Core Games, Real Numbers
Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games
Emily Greer
Co-Founder & COO| Kongregate
November 2012
Core Games, Real Numbers
Comparative Stats for Asian & Western Games
Emily Greer
November 2012
What is Kongregate?
• Open platform for browser-based games
– Flash, Unity, HTML5, Java, etc.
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60,000 games, 1300 uploaded monthly
~200 games selling virtual goods
Revenue from virtual goods (70%) & ads (30%)
15M monthly uniques, core gamers
Traffic is 40% US, 40% Europe, 10% Asia
Acquired by GameStop July 2010
Select Developers
Background
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All stats are lifetime
ARPU: average revenue per user
ARPPU: average rev per paying user
User = Player: a registered user who loaded the
game at least once
• Games included have all been on Kongregate at
least 6 weeks
• Bubbles on charts represent size of total
revenue
ARPU & ARPPU
• ARPPUs for single-player games cluster around
$5-$10
• Multiplayer games range $20-$230
• Average ARPPU for a game from Asia: $118
• Average for Western multiplayer game: $40
• ARPPU is the main factor in high ARPU for
Asian game, important factor for all games
ARPU & % Buyer
• % Buyer ranges from 0.05% - 3.6%, much larger
range than ARPPU, average is 0.63%
• Single-player average 0.9%
• Multiplayer game average 0.57%, slightly higher
in Western games, slightly lower in Asian games
• Much greater range from top to bottom in %
buyer in Western games
• High revenue multiplayer games 1.5% or higher
Big Spenders are a Big Deal
• 4 out of the top 5 games get the majority of their revenue from those
spending $500+
• All top 10 games get the majority of their revenue from players spending
$100+
How We Look at Retention
• % Repeat
– What % of players ever return
– Shows initial impressions/interest in the game
• Repeat  Reg
– What % of players who repeat become regulars (10+ plays)?
– How strongly is the player hooked in the early-middle parts of the game?
• Reg  Commited Player, aka % Commitment
– What % of regulars become committed players (50+ plays)?
– Engagement of end-game content
ARPU & % Repeat
• Surprisingly little correlation with ARPU
– Games that lose 75% of players immediately are just
as likely to have a high ARPU as one that keeps 75%
• But games with higher repeat rates have higher
revenue at the same ARPU
– Games that have high repeat rates get higher ratings
and viral spread, more players more revenue
• Average for Western games slightly higher than
Asian games but top performers much higher
ARPU & % Commitment
• Strong correlation with ARPU
– Smaller bubbles to the right are generally newer
games, their revenue & ARPU will grow with time
• Correlation slightly weaker with Asian games,
but Repeat  Regs very strong
– Longer sessions lengths & stronger early-game
monetization probably explain
Asian vs Western Style
• Asian games: High ARPPU, tight player funnel
– Monetization caters well to big spenders
• Western games: Lower ARPPU, wide player
funnel
– Monetization focuses more on initial retention and
broad conversion to paid at lower prices
– Pay 2 Win is not accepted
• Mixed games: can combine the best of both
approaches
– High conversion, wide funnel, still create big spenders
Commitment REALLY Matters
Type of Player
% Buyers
Non-Repeats
0.03%
Repeats (2-9 plays)
0.40%
Regs (10-49 plays)
4.68%
Committed (50+ plays) 16.53%
Avg Trx
2.10
1.85
2.61
7.03
ARPPU
$ 24.69
$ 19.61
$ 21.35
$ 96.92
$
$
$
$
ARPU % Players
0.01
43%
0.08
40%
1.00
10%
16.02
7%
% of Rev
0%
3%
12%
84%
First Advice
#1 Don’t push too hard too fast
– People are not going to buy the first time they play your game. In the
first few sessions focus on fun & giving them reasons to return, not
upsells.
– Western players expect & value some level of fairness – pay for
advantage (and reduction in grind) okay but non-buyers should feel
they have some chance to compete
#2 Don’t underprice, don’t intimidate
– There is very little price elasticity below $5. It’s an emotional decision
to spend for progress and status, focus on that.
– Use intro paid currency, first time buyer packages & deals to get
people into the habit of purchase
– Really expensive items early may scare players away who might
accept them later
Big Spender Advice
#3 Make sure players can spend $1,000+
– Games are hobbies, no different from golf, cooking, live music
– Those who get deeply involved devote significant time, energy, and
money
– Have lots of items that are appealing and useful to a committed
player and price them higher (if possible) than items meant for
early/mid-game play. [Higher means $30-100, not $1000]
– If you make a fun game someone will want to spend an infinite
amount. Don’t create a situation where spending is capped by
availability or utility.
The Most Important Lesson
#4 – Retention, Retention, Retention
• Every high ARPU and high revenue game on Kongregate
has a strongly social and competitive end-game. Common
features (mix and match):
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Guilds/leagues
Guild warfare or leaderboards
PvP (either synchronous and asynchronous)
Visible status & character progression
Guilds/leagues (it bears repeating)
• You have to keep feeding the game
– New content, new modes, new events
– New servers are good but not enough
Fantasy Online: A Coming of Age Tale
• By Pixelated Games
(Jeromy Stroh)
• Launched May 2010
• 4.20 rating
• 7.2M gameplays
Fantasy Online: A Humble Start
• Popular and good retention, but couldn’t
monetize well. Only sold aesthetic equips.
First month (Jun ‘10) Monthly ARPPU: $5.50
• Added new zones for modest growth to $8.50
in Sept. Minimal updates for next few months.
• Nov 2010: Monthly ARPPU faded to $8.11
• Dec 2010: Guilds launched, Monthly ARPPU
jumped to $12.93
• Jun 2011: Crafting, mining, XP potions, etc.,
kept growing to $18.66
Fantasy Online: Big Growth
• Jul 2011: “Gem Packs”, expensive “uber”
items ($30+) were added to court whales.
Monthly ARPPU soared to $32.80
• Nov 2011: New content, new equipment slots,
Halloween event, grew to $36.23 in
• Jan 2012: Guild Warfare, peak of $41.86
• Mar 2012: New high level content, $54.37
• June 2012: 2-year anniversary event. Lots of
revenue, still high ARPPU at $43.97.
Fantasy Online: Monthly ARPPU
Fantasy Online: Monthly ARPPU
Fantasy Online: Summary Stats
• Traffic stayed strong through high rating and
repeated Kongregate promotion
• % Buyers generally ~1.1% with promotion,
~1.5% without
• Monthly ARPPU grew from $5.45 to $54.37
• Monthly ARPU grew from $0.04 to $0.70
Fantasy Online: Revenue
To learn more visit
developers.kongregate.com
Contact us at [email protected]