Behind Black Deck’s rise: A case study in product, monetisation, and trust

• Black Deck crew from an uncertain niche project into SayGames’ top IAP revenue driver with $30m earned and 6.8m installs.
• Strategic pivots in monetisation, live ops, and UA testing deliver high payer engagement with 60%+ repeat purchase rates and strong long-term growth.

Black Deck, a card battler, has become a mid-core hit and now leads SayGames' portfolio in IAP revenue share. Just three years ago, however, the project was still searching for its niche. This success began with the partnership between two teams - SayGames and Core5. The combination of publishing expertise and Core5’s talent drove the product’s growth.

In this article, we share the key moments that helped shape the successful strategy.

Key metrics:

• Total installs: 6.8M

• Total revenue: $30M

Was SayGames ready for a project of this complexity?

Black Deck became one of the most ambitious challenges in SayGames portfolio at the time. What made both the publisher and the developer choose to collaborate on a project that was uncharted territory for both?

"Working with SayGames as a publisher is fundamentally different from any experience I had before," says Pavel Lando, co-founder of Core5.

"We started our partnership seven years ago on other projects, and even then, SayGames stood out. Most publishers worked with hundreds of prototypes, but SayGames took a more selective, hands-on approach. That gave us confidence to try something new together.

"We knew SayGames hadn't worked on a project like Black Deck before, but I was more focused on the fact that they’re smart and driven people. That gave me confidence. We weren’t building a classic mid-core game - we were creating something new: hybrid-core.

"It combined hyper-casual player onboarding with deep gameplay and long-term LTV. And SayGames' experience in user acquisition from hyper-casual was a real asset, allowing us to find the marketability angle within the gameplay. We trusted SayGames’ expertise, and from there, our job was to build a great game - one that would keep players engaged for the long haul”.

Indeed, while SayGames is best known for its hybrid and hyper-casual games, the company’s expertise goes beyond that. The team includes producers with a strong background in mid-core and hardcore games with advanced monetisation models.

The initial backend struggled with scalability - understandable for a young team focused primarily on gameplay. Over time, the teams rebuilt the system to handle higher server loads and long-term growth.

Over the course of two years, SayGames worked closely with Core5 to position Black Deck effectively in the market. The product eventually found its market fit, thanks to a strategy focused on three core areas.

In-app monetisation

Initially, the developers experimented with various meta-game mechanics inspired by multiple mid-core titles. But together with SayGames, they decided to narrow the focus and align the design around a single, well-established reference point for meta gameplay.

“We looked closely at a structure similar to RAID: Shadow Legends, where in-app purchases drive revenue - and that pivot laid a solid foundation for long-term growth,” says Pavel Lando.

Together with Core5 SayGames ran A/B tests on key features and pricing models. The subscription model was originally implemented by the developer, but SayGames recommended actively evolving it - and those changes had a major impact on LTV.

Alongside that, they ran tests on gacha pricing, item pricing, and special offers to find the most effective formats and price points.

Key monetisation features introduced:

• Battle Pass: Successfully integrated into regular live ops cycles; now contributes 21% of total revenue with a second-purchase conversion rate of 55%.

• Growth Fund: Players unlock chapter-based reward packs across all 48 chapters completed; this feature alone increased total revenue by approximately 10%.

• Subscription model improvements: Initially cautious due to player hesitation around recurring payments, the team revised subscription perks to offer meaningful gameplay acceleration and convenience. This doubled subscription revenue share to reach 5% of total earnings.

Notably, Black Deck shows exceptionally high repeat-purchase rates with over 60% of players who make a first purchase go on to make a second - a clear sign of strong long-term payer engagement.

Game design and feature expansion

“We worked closely with Core5 to analyse successful hardcore battlers and identify mechanics that could enhance Black Deck,” notes SayGames producer Danila Katalev. “Initially, the team had a clear reference point for the economy, but as we continued exploring the genre together, we broadened the perspective. This joint effort led us to the idea of introducing guild wars and other social features, which the team implemented using proven best practices from the market.”

Over the course of two years, the team developed and refined core systems: 

• Artifacts with upgrade mechanics to boost meta-progression.

• Guild features including boss battles, shops, and PvP guild wars.

• Live ops events, expanded from monthly to 3–5 per week with seasonal content and promos.

• Gameplay balancing, including adjustments to cards, abilities, difficulty, and economy. All powered by SayGames Services' rapid A/B testing capabilities.

Marketing & user acquisition

SayGames and Core5 tested hundreds of marketing approaches. The team created over 1,500 unique ad creatives and more than 400 playable ad variations. In some cases, they even printed physical game cards and staged live-action shoots with actors.

“As a publisher, we take a deep and strategic look at the market and bring hypotheses into our shared discussions,” comments SayGames founder and CEO Yegor Vaikhanski. “We love experimenting together with the product team - especially when we’re exploring unconventional ideas which help the game stand out.”

“This structured, iterative approach allowed us to identify the right audience and craft effective messaging. After several rounds of testing, Black Deck found its segment and started to grow steadily. And the experimentation hasn’t stopped - creative fatigue is real, so constant testing remains essential.”

Core5 co-founder Artsiom Hlushchenia adds: "Some of our best-performing creatives even made it into the game’s onboarding flow, helping players feel instantly connected to what drew them in."

Long-term development & partnership

Throughout the soft launch and global release of Black Deck, the studio and publisher teams worked as one. SayGames actively participated in discussions around updates, the game economy, and new features. 

This two-way collaboration proved highly productive: the publisher and the developer together developed a fresh market perspective and strategic insight, enabling the developer to deliver fast implementation and creative solutions. This partnership helped the game build strong post-launch momentum, leading to consistent and ongoing growth.

The founders and producers at SayGames weren’t just involved in building Black Deck htey played extensibely themselves, which helped 

Publisher leadership played extensively themselves, which helped with design and balancing issues quickly they regularly took part in events and guild activities, and even spent real money. They deeply understood and felt the game as players, which added a meaningful layer to the partnership.

Numbers that speak for themselves

• Total installs: 6.8 million

• Total revenue: $30 million

• Second purchase conversion rate: Over 60%

• Battle pass contribution: 21% of total revenue

• Growth fund feature impact: +10% total revenue

• Subscription share: Doubled to reach 5% of revenue

What’s next?

Pavel Lando shares what’s ahead: "Right now, our mission is to reach Black Deck’s full potential. We don’t think we’ve hit it yet. Yes, we’ve done a lot and the product is strong, but in terms of features and content, we’re still catching up with the genre’s biggest hits. We’ve got a solid, thoughtful roadmap for the next year - we know what we need to do and where we’re headed."