Why Hyper-casual is getting so "hot" in gaming? What are the business models behind it? How Indie studios can make business out of it?

1. The rise of Hyper-casual & takeaways
from Tap Tap Games

2. Founded in
2014
Huuuge Casino
$150M
Revenue
2017
350+
Employees
8
Offices
Billionaire Casino

5. hyper-casual
Publishing

6. Founded in
2018
11
Games
22
Employees
2
weeks / game

8. https://venturebeat.com/2018/06/10/hypercasual-is-mobile-gamings-new-dominant-force-as/

9. http://tabtale.com/blog_posts/tabtales-super-into-super-casual-games/

10. Source: https://www.slideshare.net/WNconf/itai-edry-tabtale
Frogger - 1981 Crossy Road Jungle Hunt - 1981 Swing - Ketchapp

11. Source: https://www.slideshare.net/WNconf/itai-edry-tabtale
Jungle Hunt - 1981 Swing - Ketchapp
built sustainable business on top of simple games at big scale
Frogger - 1981 Crossy Road

12. 100M

13. 70.2M

15. 2017: - Make up 48% of all Arcade downloads
Source: http://blog.apptopia.com/voodoo-is-coming-for-ketchapps-throne

16. Source: http://blog.apptopia.com/voodoo-is-coming-for-ketchapps-throne
#1
#2
#7
#8

17. source: AppAnnie

18. https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/a7ad09f5-4a58-4a3a-87fa-57ae2b601288/20180528%20Voodoo-GS%20MBD%20-%20ENGLISH.pdf
https://Appannie.com
https://www.inc.com/eliran-sapir/how-to-make-57000-a-day-in-the-app-store.html
http://www.euroinvestor.com/news/2016/09/27/ubisoft-entertainment-ubisoft-acquires-mobile-publisher-ketchapp/13456579#_ftn2
● >160 Games
● 700M downloads (2016)
● 23M downloads/month (2016)
● $57k/day Revenue from Fidget Spinner
● $600k Scream Go Hero in 2 months
● >40 Games
● 150M MAU (2017)
● 300M downloads (2017)
● 1bn downloads (2018)

19. https://lloydmelnick.com/2018/06/05/is-hypercasual-worth-the-450-million-that-zynga-and-goldman-sachs-just-spent/
2016, ~$30-40M (A) 2018, $200M (I) 2018, $250M (A)

20. 1. Simple Controls:
2. Skills:
3. Session time:
4. Experience:
5. Business model:
6. Mass market potential:
Source: https://www.slideshare.net/WNconf/itai-edry-tabtale

21. Future of Hyper-Casual:
● Flat design to 3D / more detailed graphics
● Adding more depth into the game
● Adding more content
● Similar how arcade games evolved
● Adding IDLE layer into the games
● Following Video Games trends
● Every 3 months new trend; drawing games
(appealing to women), IDLE layers
More: Panel discussion - Predictions for Casual games - https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/blog/2018/1/9/prediction-for-2018-casual-games
3D

22. ● Hyper-casual it the hottest sector in the gaming space, with deals valued at hundreds of
million
● Hyper-casual games have a single mechanic and a single goal, making them easy to
learn and play but hard to master
● Hyper-casual are fast to develop with relatively low human and development cost
● 70%+ monetised by ads and only rely on IAP to a minor extent.

23. ● Hyper-casual games can acquire users on scale at extremely low CPIs. Instead of
addressing a niche audience, they go broad and appeal to the masses.
● Ad-funded games have biggest share of revenues in first days when users are most
active. Games focused on IAP monetise users after couple of days; makes most of their
money after long time. Developer can reinvest money into marketing faster.
● Users continue to have a great appetite for new games, so ideally you have the next title
ready before they finish the last one.

