This document discusses strategies for soft launching a mobile game or app. It recommends conducting a soft launch for 2-3 months to collect user data from a test market in order to make data-driven decisions before a full launch. Key metrics to measure include user acquisition costs, retention rates, user experience, monetization, and game economics. The soft launch should integrate both install attribution and in-app analytics to track user behavior. Additional tips provided include choosing test markets carefully, focusing on product over branding, and planning soft launches for 2-3 or ideally 6 months.

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Soft launch

2. About Us

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completed
projects
happy
clients
worldwide
partners
years of mobile app
market expertise
740 247 2406

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Clients

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Recognition
Mobile App Marketing
Agencies in the US
TOP 12
App Marketing
Agency 2015
TOP
Mobile and App
Marketing Companies
TOP 9

6. Market Overview

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Discoverability
is broken?

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* http://www.gamedev.ru/industry/articles/galyonkin_indiepocalypse
Down many times, but still playing the game

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Nearly 800,000 new mobile developers
join the industry every year
2014
7,9 M
7,1 M
6,3 M
5,5 M
2015 2016 2017

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Revenue are growing

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There are about 5.7 million
mobile app developers in the world,
creating more than
3 million apps.

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More than 50% of app developers make less
than $500 per month
% of mobile developers who use paid downloads, in-app purchases or advertising
(and no other revenue model), by monthly revenue (n=1,187)
App poverty line
($500 per month)
Sustainability line
($10K per month)

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AppAnnie estimates 80% of the revenues from app stores
are in the games category and the percentage is growing
of the revenues
are games
80%

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The state of mobile game developers
of developers
shipped < 4 games
70%
of developers
make games
33%
of downloads
are games
40%
of games
make < $500 per month
57%
of store revenues
are from games
80%
* Developereconomics.com

15. Why games has been developed?

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Developer segments on desired outcomes
39%
51%
developers
revenues
Revenues from the app economy
24%
Explorers
12%
Hobbyist
23%
Hunters 16%
Guns
for hire
8%
Enterprise IT
4%
Digital Content
Publishers
5%
Gold Seekers
8%
Product Extenders
Self
improvement
Growing
a business
Revenues from
the app economy

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Whether you’re developing your game sitting in
the basement hiring freelancers or working in a
large team, main thing that differs business
from hobby here is having a clear
understanding of how much you need to
spend to stay afloat.
LTV > eCPI

18. Soft launch

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What’s the goal of the soft launch?
Collect empirical and behavioral data from statistically
relevant sample of players to make data-driven decisions
Identify success factors and problem areas
Quantify response to game mechanics or app features

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Duration, budget and sample
2-3 month $15-20k USD ~ 2000 DAU

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What to measure
User Acquisition
● Cost of new user
● Organic uplift
User Experience and Retention
● How users are interacting with game
● Are they moving beyond 1st level
Monetization and Virality
● How long does it take to make purchase
● Are people sharing your game
Economics ● Measure balance of the game economics

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Analytics integration
You should understand the difference and have both installs attribution and user experience analytics installed
User acquisition measurement UX: in-app analytics

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App Store optimization
App store optimization is optimizing your app store presence whether it be on
Google Play or App Store for the download.
Making sure you have the right keywords in the app name, description and your
keyword field, having a really engaging icon.

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Choosing test market
Canada New Zealand Australia

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Average CPI by game category,
iOS, Q2 2015

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Average CPI by game category,
Google Play, Q2 2015

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1. Daily active users
2. Retention Day1, Day 3, Day 7 and Day 28
3. Average revenue per daily active user (ARPU)
Focus on metrics that matter

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The first number you should look at is your
Daily Active Unique (users) or DAUs.
From this single number, we can drill down
into groups such as:
● new users (acquisition),
● returning users (retention),
● amount they return (engagement)
● the amount they spend (monetization).
Daily active users

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When your Churn Rate
surpasses the Acquisition Rate
your business is dying and it is
only a matter of time before your
existing users leave.
Churn rate

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Creating a lifecycle model
Once you have data captured, we recommend breaking down your user’s
lifecycle into distinct stages. This let’s you take specific actions that are
appropriate for that group of users.
Acquired
150, 000
Activated
75, 000
Engaged
45, 000
Stable
10, 000

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DAU 10,000
ARPDAU $0.5
Daily revenue $5000
By improving your ARPU you
might need fewer users
DAU 100,000
ARPDAU $0.05
Daily revenue $5000
Game 1 Game 2

32. Summary

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If you have
“leaky bucket”
no acquisition budget
is enough

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1. Plan in advance: 2 - 3 months (beter 6 months)
2. Focus on product rather than branding
3. Understand your market / industry environment
Top tips

35. Thank you!
Skype: serg_kanishchev
e-mail: skanishchev@comboapp.com