How to embrace the challenge of an everchanging

Transcription

1 How to embrace the challenge of an everchanging market as an opportunity Christian Kluckner Managing Director and Co-Founder Chimera Entertainment

2 Chimera Entertainment is an independent developer for digital entertainment software which focuses on mobile gaming and cross platform development. Currently close to 50 employees Latest and most successful game: Angry Birds Epic Released more than 20 games for PC, Mobile and Browser

3 How the games industry changed during the last 10 years Player behaviour Distribution channels & pricing Technology Platforms

4 Market changes: Player behaviour Singleplayer -> Multiplayer Offline -> Online Competitive environments Session length Casual & hardcore -> midcore

5 Market changes: Distribution channels & pricing Apple App Store: apps Average Game Price ios: 0,63$ Google Play Store: apps Average Game Price Google Play: 0,60$ Premium model is hard to sustain F2P responsible for majority of revenue

6 Market changes: Distribution channels & pricing Price tags: To generate a revenue of 2 million $ Average mobile game: 0,60$ the game needs to be sold times. Steam game on sale: 15$ the game needs to be sold times. AAA console game: 60$ the game needs to be sold times.

7 Market changes: Distribution channels & pricing Distribution Retail stores Digital download Steam, Uplay, GOG, etc. PSN/XBLA Browser Mobile Crowdfunding New concepts: Soft Launch Ad for Rewards Early Access

8 Market changes: Technology Shift from proprietary engines to licenced middleware like Unity3D & Unreal Engine Shift from simple and short 2D mobile games to high quality titles with immersive 3D graphics (AAA mobile) Introduced a new generation of consoles (Xbox One, PS4, Wii U) Current smartphones are more powerful than an average PC 10 years ago

9 Market changes: Technology One engine torule them all Browser Online client PC/Mac Client Console Mobile online cross platform games Mobile ios, Android, WP8

10 Market changes: Platforms How we dealt with the shift in platforms Chimera focused on PC Chimera focused on Browser Chimera focused on Mobile Founding and working on first PC title Debut Release: Windchaser Backend technology for Browser MMOs Transition to multi-project & multi-platform development Deal with Rovio Release of Angry Birds Epic PC Console Mobile Browser

11 How to deal with the current situation?

12 Current situation: know how to deal with it Today, just making a game and waiting to see what happens will not earn you any money. More relevant than ever before: Regional differences (Eastern/western market) Platforms & target audience (which game for what customer?) Market analysis & involvement from publishers Player behaviour analysis

13 Current situation: identify key changes Anticipate the changing market The easy one: next generation of consoles/devices The hard one: upcoming trends & popular genres The risky one: new technologies & hardware Define what you re aiming at Determine a USP or carve a niche for your company

14 Current situation: the Blizzard strategy The Blizzard strategy Pick a popular genre and do not take risks that come with innovation Polish, iterate, balance Build brands (became nearly impossible) Alternatives: Find a niche your game can fit into & generate a hype Try to aquire an IP/brand that fits your concept & vision Make 51 games until you hit it ( Rovio Strategy )

15 Current situation: flood of clones & brands Mobile market is fast-paced Big game brands or clones are dominating the market Steam and App Stores are flooded with games (every day hundreds of games are being released) AAA got incredibly expensive Reach & Visibility are key factors

16 Current situation: Summary Mobile = Reach PC = Steam Konsole = AAA

17 Current platforms: Summary IP AAA Niche Crowdfunding

18 How we did it:

19 Angry Birds Epic Why Angry Birds Epic was relevant: One of the most popular brands on mobile Transition to F2P for Rovio Target casual and core users (midcore RPG) Maintain and expand the brand (or it will die)

20 Resource management of an indepentent studio Assignment of Ressources/Projects Development Team Live Team Live Team Development Team

21 Christian Kluckner Managing Director and Co-Founder Chimera Entertainment Thank Questions? you!