24. - Study Top Games using spreadsheet - what qualities do they have:
- Average time or length of the session
- Online / offline
- Single/Multiplayer
- Core mechanic description
- Goal (=finish all levels) /Fail (=hit obstacle/wall/…)
- Special (=unlock balls & platform skins for coins,...)
- Improvement suggestions
- Review Top Chart games (what works what doesn’t)
- Check App Store game recommendations

25. Unique Selling Point
(Same Proven Gameplay;
Different Design/Graphics)
You are selling screenshot/short video to your users
Dunk Shot - Ketchapp Kitty Jump - Tap Tap Games

26. Concept
Pre-
production
Production
Soft
Launch
Operation
Launch
- Shorten the Process & Go to Market fast
- Test game during soft launch and then to
- Give yourself deadline & stick to it (e.g. 2 weeks/2 months/... per
game)
- MVP but less features;
- Work on framework to kill game ideas at hyper-speed
- Launch and test as many games as possible (market will verify
which games it likes)

27. The game loop is essentially the very heartbeat of your game. It is a series or chain of actions that is repeated over and
over as the primary flow your players experience.
Play / Earn diamonds / Replay to earn more coins to unlock new game themes.
https://risinghighacademy.com/what-is-a-core-loop-in-a-mobile-game/

28. The game loop is essentially the very heartbeat of your game. It is a series or chain of actions that is repeated over and
over as the primary flow your players experience.
Play / Earn diamonds / Replay to earn more coins to unlock new game themes.
https://risinghighacademy.com/what-is-a-core-loop-in-a-mobile-game/
https://mobilefreetoplay.com/path-100-million-downloads-hypercasual-mobile-games-rewriting-game-design-rulebook/
- snackability – short
sessions which could be
repeated – as this will create
loops.
- relaxing - to avoid stress.
- user has no negative
reactions at the end of the
game (=get into the loop
again)
- not punitive / frustrating
- users should have good
time

29. Same Theme - Different look KISS - Selling screenshot/Describable
https://www.slideshare.net/WNconf/itai-edry-tabtale

30. UA in US on soft launch, test if CPI below <$0.50
Go for volume, target App Installs only
Facebook and Google largest traffic sources

31. ● Retention
○ D1 >= 40%
● % of DAU watching video ads
○ If low then improve your implementation (correct your message, change
reward value, not interrupt gameplay,…)
○ From Unity ads - (20% have up to 20%, 51% have 20%-50%, 27% have
50%-80%, successful games have 45%+)
● Ads per watcher
○ Try to improve from 1 to 2-3+ to increase revenue
○ From Unity ads - on average 2.7; most successful games try to achieve 3-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bwTPzdtGtk

32. Eric Seufert - “Freemium Economics: Leveraging
Analytics and User Segmentation
to Drive Revenue“

33. ● Hyper-casual games - short sessions, hyper-casual style - most
wanted and fast decision process
● Prototype build or already published game
● Experience with implementing external SDKs (Appsflyer, Ad
Networks)
● For published games >=40% D1 retention

34. Business
- Clear agreement and long-term cooperation
- Quick decision after basic game test
Product
- Core loop improvements
- UX/UI/tech/
- Having our own guidelines also improves studio Production cycle
Distribution
- Distribution in specific markets
- Submission / ASO / SEO optimization / Cross-promotion with other titles in portfolio / Store
campaign - road to featuring / Social media campaigns / ….
User Acquisition
- Marketing support from the largest mobile acquisition team in Europe
- 50 people consisting of media buyers, analysts and marketing creative designers
Monetization
- Very deep knowledge of every ad network due to direct relationships
- Help you optimize impressions, CPMs, ad formats and maximize ad revenue
Analytics
- Support in understanding users & optimizing the game
- In-house analysts dedicated to ad optimization
- Understanding key metrics
- Improve game retention, revenue & viral growth

35. https://taptap.games

36. Łukasz Miądowicz, Huuuge Ambassador; Indie Developers relations
lukasz.miadowicz@huuugegames.com