✨ Scaling Games as a Solo Dev
Solo dev sells >70K, Australian dev headed for Mars, rise of AAA games, and more!
Welcome to the 7th edition of The Kraken Weekly! 🎉
We started this newsletter initially to help folks in the product space stay on top of weekly happenings and trends without feeling overwhelmed. But moving forward we’ll be doing that for the gaming industry. In the last few months, we’ve shifted our focus to gaming at Segwise.ai and realized that a lot is happening in this space that translates well to other industries. So, stick around and see for yourself how this newsletter pans out!
In this week’s edition of The Kraken Weekly :
💵 Solo-dev parkour game sells over 70K within weeks
🤔 What’s funding like for game studios
🎯 AAA Chinese games taking over?
🚀 Can Royal Kingdom take over Royal Match?
🪨 Australian dev headed to Mars
1) How this solo-dev parkour game sold >70k in a few weeks! 🏃🏻♂️
GameDiscoverCo's latest newsletter highlights the incredible success of "Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game," developed by solo dev Michel Losch. Despite having only a year of game development experience, Michel created this $16 game using Unreal Engine 5, resulting in over 70,000 units sold within the first month on Steam. The game garnered over 1,000 "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews in its first week and has built a strong community with around 30,000 Discord members. The key to its success includes the unique focus on parkour, excellent visuals, and leveraging social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok for marketing. This story underscores the power of small, agile development teams and the potential for niche games to achieve significant success with the right strategies.
2) VC & mobile fundraising for mobile game studios 🤝
In the latest episode of Rise and Play, Charlotte Lavergne, co-founder of Supercosi Games, a mobile studio launched in 2020 that focuses on evergreen games, opens up about the early days of bootstrapping the company until they secured 2M€ in funding by 2022. She dives into the hurdles of raising seed and Series A funding through VCs in 2024, despite their strong financial performance. Charlotte outlines their strategic focus on evergreen games and the many iterations that eventually led to their hit title, Word Search Puzzle Challenge, in 2023. She also shares insights on scaling the game in 2024. This episode is a heartfelt look at the rollercoaster ride of being a game entrepreneur, offering solidarity to fellow founders facing similar challenges. Highlights include Charlotte’s transition from Gameloft to founding Supercosi, building the team, early prototypes, fundraising efforts, and valuable lessons learned along the way. Tune in for an inspiring testimonial about navigating the highs and lows of the gaming industry and striving to make the best of what you have.
3) Rise of AAA Chinese Games 👀
Chinese developers are entering the AAA game market with high-quality titles like Black Myth: Wukong, Phantom Blade Zero, and Infinity Nikki. Traditionally known for mobile and free-to-play games, companies like Tencent, NetEase, and miHoYo are now focusing on premium, single-player experiences for PC and consoles. This shift began with the success of Black Myth: Wukong's trailer and Genshin Impact's launch in 2020. Regulatory restrictions in China have pushed developers to concentrate on fewer, high-value games and expand internationally. Support from Sony and Microsoft, along with growing console adoption in China, is helping these developers capture global attention. If successful, this trend could reshape the global gaming landscape and challenge Western AAA developers.
4) Royal Kingdom: Will It Outgrow Its Big Brother’s Influence?
Dream Games, known for their hit Match-3 game Royal Match, faces the challenge of replicating this success with their new title, Royal Kingdom. Unlike King, which expanded its casual game portfolio, and Playrix, which focused on perfecting the Match-3 engine, Dream Games sticks to familiar mechanics while innovating within levels and the metagame. Royal Kingdom’s first soft launch phases revealed slower growth and lower revenue, prompting a strategic reset. Key changes include a new world expansion, bird’s-eye view kingdom restoration, streamlined economy, and dynamic special levels featuring new enemies like Golems. Despite these updates, the game still struggles to differentiate itself from Royal Match. For Royal Kingdom to stand out in the competitive Match-3 market, Dream Games must leverage its strengths and find a unique selling point to attract and retain players.
5) After Releasing 50 Games, This Australian Dev Headed to Mars
Australian developer Ian MacLarty has crafted over 50 unique, artsy games, but his latest, Mars First Logistics, is stealing the show. This chill physics puzzler, set on Mars, involves building vehicles to move awkward objects across the rocky landscape. Inspired by breaking boundaries in Red Dead Redemption 2, Ian’s game combines creativity and exploration. With backing from Outersloth, the indie fund by Among Us creators, Ian expanded his team and polished the game. Mars First Logistics is a hit in Early Access on Steam, praised for its engaging gameplay and strong community. It’s a testament to Ian's knack for blending art with game design.
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