Uprising is down, Vivendi's making moves, and three things F2P devs need to do with deep data
It was something of a quizzical week last week, with our most popular articles asking and answering some important questions.
Chief among them was what free-to-play developers should be doing with their deep data, which DeltaDNA was more than happy to provide three top tips for.
Jon Jordan furrowed his brow for our second and third most popular stories, wondering whether Vivendi's unsolicited purchasing of shares in both Ubisoft and Gameloft could lead to a merger, and asking why the interesting action-RPG Star Wars: Uprising is steadily falling down the app store rankings.
Elsewhere, Matt Suckley once more took up his role as IAP Inspector, and gave Next Game's The Walking Dead: No Man's Land a thorough looking over to see how its monetisation held up.
And finally, there's opportunities for those interested in joining a development team in the heartland of mobile gaming, as Finnish company Fragment Productions posted three job listings.
Click through and see what you think.
#5: Fragment Production hiring for 3 open positions at its Tampere HQ
More Info
Fragment Production hiring for 3 open positions at its Tampere HQ »If you're looking to work on mobile games in the heart of Finland, arguably the heartland of mobile gaming, then you might want to check out the three jobs Fragment Production is currently hiring for.
The small team from Tampere are looking for a game programmer, IT administrator, and a lead artist to join them.
According to the job listing, "We push for [the] best result with every cell in our body and we believe that success comes through passion and hard work."
#4: Risen again: the monetisation of The Walking Dead: No Man's Land
More Info
Risen again: the monetisation of The Walking Dead: No Man's Land »Arriving only a month after comic book tie-in The Walking Dead: Road To Survival, The Walking Dead: No Man's Land instead takes its inspiration from AMC's TV adaptation of the series and takes the form of a base-building strategy game.
It's a genre well-suited to the free-to-play mobile game, and developer Next Games clearly knew this, having implemented a monetisation system that our IAP Inspector Matt Suckley calls "neither bad nor good, but simply what you'd expect."
"It's what you'd use as an example if you were explaining free-to-play games to somebody who'd never played one before," he says.
#3: Where's the Up gone from Star Wars: Uprising's grossing performance?
More Info
Where's the Up gone from Star Wars: Uprising's grossing performance? »There's a plethora of Star Wars titles out there on the market, but Uprising piqued our interest with its action-RPG approach. Even our IAP Inspector Matt Suckley, who has never seen a Star Wars film, found himself suitably impressed by it.
But our feelings don't appear to have matched those of the general public, as despite a relatively strong start for the game, it's starting to fall out of the top 100 across both iOS and Android stores around the world.
There's still time for the game to pick up, what with The Force Awakens being just around the corner, but for now things aren't looking hopeful for Star Wars: Uprising.
#2: Is Vivendi's move the first step in a Ubisoft-Gameloft merger?
More Info
Is Vivendi's move the first step in a Ubisoft-Gameloft merger? »Vivendi made a significant move on both Ubisoft and Gameloft, spending €140 million buying 7.4 million Ubisoft shares and €19.7 million buying 5.2 Gameloft shares. It makes Vivendi the fourth largest shareholder in Gameloft, and sees it with a 6.6% shareholding in Ubisoft.
It's a move that both Ubisoft and Gameloft have called "unsolicited", having released statements saying they will remain independent. But a merger between the two has been suggested at for a while, and Jon Jordan wonders if one is now more likely.
It might be a tough sell - Ubisoft and Gameloft are both operated and partly owned by members of the Guillemot family, and the companies have wildly different cultures, but with the backing of Vivendi it might not be such a wild idea.
#1: 3 things all F2P game developers should be doing with deep data
More Info
3 things all F2P game developers should be doing with deep data »According to DeltaDNA, the top 20% of games have a payer fraction of more than 4%, while the lowest have less than 0.5%.
And with tens of thousands of games launching on app stores every month, it's becoming even harder to hold onto that small percentage of paying users.
For that reason, developers are starting to look more at deep data, the minor statistics like number of kills and potions used, to help expand their game and differentiate it from other, similar games.
DeltaDNA offers up three areas that analysing deep data can address, as well as tips on how to do so, including looking at when users stop playing the game, and how you can segment users to identify and cater to their behaviours.