform strategies, AI’s impact, and the rise of celebrity and UGC (user-generated content) in ads – all through an engaging, slightly casual lens. (Spoiler: I was surprised by a few of these myself!) Get the Full report The mobile advertising arena […]

Matej Lancaric April 29

Journal

Bad news for you if you’re treating your creative strategy like it’s 2019.

If you're still treating your creative strategy like it's 2019, I have bad news for you... 📉 The new AppsFlyer State of Creative Optimization 2025 report just dropped, and it’s a MUST-READ.This report holds a special place in my heart. Not only is it the one I've been reviewing the longest, it's the one I always share with my teams. We even used to book proper meetings just to break it down together (yes, whiteboards and drinks were involved ☕📋).As games and apps get closer, and gamification becomes the new trend, it’s more important than ever to zoom out and take inspiration from the whole ecosystem, not just our little gaming bubble.This report lets me do exactly that.(Also... let's not forget my gym-bro-mance with the one and only Adam Smart. It's real. It's emotional. It involves protein shakes.)Anyway, here are […]

John Wright April 29

Journal

Genesis: The Mobile App Giant Quietly Generating $400M a Year

🚀 Genesis - The Mobile App Giant Quietly Generating $400m/yr 🚀 With over 400 million user downloads, Genesis operates on a unique venture builder model, co-founding startups and providing resources in exchange for equity. Genesis handles operations such as marketing, analytics, and some user acquisition (UA) support, while the founders focus on growing the business. Think Voodoo but for non-gaming. Genesis's successful apps are:- 📖 Headway: Book summaries with 15-minute text and audio versions. Generating $1.6 million / month from mobile only 📖 - 🧹 Cleaner Guru: Simplifying iOS Phone Storage Cleanup. Generating $4.2 million / month from mobile only 🧹 - 🍏BetterMe: A comprehensive wellness app for workouts, nutrition, and mental health. $2.4 million / month from mobile only 🍏 - 🪴 Plantin: Making plant care easier with a plant scanning feature. $2.6 million / month from mobile only 🪴 […]

Felix Braberg April 29

Journal

State of Creative Optimization: 2025 Edition

Since the last post in this format was well received, I thought it would be interesting to also share my key takeaways from the new State of Creative Optimization report by AppsFlyer. I’ve had the opportunity to work with many different app categories over the last years, and the behavior of creatives varies significantly across them. Here are my key insights, along with real experiences:1️⃣🏆 Constant creative testing is key: I’m not reinventing the wheel here—creative testing has become increasingly important due to changes in algorithm behavior and the faster burnout rate of creatives.Regardless of your app vertical, if you don’t build a creative production system that allows for constant refreshes with a good volume of new concepts, your campaigns will quickly experience ad fatigue, leading to a drop in performance. This point is well supported by the report: both gaming […]

David Vargas April 29

Journal

Lucky Wheel: How Travel Town Increases Session Length and Engagement

Lucky Wheel: How Travel Town Increases Session Length and Engagement 🎡 ✨The UpdateTravel Town introduced a Lucky Wheel: after completing the last Daily Challenge, players can spin a wheel to receive a random amount of energy. But only one segment grants a full 100 energy refill. 🔎 The Motivation BehindDaily tasks and related events (like Chest Challenger, Cookie Craze, and Reward Road) are a major driver of daily playtime in Travel Town, which is why they get reskinned and relaunched so often. However, completing dailies requires a lot of energy, through either several logins or by purchasing.❗️When too many tasks pile up, players risk giving up their attempts and losing engagement.🛠️ The SolutionBy offering a chance to regain energy after completing all daily tasks, the Lucky Wheel boosts the perceived value of participation. In turn, this encourages multiple daily logins, […]

Andrei Zubov April 29

Journal

Matchmaking: The Hidden Engine Powering Game Economies and Player Joy

In the world of modern game development — especially F2P and hybrid monetization models — matchmaking is often treated as a technical backend feature. Something you just plug in. But in truth, matchmaking is far more than an algorithmic necessity. It is the engine that governs balance, progression, tension, reward, and even how well a game monetizes. Across genres — from ARPGs and MMORPGs to extraction shooters and team-based PvP brawlers — the way you match players determines not just who wins, but who sticks around, who spends, who grows, and who churns. Matchmaking Is More Than Just ELO Let’s start with the obvious: ELO-style ranking systems, widely used to match players of similar win/loss performance, are limited (incl. limitations to your business and scale). They assume skill is binary and ignore the full human context of play. That’s like […]

Antti Kananen April 29

Highlights

The Ultimate Guide to Game Concept Testing for F2P Success

According to data from AppMagic, the typical success rate of a globally launched F2P mobile game falls somewhere between 0.2% and 4.2%. This already paints a challenging picture, but it only covers the games that actually make it to global launch. In reality, many games are soft-launched and quietly killed before reaching the global market due to poor KPIs.If you factor those in, the true success rate is even lower, making early validation through game concept testing absolutely essential for teams serious about winning in a hit-driven industry. Game concept testing allows developers and publishers to identify which ideas resonate with audiences before committing major production resources.Success isn’t just about great ideas; it’s about de-risking decisions before they become expensive mistakes. But what does a perfect game concept test actually look like?How do you design it, what should you test, what tools are needed, and what timeline […]

Jukka Hilvonen April 29

Journal

Four lessons from Angel Investing

I made over 30 angel investments between 2019-2023 before starting my VC firm. Four lessons from angel investing:1. Returns take a LONG time.Assume the money is gone. Exits will probably take 7–10 years, and founders may choose to stay private longer, even in good markets.2. You will loose a lot of money before you see anything.I've had one exit (2X invested money came back) and seven companies go bust, where I lost all the money. Still, I've got over 20 companies which might become successful and have an exit. The losses will always come before the wins.3. Portfolio size matters.Because of the power law, a few investments drive nearly all returns. A serious angel portfolio should have at least 20 companies to have a real shot at winning big, not 6-8 companies, which I've seen a lot, especially with the […]

Joakim Achren April 29

Journal

Why Loot Boxes Exist

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗢𝗫𝗘𝗦 𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗦𝗧 Nothing is as misunderstood as loot boxes in gaming (virtual currency is a close second). Critics decry them as a normalization of gambling that preys on weak impulse control. Strip away the moral panic, and a sanguine explanation emerges: Loot boxes solve two vexing economic problems. Games create highly variable value among players, and second‑price auctions reveal it. Magic: The Gathering cards and Counter‑Strike weapon skins routinely fetch five- or even six‑figure sums. However, while auction houses help maximize price, they exclude large portions of the player base from participation. Loot boxes address this inequality problem by correlating the reservation price (willingness-to-pay) with the actual price.Like any lottery, loot boxes fractionalize value by creating a chance-based “ticket”. Many games extend this to “shards” or token-like “pieces” of character that may be summoned when players collect a particular amount. This […]

Phillip Black April 29

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