This week sees the global launch of Thunderstruck, a new player analysis product from Metanomic. Touted as a revolutionary tool for game developers, it is the first ever video game analytics platform utilising AI-powered behavioural analytics, including Bayesian inference-backed AI to understand data from real in-game events. The aim of this is to insert behaviour analysis into player behaviour in order to tailor titles to optimise retention and monetisation. It’s suitable for mobile, console and PC platforms, existing and new titles, and both Web3 and Web2 games.

Thunderstruck claims to provide in-depth analysis, taking into account the motivations, play styles and reward preferences of players, the idea being that this will allow developers to finely tune their games to the player archetypes they are attracting. With live analysis, creators can keep an eye on what types of players they are gaining and retaining, as well as identify the highest spending player personas.

AI Player Types

Thunderstruck is launching with 7 player types each of which can be tailored to the priorities of individual game titles. These will be extended upon and refined as more data from a wider title base is analysed, and the AI will then work to identify the events that inform specific player actions. The player types at launch are Killers, Achievers, Explorers, Socialisers, Speedsters, Conquerors, and Scientists, but player personas will also be influenced by ‘passion’, namely how often and how well they play.

Announcing the launch, Theo Priestley, CEO and Founder of Metanomic, said
“For too long, game developers have relied on blunt instruments to understand their players. It’s no exaggeration to say that the bulk of the games industry’s framework for player classification dates back to a 1996 essay by Richard Bartle. A generation later, Thunderstruck is the next big leap forward, taking just a few days to generate more insight than a team of analysts could in a month. We understand that players can straddle multiple personas or even change persona based on their motivations, and use custom AI and live data to accurately anticipate how they’ll respond to metagame changes. Thunderstruck is all about empowering game developers with a better way to identify, acquire, and impact the right players for their game.”

Since being founded in 2021 by a mix of veteran game designers, AI experts, and professional economists, Metanomic has to-date successfully secured USD $2.9 million pre-seed funding and Priestley has been vocal in the past about the need for more behaviour-based analysis to strengthen the gaming industry.