Welcome to our monthly news article, where we explore what has been happening within the world of User Acquisition, mobile apps & gaming.
Welcome iOS14.5, Goodbye IDFA
iOS 14.5 was finally released on Monday, April 26th. That came with a number of new consumer-facing features and brought about the end of an era for mobile advertising. For the user, the update brought new features including improved face recognition when wearing a mask (pretty handy given the times we live in), crowdsourced real-time data enhancing Apple Maps, the ability to change your default music player… and increased privacy protection – in the form of an explicit and rather alarming prompt for iOS users to opt-in of receiving targeted ads rather than untargeted ones. On the mobile marketing front, that means a gradual but inevitable loss of ability to attribute engagement and revenue to a specific traffic source (device, publisher, or even campaign). The predictably insignificant opt-in rate is going to disrupt the way mobile app businesses look to acquire users and achieve sustainable growth, as well as income expectations for apps that rely on ad-display revenue. Thinking positively, though, the dawn of the new age also presents opportunities for rethinking an industry, with the anticipation of change being an intriguing time for problem solvers and optimizers like us at Bubbleye…
ATT, SKAN, Conversion Value: How to React to iOS 14.5
The first conundrum which all mobile app and game publishers are facing due to the fallout from the IDFA deprecation is how to make the most sensible use of their SKAN postbacks through Conversion-Value. Different methods for different situations are explored in full detail through this recent blog post from our CEO Stefano Roncari – https://bubbleye.com/2021/04/09/att-skan-conversion-value-how-the-world-is-bracing-for-impact
Poland’s CD Projekt Seeking M&A Targets in Order to Become a Gaming Powerhouse
CD Projekt recently announced a strategic update stating their intention to find mergers & acquisitions to achieve their ambitions of becoming a top player in the gaming industry and one of the top three video game makers in the world. Since releasing Cyberpunk 2077, Projekt announced plans to transform the studio and their approach to the development of new products in order to start parallel production of high-budget AAA games in 2022. This should prove an interesting one to watch, with further developments of their plans likely to cause major ripples for the gaming industry as they compete to become a gaming powerhouse.
Korean Mobile Gaming Market Reaches $5Billion USD
Korean mobile game in-app purchase transactions reached a new quarterly record of $1.5 billion USD in Q1. The top revenue game in Q1 was NCSOFT’s ‘Paradise 2M’ which has already accumulated over $150 million USD in Korea over the past 5 months. The only other domestic game in the top five was ‘Miracle Sword’ from 4399. ‘Running Gingerbread Man: Kingdom’ is also on the top ten best-selling list on both iOS & Google Play and has been very popular with the female demographic.
Amazon Cancels MMO ‘Lord of The Rings’ in Latest Setback in Their Ambitions to Conquer Mobile Gaming
It was recently announced that Amazon has stopped production on its LOTR MMO, of which they have been co-developer & publisher since July 2019. The fallout is rumored to be due to a dispute between Amazon & Tencent, who purchased the previous development partner Leyou last December. It is a further blow in a turbulent foray into gaming from Amazon, as in January Bloomberg reported they have been spending almost half a billion dollars a year on game development but they are yet to make a splash or have an established title within the gaming vertical; 8 years after establishing Amazon Game Studios. However, one thing that has been seen embedded within the culture of Amazon throughout all their businesses, is that they are not afraid to throw money at an industry in order to get a seat at the table, and they have rarely failed. Despite their stuttering start, they are prepared to keep investing, which can be seen in their recent opening of a new studio in Montreal to focus on the development of multiplayer games. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reasons for their apparent struggle to establish themselves, but it isn’t for want of trying or lack of budget.
Keep an eye on Amazon Game Studios, whether they win or lose, the story is certainly intriguing.
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UA Events in June
E3 June 12th-15th (Online) – https://e3expo.com/
App Promotion Summit USA June 17th-24th (Online) https://apppromotionsummit.com/usa/
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If you would like to be featured or have any news that you think we should share, please let us know by emailing – marketing@bubbleye.com
