GDC 2016 presentation by deltaDNA & Thumbspire - Games that spend more than 1 month in soft launch are proven to do much better - it's the critical time to make the game adjustments that will inspire players to return, time and time again. In this presentation, you'll find out what a difference data can make, why different types of players are leaving your game, and learn the practical steps you can take to turn things around. You'll discover what areas you should be testing to maximize your KPIs, and see best-practice examples of games that have got it right. Use these strategies to improve your player retention by 20%+ and learn from Thumbspire case studies how to boost your game monetization.

1. Agenda
1

2. YOUR HOSTS:
Mark Robinson
CEO, deltaDNA
Stefano Melucci
VP Product, Thumbspire
with
Top soft launch strategies
for awesome metrics

3. Agenda
Why players leave
Day-1 Retention rates
• On average, less than 40% of players
return to a free-to-play game after one
session
• 44% of games have 60 – 80% of
players not returning after one
session

4. Agenda
Why soft launch matters
• In beta more than one month
• 20% plus increase in D1 retention
• 24% boost in IAP

5. Agenda
Why players leave

6. Agenda
Testing in soft launch
Testing processWhat to test

7. Agenda
Testing on-boarding
• 60% of players never return after
session one
• Combine Gamification
• With Analytics and Personalization
• To create great onboarding
• For everyone

8. Agenda
Improving on-boarding
• Do players know what to do?
• Are they given clear direction?
• Have they achieved something early on?
Example: Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes
Rewarding used to encourage engagement / progression
Clearly signposted hints & tips led by a likable character that
unveils game complexity over time

9. Agenda
Improving on-boarding
• Is the game difficulty controlled?
• is the tutorial fun and engaging?
• Once the tutorial is complete, are players
equipped to play the game and succeed?
• Have they had a taste of the best gameplay?
Example: CSR Classics
Players are shown
something aspirational

10. Agenda
Testing on-boarding
Where are players dropping out?
Practical steps
• Set a high density of event counters to track how players are
moving through the First Time User Experience (FTUE)

11. Agenda
Testing on-boarding
Practical steps
Use a funnel tool to analyze level progression & show which areas
are acting as blockers
A/B test
Find the most effective messaging variables
for each segment with AB Testing

12. Agenda
Testing retention
Which players segments
are leaving the game and
when?
Practical steps
• Use a data mining tool to
segment players for targeting

13. Agenda
Improving retention
Adjust the difficulty. Provide additional
resources for target segment or signpost
location unlocks
• 48% of churned players leave because the
difficulty is not balanced
• A game that is too easy will cause less
retention issues than a game that is too
difficult
• More than half of players joining any game
are novices
Look at which player segments are
failing to complete each mission

14. Agenda
Improving retention
• 38% of churned players leave because
there aren’t enough rewards
• Incentives gives the player a reason to
return, & rewards give a sense of
achievement
• 28% of churned players leave because
there aren’t enough repeat play
opportunities
Create replay opportunities
for ‘Accomplishment’ types
Use targeting to reward your most
loyal players with extra incentives

15. Agenda
Testing retention
• Focus on retention first and foremost: you can always monetize a fun game
• Use segmentation to identify groups of players with similar experiences and test
personalized intervention strategies

16. Agenda
Novice: set your strategy

17. Agenda
Grinder: set your strategy

18. Agenda
Expert: set your strategy

19. Agenda
How to optimize your soft launch process
1. Real focus on first 60 secs
2. Map out the FTUE events in detail
3. Create segments
4. Analyze FTUE by segment
5. Overlay best practice gamification
6. Personalise your strategy for each segment
7. Measure and repeat until metrics make acquisition
profitable.

20. Agenda
deltaDNA: Powered by deep data
• The only deep data analytics platform dedicated to games
• End-to-end toolkit to optimize & manage engagement, retention & monetization

21. Agenda
Stefano Melucci
VP Product, Thumbspire
Thumbspire use case

22. Agenda
What is Thumbspire?
App Store USA Top Games Chart – 3/3/16
Analyze. Optimize. Monetize.
• We publish mobile games
• Work with small studios and dev shops across the world
• Games range from one-touch casual games to botanical simulations
• Our job is to ensure great engagement, and then to keep improving it
• All so that we can find the best way to generate revenue from the game
• While ensuring it finds the widest popular audience – through social media, user acquisition, featuring, PR, etc

23. Agenda
Onboarding and retention - soft launch
Reduced the choices
in Menu navigation
Increased tutorial
visual directions
Shortcut between
chapters Retention D1% increased by 66% in first 2 iterations
(from 15% to 25%)

24. Agenda
Optimizing marketing spending
• Tag all users with their marketing attribution
• Engagement and monetization by channel / campaign
• Optimize marketing investments
• D1% Retention 70% vs 65%
• Optimized LTV = 2x overall
LTV
Overall Optimized marketing channel

25. Agenda
Ad frequency optimization
• Dynamic parameters :
- Frequency
- Cooldown
• Measuring impact in
engagement and IAP
monetization

26. Agenda
Optimize monetization - upselling
• Shown to users after Level 7 when they
complete a task
• Converts when the bundle is purchased.
~0.8% conversion rate
+39% on sales of the item

27. Agenda
Optimize monetization - flash sales
• Users at Level 3 or more
• Who never purchased anything before
• And have a low virtual currency balance
Offer: 50% off on purchases for one session
only
~2.5% conversion rate
+23% on cash sales

28. Agenda
Optimize monetization - merchandising experiment
• Users at Level 3 or more
• Offered Amazon t-shirts
9% click through rate

29. Agenda
We partner with developers for the whole cycle
Pre and post launch services
PRE
• Best practices for preparing your game for launch or soft launch
• Provide suite of tools: marketing attribution, analytics, ads mediation
• Work with developers through soft launch – iterations, analytics
• PR, relationship with stores , social media for launch
POST
• Regular re-engagement push notifications
• Analytics and game optimization
• UA and ROI optimization
• Social media
• Ads revenue optimization
• Engagement and upselling campaigns

30. YOUR HOSTS:
Mark Robinson
CEO, deltaDNA
Stefano Melucci
VP Product, Thumbspire
with
Thank you!