This sponsored post is produced by Jon Walsh CEO of Fuse Powered.
Most mobile games would be profitable at $1MM. The question is how do you get there or know if you have a game with million dollar potential? The simple answer is that your game has to fit a ‘million dollar+ formula’.
Over several years and many billions of data points we’ve collected on Fuseboxx™, we’ve identified three main million dollar+ game types:
- High Volume: games that easily acquire high volumes of low cost players (<$0.10)
- High Conversion: a high percentage of players opt to pay (5%+)
- High Spend: paying players spend a lot (>$20 avg)
These games are all successful because they’ve nailed at least one part of the revenue formula:
# of Players x TRUE ARPDAU* x Player Lifespan (days) = Total Revenue
where: TRUE ARPDAU (Average Revenue per Daily Active User) = (Total ad revenue + IAP revenue)/# of active players
High Volume games are those that have an easy time climbing and staying at the top of the ranking charts, get featured often and/or have high conversion on paid acquisition campaigns. All of these things are usually the result of producing a game that quickly appeals to a very large audience. All of these conditions lead to a low average player acquisition cost and lots of players.
High Volume games can have low ARPDAU and Lifespan and still get to $1MM:
5,000,000 players x $0.03 ARPDAU x 7 days lifespan = $1,050,000
High Conversion and High Spend games on the other hand, need to have higher ARPDAU and lifespan to make a profit as they’ll have fewer players and will have paid more to get them. To make the grade in these categories your game should have a lifetime player value (ARPDAU x lifespan) of at least $1 (e.g., $.10+ ARPDAU and 10 day+ lifespan):
1,000,000 players x $0.10 ARPDAU x 10 day lifespan = $1,000,000
Although both game types arrive at a $0.10 ARPDAU and 10-day lifespan, how they get there is very different. High Conversion games generate a much higher percentage of paying players – 5% or greater. As a result the amount of money these players spend can be lower. High Spend games have a lower percentage of paying players but the game allows players to spend a lot more.
High Conversion: 5% of players spending an average of $2/day = $0.10 ARPDAU
High Spend: 1% of players spending an average of $10/day = $0.10 ARPDAU
You can test all of these metrics quickly and easily with a small audience if you have the right tools. Adjusting things like your economy, game balance and marketing assets should be done with the clear goal of getting to the right values for those key metrics. Adjust your game until it fits the formula and you have a winner.
Fuseboxx™ Mobile Publishing Platform provides extensive reporting, actionable analytics, and a powerful toolset. Get it free at www.fusepowered.com