2011 in review: Torsten Reil, CEO, NaturalMotion

We're rapidly heading into the new year, but there's still some latitude to look back with thoughtfulness...

2011 was certainly a busy year for UK outfit NaturalMotion, which pivoted on its mobile strategy, becoming a freemium publisher, successfully releasing My Horse onto iOS with five million downloads.

CEO Torsten Reil gave us his views.

PocketGamer: What do you think was the most significant event for the mobile games industry in 2011?

Torsten Reil The rapid transition to free-to-play as the dominant business model and with it the rise of systematic, data driven game optimisation.

And, the contraction of time: everything in mobile is moving about 10 time faster than in console. 2011 showed: if you're not completely immersed in the industry, you're toast.

What was the most significant event for NaturalMotion?

The release of our first free-to-play game My Horse, and its subsequent eye-opening economics.

What was your favourite mobile game of 2011?

Backflip's Dragon Vale - it's very well crafted.

What do you predict will be the most important trends in 2012?

The cost of user acquisition for non-differentiated 2D free-to-play games will rise to a point where these titles are becoming less economically viable.

As a response, we'll see new F2P genres emerge, in particular richer experiences and deeper gameplay.

What's your New Year's resolution?

Our New Year's resolution is to keep learning.

Thanks to Torsten for his time.