two & a half gamers – 8+ billion installs x Azur Games Review live: Launching hypercasual with long ROAS
This is no BS gaming podcast 2.5 gamers – 8+ billion installs x Azur Games Review live: Launching hypercasual with long ROAS.
Sharing actionable insights, dropping knowledge from our day-to-day User Acquisition, Game Design, and Ad monetization jobs. We are definitely not discussing the latest industry news, but having so much fun! Let’s not forget this is a 4 am conference discussion vibe, so let’s not take it too seriously.
The Team:
Jakub Remiar- Game design consultant
Felix Braberg – Ad monetization consultant
Matej Lančarič – User Acquisition & Creatives consultant
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Summary
In this episode, Felix and Jakub interview Sergey from Azur Games, one of the biggest publishers in the hyper casual market. They discuss Azur Games’ strategy, the state of the hyper casual market, and the future outlook. Sergey shares insights into Azur Games’ flexible publishing approach and their focus on long-term retention. They also discuss the concept of hybrid casual games and the importance of profitability and ROAS targets. The conversation concludes with a deep dive into Azur Games’ portfolio, including their successful titles and their latest game, Slime Castle. In this conversation, Sergey from Azure Games discusses the development and publishing process of mobile games. He talks about the evolution of their game Survivor IO and the inspiration they drew from other tower defense games. Sergey also mentions their efforts to work closely with Chinese and Korean game developers. The conversation then shifts to the topic of user acquisition and the creative process for advertising campaigns. Sergey emphasizes the importance of testing and iterating on creatives, as well as the use of AI in their development. They also discuss the size of Azure Games’ team and their approach to working with external developers. The conversation concludes with a discussion on monetization strategies and the evaluation of ad partners.
Takeaways
Azur Games is one of the biggest publishers in the hyper casual market, with a focus on long-term retention and flexible publishing deals.
The hyper casual market is facing challenges due to increased competition and decreasing eCPMs, but Azur Games remains optimistic about the potential of the genre.
Hybrid casual games, which combine ad revenue and in-app purchases, are a growing trend in the mobile gaming industry.
Azur Games’ portfolio includes a mix of hyper casual, mid-core, and casual titles, with Slime Castle being their current top revenue generator.
Azur Games emphasizes the importance of profitability and ROAS targets in their publishing strategy, while also being open to unique and innovative game concepts. The development of mobile games involves testing and iterating on ideas and drawing inspiration from other successful games.
Working closely with external developers, especially from China and Korea, can lead to successful partnerships and the acquisition of high-quality games.
The creative process for advertising campaigns involves testing and iterating on creatives, as well as using AI to improve performance.
Azure Games has a large team with multiple in-house studios and external partners, and they are constantly hiring and expanding.
Monetization strategies should be tailored to the specific game and its target audience, and skip-it features may not work well for all games.
Reaching out to publishers early in the development process can provide valuable feedback and potential support for iterations.
Keywords
hyper casual market, Azur Games, publishing strategy, hybrid casual games, long-term retention, profitability, ROAS targets, game portfolio, Slime Castle, mobile games, development, publishing, tower defense, Chinese developers, Korean developers, user acquisition, advertising, creatives, AI, team size, external developers, monetization, ad partners
Agenda:
00:00 Epic intro
08:04 The Challenges and Potential of the Hyper Casual Market
17:45 Azur Games’ Flexible Publishing Strategy
25:33 The Importance of Profitability and ROAS Targets
29:24 Deep Dive into Azur Games’ Portfolio: Slime Castle
34:21 The Evolution of Survivor IO and Drawing Inspiration
35:53 Working with Chinese and Korean Developers
39:02 The Creative Process and the Use of AI
41:44 User Acquisition and Advertising Channels
46:26 Evaluation of Ad Partners and Monetization Strategies
52:33 The Size and Structure of Azure Games’ Team
56:59 Working with External Developers
59:14 Reaching Out to Publishers Early in the Development Process
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