PocketGamer.biz Podcast

Learn how narrative marketing can boost player retention in games with Deniz Kekeç from Innogames. She shares tips on creating engaging stories, testing different narratives, and adapting them for various marketing channels. Discover how a love story theme elevated engagement in Sunrise Village, and get insights on flexible and collaborative marketing strategies for success.

Hosts discuss Apple's battle with Epic Games and the European Union's Digital Markets Act. They also cover Deconstructor of Fun's predictions for the games industry in 2024 and InnoGames' disclosure of staff salaries. Additionally, they explore the rise of a mobile game resembling Monopoly, EA's new mobile strategy, and the unique approach of a Danish game development team.

Discover Innogames' unique strategy for extending the lifespan of their legendary games, Tribal Wars and Forge of Empires. From successful community engagement to cross-platform integration, they share valuable insights on UA, company culture, and embracing power creep. Learn how they continuously attract new audiences and hit milestones like one billion lifetime value. Useful information for both indies and triple-As in this loaded episode.

Discussions on layoffs in gaming industry, challenges faced by Apple Arcade, Unity's financial performance, Apple's AI plans, upcoming mobile game releases excitement, Monster Hunter's successful journey, and critical analysis by eGDF President

AI experts Guy Gadney and Harry Holmwood discuss the use of AI in game development, from optimizing creativity to revolutionizing storytelling. They explore ethical considerations, world-building with digital dice, and navigating the machine learning minefield. Learn how AI can co-create engaging experiences with players and fundamentally change the art of storytelling.

How did Yahtzee break revenue records? What’s up with webshops, and are subscription models shaping up to match past hype? We answer all these questions and more in this episode of the PocketGamer.biz Podcast live from the floor of PGC London. Host Peggy Anne Salz leads a captivating conversation with Steel Media Ltd. executives Chris James (CEO), Craig Chapple (Head of B2B Content), and Aaron Astle (News Editor). The group gets into the weeds about redefining customer relationships, advancing IP through AI, and how studios are saying sayonara to Apple’s near 30% commission fees. Tune in for our team’s hot takes and exclusive insights on gaming in 2024, and register today for PGC San Francisco! CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 01:08 - Show highlights 05:47 - Small changes make a big difference 08:23 - Advancing IP through AI 14:34 - Webshops and Apple's 27% commision 21:00 - Subscription models 23:02 - Favourite talks and tracks 29:02 - Favourite games Q&A * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event

Karl Knights from data.ai delves into mobile gaming data and trends for 2024, revealing monetisation methods and predictive models. Lirui Ding discusses Esports' impact on engagement and community building, along with VR's potential in mobile gaming revolution.

Gabriel Lewis, Senior Director and Global Head of Accounts at Mistplay, joins the podcast to discuss how Mistplay is using rewarded play to drive lasting loyalty and engagement in mobile gaming. They explore the value of personalized rewards, collaborations between developers and gaming platforms, and the future of gaming with seamless integrations and cross-game promotions. Listen for insider tips on leveraging rewards and boosting player loyalty.

Kelly Vero, CEO and CTO of NAK3D, discusses the future of game commerce and bridging the gap between digital and physical retail. The podcast touches on topics such as web3, digital death, and the evolution of the metaverse. It also explores the rise of eSports in South Korea and the growing influence of the metaverse and web three technology in gaming.

To acquire valuable players and boost rank in the app stores, studios have to shift focus and budget to offer each user a customised experience that aligns with their unique player motivations. But the path to pinpointing player intent isn’t straightforward--especially in a privacy-first landscape that makes prediction more challenging than ever. It’s a perfect storm of conditions for revisiting and rethinking approaches that reward players for staying in the game.  Adam Jaffe, Founder and CEO of Mega Studio—an end-to-end gaming agency offering services in everything from product creation to marketing to monetisation—joins hosts Peggy Anne Samz and Brian Baglow to discuss how incentivised is powering UA and much more. Adam observes that rewarded approaches pay dividends, producing retention rates that are “40% higher” than those of non-incentivised users. This is because rewarded gives marketers bonus insights into player behavior. As Adam puts it, marketers know “exactly why” a user downloaded, allowing them to create a “railed environment” or direct path that users are nearly guaranteed to follow. He shares smart strategies to optimise this approach, from how to finetune features to create long-term users to where to place ads to maximise monetisation. Lastly, he offers advice on marrying product and marketing and explains why incentivised traffic can potentially become a critical data signal studios can harness to optimize everything.  CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Intro 03:15 - Why gamification?  05:44 - Biggest misconception about rewarded traffic 09:30 - The nuts and bolts of incentivised traffic 13:05 - Maximising monetisation 18:16 - Finding the incentivised sweet spot 24:18 - Optimising for player motivation 27:08 - The future of incentivised traffic 32:45 - Favourite games Q&A with Adam * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  ** Let's Connect ** 👉🏻 Twitter - https://twitter.com/pgbiz  👉🏻 LinkedIn Group - https://www.linkedin.com/groups/144491/  👉🏻 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PGbiz  👉🏻 Website - https://www.pocketgamer.biz  Check out more world-class speakers sharing their insights and expertise at one of our events. You can find details of our next event here - https://www.pgconnects.com/next-event