To self-publish or not to self-publish, that is the question. The mobile F2P space is more competitive than ever. Millions of existing apps already in the app stores, thousands of new games launching each week and the costs of user acquisition keeps increasing. Should developers partner with a publisher or launch the game on their own? This presentation will explore the case of self-publishing versus working with a publisher. We will explore the pros and cons for each one, questions the developer should be asking themselves and their potential publishing partner. Moreover, it will cover best practices for self-publishing, common mistakes to avoid to maximize your success. This will include best practices for improving retention, IAP monetization, ad monetization and virality.

1. TO SELF-PUBLISH OR NOT TO SELF-PUBLISH?
AN INDIE SURVIVAL GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING IN THE MOBILE F2P WORLD
David P. Chiu
DC Games Consulting LLC

2. • 12+ years in games industry
• Intel in Gaming Developer Relations & Business Development, US Gaming Marketing &
Campaign Strategy
• Head of Business Development and Developer Relations at Kongregate
• Vice President of R2 Games USA
• Worked on hit games such as Clicker Heroes, Politicats, Game of Thrones Ascent
• Now at DC Games Consulting LLC
WHO AM I?
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3. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE IN MOBILE GAMES
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• F2P is the dominant business model
• Usually only 1-2 paid games in the iOS Top 150 Grossing
• Incumbents tend to dominate the charts

4. MOBILE USER ACQUISITION IS EXPENSIVE
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• Makes 3rd party publishing model
challenging
• Revenue sharing makes UA difficult
• Recoupable marketing à developer
receives little revenue

5. • Minor feature: 10k to 100k+ installs
• Medium feature: 100k-300k+ installs
• Major feature: 300k to 1M+ installs
***For F2P games, not paid
APP STORE FEATURES ARE INCREDIBLY POWERFUL

6. # of Apps 3.10M
Approx. # of apps each week ~9k
# of Games 780k
Approx. # of games each week ~3k
Promo slots of new games 16
BUT APP STORE FEATURES ARE HARD TO GET
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7. SELF-PUBLISH VS. PUBLISHER?
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8. • Publishers can help by allowing you to focus on the game development while they handle publishing
• Publishers can provide the following:
• Marketing creatives (icon, screenshots, ads, videos, keywords and do A/B tests)
• User acquisition
• App store relations and featuring
• PR and media outreach
• F2P expertise and analytics
• Customer service and community management
• Functional QA Testing
• Localization and localization QA
• Development funding or royalty advances
• Marketing guarantees
• IP licensing
IS A PUBLISHER RIGHT FOR ME?
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9. Evaluate the publisher:
• Are goals and interests aligned?
• Putting some skin behind the game?
• Potential for long term partnership?
• Track record of success?
• Repeat deals with developers?
• Who will be working on your game?
• 1st party and 3rd party games?
• Audience and portfolio fit?
IS A PUBLISHER RIGHT FOR ME?
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10. Evaluate your game and team:
• Goals for the game and studio?
• Does your team understand F2P?
• Do you have the key talent for a F2P game dev and UA?
• Do you have enough capital for dev and UA?
• Do you plan on doing UA for your game?
SELF-PUBLISH?
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11. SELF-PUBLISHING VS. PUBLISHER
Self-Publishing Publisher
Pros Ø 100% net revenue and control
Ø Complements or augments your
capabilities/ resources
Cons Ø Need appropriate team/ resources
Ø Revenue share
Ø More chefs in the kitchen
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12. SELF-PUBLISHING BEST PRACTICES
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13. SOFT LAUNCH
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Choose soft launch countries and roll-out schedule
1. Southeast Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, etc)
• Cheap CPIs ($0.20-$1) à can get large # of installs quickly
• Stability and compatibility testing
• Not for A/B testing or estimating metrics
2. Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, etc)
• Player resemble US/CA/AUS players
• Relatively lower CPI
• A/B test features
• A/B test marketing/ app store creatives
3. Canada, Australia and New Zealand
• Resemble US players the most
• Expensive CPIs

14. SOFT LAUNCH CHECKLIST
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• A/B test and optimize in-game features and tutorial/ FTUE
• Test in-game analytics and app attribution platforms
• A/B test app store page and marketing creatives
• Icon
• App Name
• Subtitle
• Screenshots
• Video(s)
• Copy
• Keywords

15. BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPROVING RETENTION
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16. IMPROVING RETENTION
Early retention:
• Daily log-in rewards or monthly check-in calendar
• Quests system
• Mini-game or lucky wheel
• Daily Events/ Challenges
• Daily Limited Time Events
• E.g. Everyday 6-7pm PDT à Double XP Power Hour

17. IMPROVING RETENTION
Mid and Late Stage Retention:
• Achievements with rewards
• Multiplayer features (PvP, co-op, clans, clan battles, clan
perks, chat)
• Leaderboards (single player, PvP, event-based)
• Limited Time Events
• Seasonal Events
• Features and items specifically geared towards elder players
that are unlocked later on

18. BEST PRACTICES FOR IMPROVING MONETIZATION
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19. INCREASING MONETIZATION: SHOP UI
• Have all items viewable in one screen without scrolling
• Easier for comparing packages
• Clearly call out bonuses for bigger packages
• Call out Most Popular and Best Deal packages
• Break up into categories or tabs if needed (heroes, armor, consumables, etc)

20. INCREASING BUYER CONVERSION AND ARPPU
§ Drive buyer conversion and spending with:
1. First time buyer packages
2. Additional bundles after the first purchase
3. Targeted offers based on player behavior
4. Time limited offers
5. Bundles for IAP events/holidays
6. Hard currency daily drips/ subscriptions
7. Purchasables specifically for elder players
§ Perform A/B tests to determine optimal pricing, timing, offers, etc.

21. MINIMIZE FRICTION à INCREASE CONVERSION AND ARPPU

22. MONETIZATION:
SHOP TUTORIAL
• Seed players with some hard currency at the
beginning
• Lead them to the shop
• Guide them thru a “free” introductory purchase
• Player gets a taste of the benefits of buying (like free
samples at Costco)

23. 1) Hard currency unlocked 2) Show players where they can spend them
Almost a Hero

24. 3) Introduce to shop with free introductory purchase
Almost a Hero

25. HARD CURRENCY SUBSCRIPTIONS/ DAILY DRIPS
• Encourages daily login
• Helps increase retention
• Provide one-time
reward at purchase for
some instant
gratification

26. GAMIFYING THE BUYING EXPERIENCE
• With a Chinese MMO-style Buyers VIP system
• Players earn points for spending within the game
• Which can unlock tiers with different rewards or perks
• Modelled after airlines, hotel and casino VIP systems
• Risk: may make you look greedy and the game P2W
• This is more for games with deep, complex economies

27. NOTIFICATIONS
• Don’t ask to opt in at app
launch
• Ask later in the first or second
session of the game and offer
an incentive to do so
• Free chest every 4 hours
• Spin prize wheel every 4 hours

28. AD MONETIZATION
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• Consider adding rewarded video to increase your LTV
• Good for high retaining casual games with low monetization
• Integrate mediation platform and multiple ad networks
• Negotiate superior deal terms

29. AD MONETIZATION
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• Integrate ads into gameplay (core loop or regularly repeating screen)
• Prominent surfacing/ placements
• Offer meaningful rewards
• Incorporate ads into new content or/and limited timed events
• Limit video pre-caching to minimize OTA data usage
• Avoid long ads or ads that require users to pre-qualify

30. QUESTIONS?
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David P. Chiu
DC Games Consulting LLC
david.p.chiu@gmail.com