Improving the Performance of Free-to-Play Games

Episode #4 of the Mass Appeal podcast

Mass Appeal Podcast host Tommy Yannopoulos dives into the challenges of free-to-play (F2P) mobile games business with guest Matt Emery, Founder and Lead Product Manager of Turbine Games Consulting. With a wealth of experience spanning 15 years and over 100 games, Matt brings a uniquely broad and expert perspective to the table.

As the brain behind Turbine Games Consulting since 2016, Matt has been scrutinizing the topics of game monetization, KPI performance, and CPI optimization to help games make a profit. His company specializes in the art of split testing, refining their product recommendations to enhance game performance for a variety of clients.

What’s the Topic?

In this 39-minute episode, Matt shares his insights on:

• The high failure rate in F2P mobile games and the struggle to balance LTV with CPI
• Common pain points in F2P game development and how Turbine Games addresses these issues
• The secrets of designing effective split tests and measuring the success of in-game efforts
• The real impact of low-effort strategies like reskinning on game improvement
• Real-life success stories from his extensive consulting experience
• His outlook for the future of free-to-play mobile games in 2024

What to Listen Out for

• 3:00 Matt’s background
• 7:14 Mobile game survival rate and the development process
• 11:20 The birth of Turbine Games Consulting
• 15:49 Split testing to help games improve performance
• 21:48 When clients don’t have enough user volume for split tests
• 25:45 Even top-grossing companies miss low-hanging fruit
• 29:54 What initiatives create the greatest lift?
• 31:33 A 9× ROAS success story
• 36:00 Helping free-to-play games with pre-code product validation

Quote

“All problems are some sort of ‘Our LTV isn’t above our CPI’. If we could solve that problem, then nobody would need any help.”

– Matt Emery, Founder and Lead Product Manager at Turbine Games Consulting.