Launch Date: 6th April 2021Status: Soft Launch (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland).Genre: Strategy.Similar to: Spooky Pop, Legend of Solgard, and Puzzle and Dragons. What is it? Clash Quest is a tactical puzzle RPG with clear influences from King’s Legend of Solgard and Supercell’s own discontinued Spooky Pop. Clash Quest is one of three recently…
If you want to make a game that succeeds creatively and commercially, prototyping will almost certainly be a key step in the design and development process. Prototyping serves as a point at which early ideas and concepts can be crystallised, pivoting the process of game design into the production pipeline phase. And while many design…
In this specially contributed piece, AppMagic CEO and Founder Max Samorukov considers what AppLovin’s purchase of Adjust means as Apple’s looming IDFA changes are set to complicate the world of mobile ad targeting and tracking. What’s Going On? In summer 2020, Apple announced its new ATT (App Tracking Transparency) policy that seriously restricts mobile apps’…
As a general concept, matchmaking is fundamentally simple. It serves as a means to group players in online games, based on the experiences they are looking for, and the ability or skill level they bring. The motivation for matchmaking, of course, is about giving players a rewarding experience. Games are more enjoyable – and thus…
Launch Date: August 4th, 2020Developer: MediatonicFormats: PC, PS4Status: Public launchGenre: Battle royale/platformerSimilar to: Fortnite, Tetris 99 In the midst of a year consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic, an atypical battle royale game emerged as something of a star of 2020. That game was Fall Guys, and for a few weeks after its launch on PC…
Beyond game design itself, there is perhaps no more vital effort in making a game successful than that of user acquisition. After all, retaining and engaging players only begins when you have people downloading and playing your game. The notion of acquiring users in reality includes any way players find your game, including organic and…
Joost Rietveld, Assistant Professor in Strategic Management at UCL School of Management returns to Department of Play with the second and final part of his look at the evolution of platforms – from digital game stores to the coming consoles. Part 1 can be found here. The insights presented in this series of articles are…
In this specially contributed piece, Joost Rietveld, Assistant Professor in Strategic Management at UCL School of Management considers the evolution of platforms – from digital game stores to the coming consoles – and the developer strategies and revenue generation options that have emerged in tandem. The insights presented in this series of articles are based…
What Is It? Launch Date: 4 February 2019Developer: Respawn EntertainmentPublisher: Electronic ArtsStatus: WorldwidePlatforms: PS4, Xbox One and Windows.Plus Switch (confirmed) and mobile (rumoured).Genre: FPS.Similar to: PUBG, Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone. Most significantly, Apex Legends marks Electronic Arts’ move on the battle royale space dominated and defined by Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (commonly, ‘PUBG’).…
In this specially contributed piece, AppMagic CEO and Founder Max Samorukov shares the results of a statistical deconstruction of the relationship between game setting, genre, and how that relates to success. When looking to understand a game’s success or potential, many of us choose to focus on monetisation models, retention frameworks, and other such factors.…