Why indie developers should consider hyper-casual right now / Igor Gurenyov (Unity)

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This document discusses why indie game developers should consider developing hyper-casual games. It provides a brief history of hyper-casual games, noting their rise in popularity from 2013 onward. It argues that hyper-casual games are no longer just about mobile, as their mechanics can be adapted to other platforms. The document advises indies to start small, simplify control schemes, invest minimally in initial prototypes, and work with publishers to test concepts before fully developing games. It suggests reimagining existing hit games in hyper-casual form as a smart strategy for indies.

Why indie developers should
consider hyper-casual right now
by Igor Gurenyov
Game Designer at Supersonic from Unity

DISCLAIMER
The opinions expressed in this presentation and on the following slides are
solely those of the presenter and not necessarily those of Unity and Supersonic

Who am I?
Traffic Jam Fever Hide My Proof
Kaiju Run Parasite Cleaner Symbiote Rush
Staff! - Job Simulator Mini Market
Bowmasters Flip the Gun Partymasters
2018 - 2020
2020 - 2021
2021 - 2022
Present

Answer #1: Simple ad-based mobile games
Easy to play & control gameplay
Mass appealing game theme
Session length: 30-60 seconds
Overall playtime: 10-30 minutes
Low user acquisition cost: <$0.50 CPI
Monetization: Interstitials and Rewarded video

Answer #1: Simple ad-based mobile games
Slice It All! Lumbercraft Body Race

Answer #2: At this point it is philosophy already
Typical hyper-casual use
case

Prototyping Marketability
check
Iteration A/B Testing Full-scale UA
Hyper-casual pipeline:
Ideation
Answer #2: At this point it is philosophy already

A brief history of hyper-casual
Flappy Bird fenomena
2013
Ubisoft acquire Ketchapp
2016
Goldman Sachs invests
$200M in Voodoo
2018

A brief history of hyper-casual
Welcome to 2020-2021
Post-COVID explosion & highest eCPMs era

A brief history of hyper-casual
End of easy PPP era
2022

A brief history of hyper-casual
Era of scepticism
2023

Why indies should consider
it right now?

Because this is not about mobile anymore

What hyper-casual actually need right now?

How to achieve it for indies?
● Pick interesting for you theme
● START SMALL!!!
● Simplify your concept for 1 finger input
● INVEST AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE!!!
● Get a 5-10 minutes gameplay demo or prototype
● Send it to publishers (testing it always free)
● Depending on results: iterate or kill (nothing in between)
● REPEAT

Take something that already proven
Papers, Please

Re-imagine it in a different way
Airport Security Guilty!
ID Please

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