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Speaker Spotlight: Rafael Vivas on the potential of implementing digital marketplaces

Pocket Gamer Connects London is coming 23-24 January 2023. Time to meet some of the leading industry names that will be on stage at the event.

Speaker Spotlight: Rafael Vivas on the potential of implementing digital marketplaces

The leading games industry conference is almost here. Pocket Gamer Connects London is now just one week away and what a line up of speakers we’ve got in store for you.

On January 23rd and 24th Pocket Gamer Connects hits home soil, returning to London for two days of insight sharing, and contact making interspersed with our world famous thought-provoking panels, seminars, keynotes and more.

There's limitless networking opportunities and our expert sessions are your chance to get up close and meet some of the biggest names in mobile games in what will be our biggest and best PG Connects London yet!

In the build up to the conference – and to give you a sneak preview of what to expect – we are spotlighting some of the authorities in the games industry that will be sharing their wisdom, today we speak to Rafael Vivas, general manager of new initiatives at AppLovin.

Vivas founded his first profitable company at the age of fourteen, and was one of AppLovin’s first hires, holding several roles bringing developers to the platform and helping them maximise revenue with the company’s industry-leading solutions.

Vivas will be speaking about the monetisation potential of integrating digital marketplaces into mobile games, and how app developers can benefit from creating in-app economies.

Be sure to join us at PG Connects London on January 23rd to 24th 2023 to find out more!

Pocket Gamer.biz: Where are the next big opportunities in the mobile games market?

Rafael Vivas: The mobile games market is constantly evolving, so new opportunities are plentiful. However, monetisation through digital marketplaces is the next big opportunity. With it, app developers can open up a whole new stream of revenue and unlock additional budget for UA, and grow their business.

Looking at recent years, mobile game developers that invested in new innovative monetisation methods early are the ones who gained advantages in the market. The same applies here - those who invest early will gain an advantage over their peers.

What is the single biggest challenge facing the mobile games industry today?

Standing out from the crowd is one of the toughest challenges today, though it has been that way for a while. The mobile game market is highly saturated and there is no room for complacency. Almost 80% of users will uninstall an app the day after they install it. That doesn’t give you a lot of time to win over users.

Developers and publishers must not only attract new users but also consistently look for new ways to excite and retain the users they have. This is achievable, of course, but only for app teams that act quickly and keep up with the fast-changing industry.

What key trend should we be paying attention to in the next 12 months?

Digital marketplaces are widely accepted amongst gamers around the world, and billions of digital items are transacted through them annually already.

We believe that NFTs are an evolution of digital ownership, presenting a new opportunity for users to re-sell their earned or purchased digital items and drive incremental revenue for developers. Previously, if you wanted to see whether a user truly owned an item, you had to log into that game and interact with that user inside of it. Now, with NFT technology, you can easily identify someone’s digital ownership of assets on a public ledger, and exchange that ownership with ease. Digital marketplace monetisation should be at the forefront of developers' minds when aiming to keep users engaged with new creative games.

What do you enjoy most about working in the mobile games industry?

Perhaps that it’s an ever-evolving landscape – one that is definitely not short of challenges. We always have to adapt, but what’s exciting is that with adaptation come new opportunities to shake up the status quo. The industry is blooming, and it’s always an ecosystem of innovation, which keeps me on my toes and helps to drive my team and the company forward.

Can people get in touch with you at the event? What sort of people would you like to connect with?

Of course! It would be great to connect with game publishers and developers, and others in the industry. Feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn or catch me on the ground at PGC London!

 

Find out more about Pocket Gamer Connects London and get your tickets right here!


Staff Writer

Lewis Rees is a journalist, author, and escape room enthusiast based in South Wales. He got his degree in Film and Video from the University of Glamorgan. He's been a gamer all his life.