One Year in the Life of a Top-Grossing Game:
Operating and Growing Bejeweled Blitz
Giordano Bruno Contestabile
Executive Producer – Bejeweled, PopCap Games
November 17th, 2012
Twitter: @giordanobc
 Some quick facts
• Launched in late 2000
• History: Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2,
Bejeweled Twist, Bejeweled Blitz,
Bejeweled 3
• Key platforms: Facebook, iOS,
PC/Mac
•
•
•
•
Units sold: > 55 million
Installs:
> 200 million
MAUs:
> 25 million
Total users: 500 million+
One Very Long Minute
 History of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook & iOS
 December 2008: Bejeweled Blitz launches on Facebook
 November 2009: Blitz mode and FB Connect added to Bejeweled 2 iOS client
 December 2011: Bejeweled Blitz iOS launches as a freemium title
 3+ years from launch, still consistently popular:
• Facebook: top 10 games by DAU (3M+)
• iPhone: top 10 highest-grossing games
 One of the first games to be fully integrated across FB and iOS
Traditional PopCap model
3. Profit!!!
1. Make game
2. Wait (years) for game to be made
3 YEARS
Live service model
1. Prototype
2. It’s fun!
MONTH 1-3
3. Production!
4. Telemetry first
MONTH 4-9
5. MVP
6. Closed Beta
7. Open beta
9. Keep going!
8. Launch
MONTH 9-12
YEARS 2-10
Why We Changed
• Every game we make is a service
• Needs to be updated and improved over time
• Every game we make is free to play
• Reach 10x the audience, need regular events to keep engaged
• The distinction between product and business has disappeared
• One interdisciplinary team
• Product innovation drives business innovation, and vice versa
How Does Our
Business Model
Work?
Boosts
• Low-priced in-game effects meant to be used regularly
• Balanced not to grant excessive advantages
• The better player will still score higher on average
Rare Gems
•
•
•
•
Higher-impact bonuses
Can be activated every few games, appearing randomly
Require skill to be fully taken advantage of
Entertainment value as important as effect
Daily Spins
• Slot machine mechanic granting in-game currency
• 1 free “daily spin” every day
• Additional “daily spin” can be purchased
Key tenets
•
“Play forever”: no pay walls or limitations for non-paying users
•
Game is fun and balanced also without paying
•
Pay to have fun, not because the games forces or punishes you
•
Server-side code to tweak economy in real time
•
Events really important: busy marketing calendar
Marketing Efforts
Marketing Mix
Ads on Bejeweled
Blitz Facebook
Mobile Ads
“Apple Love”
“Free App Of The Day”
programs
Result analysis
• Vast majority of downloads from:
• “Apple love”
• Chart position
• Organic searches
• Existing Blitz players
• Free app programs didn’t drive significant installs
• Encouraging conversion from paid advertising
• Very high CPI on iOS ($1 to $4)
• Organic growth more valuable than paid growth
• Sustained efforts more effective than “burst” actions
What Did We Learn?
“Casual” gamers?
Frequency of play
Once a month
Every 2 weeks
Once a week
Few times / week
Every day
Multi times / day
• 86% of active players play every day
iOS: A Very Efficient Platform
Key Metrics
iOS (FB = 100)
Daily Active Users
Weekly Average
48%
ARPU
DARPU
229%
Engagement
Games / day
100%
Retention
7-day retention
193%
Monetization
% of paying users
205%
But iOS players have
multiple, shorter,
sessions
iOS performs 2x Facebook in several key metrics
Not all mobile players want to be social
Approximately 18% of Blitz iOS
downloads have activated Facebook
Connect…
…but over
40% of DAU
use FB
Connect
• FB Connect was required to unlock full features
• Launched “Universal Mode” in June 2012
• FB-connected users tend to spend more
UI matters. A lot
Snazzier presentation!
To this:
From this:
Clearer payouts!
Satisfying lever
pulling!
 Average revenue from Daily Spin increased 131%
UI matters. A lot
2X
Key Lessons
Be metrics-informed, don’t be metrics-driven
Specialize, but share knowledge
Huge features are dangerous: go for small sprints when you can
Cross-platform is hard, but can be worth it
Don’t underestimate players’ willingness to spend
(but give them fun in exchange)
Thanks!
Questions?
@giordanobc