At Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki 2018, Jam City VP Jeremy Horn explained how the company is looking to move from being “just” a casual publisher to becoming an entertainment juggernaut.
“We’re moving to a format where content is key," said Horn. “You can’t think of your products like isolated games, you need to think of them as like universes that you’re building.”
Because of that, Horn goes on to explain how Jam City now sees itself as more than just a games developer or publisher, preferring the term “true mobile entertainment company”.
Jam City is no longer interested in supporting a game solely as that - it wants to look at ways to branch its IP into other forms of media like books, movies, or television.
M for Mature
This need to expand comes as the market has begun to mature. Horn said the big players are holding firm at the top and upstarts need a lot of money or backing to compete.
Cost-per install has increased to $12 in the USA, and between $5 to $8 worldwide, while 80 per cent of top grossing games have sat there for over 18 months. It’s getting more expensive to dislodge a more stubborn market.
Horn also gave advice on retention statistics. He told free-to-play mobile developers that if they aren’t hitting 40 per cent on day one, 20 per cent by day seven and 10 per cent by day 30: “I would advise to potentially go back to soft launch".
You can watch the full talk below.
Jam City will be back at Pocket Gamer Connects London (January 21st to 22nd), with director of corporate development John Peterson set to give a talk at the show.
