Based in California, Unico has become a leader in the industry with their innovative trivia and puzzle games such as Who is?, Word Pearls: Word Games, and Brain Test. With over 40 titles under their belt, published in 26 different languages, and over 1.2 billion downloads on their five best performing titles, Unico knows how to make a game work.
They have always prided themselves on adapting to the wants and needs of their players and to what their own data is telling them, which is why they were surprised to see that their updates weren't impacting their KPIs as expected when they launched Who is? 2.
Sefer Atas, Studio Lead at Unico, said: "It was a tough time for our studio. We soft launched in the Philippines and India in March and updated based on that data but we didn't get good results following that."
Turning to a trusted partner
Having built their games in Unity, Unico was already familiar with the flexibility and tools offered by the engine. In addition to being made with Unity, Unico also uses Unity Ads for most games in their portfolio, and works closely with the Unity team to monetize their games and acquire new players.
The Unity team connected Unico with Unity's Game Design & Revenue Consultancy. The consultancy team is Unity’s in-house game design, monetization, and data analysis experts. They provide in-depth consultations that include playtesting games, gathering market data, and providing game design analysis in order to provide actionable recommendations to help studios reach their goals.
For Unico, they were interested in assistance analyzing how their game design strategy might impact player engagement. They also wanted to better understand how their KPIs compared to their peers, and further delve into their data to pinpoint exactly what to work on to improve their metrics.
Identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in the FTUE and late-game
Unity’s consultants got to work, comparing Who is? 2’s data to dozens of comparable games from the thousands in our database. They provided key findings and recommendations for Unico’s core loops, in-app purchases (IAP), first-time user experience (FTUE), and many other parts of the game.
For example, when playtesting Who is? 2, the consultancy team identified certain search and interact mechanics not being sufficiently explained, causing a churn risk for players unfamiliar with the genre. These insights were backed by data from Unity.
In this instance, the team checked Who is? 2’s performance against the benchmark for the number of sessions per user early in the game, identifying areas for improvement.
Moving past FTUE and into the late-game, the consultancy team highlighted the lack of a progression map and meaningful rewards to incentivize progress through later levels. Improvements in these areas would help keep players engaged during mid-game content and propel them towards the late-game.
Following up, the consultancy team led a workshop and Q&A session to develop a roadmap to get Who is? 2 back on track and review other elements of the audit. They offered suggestions on changing levels that had high rates of churn, design tweaks for a smoother FTUE, implementing a visual progression system so players could aspire to certain goals, and many more updates.
Atas highlighted how this consultation was incredibly beneficial in helping to understand their player experience and other areas they hadn’t considered before.
“The Game Design & Revenue Consultancy team not only conducted a thorough game analysis but also came up with concrete actionable items.”
Sharing the knowledge across other titles
The consultancy put together a list of recommendations with different priority levels so Unico had a solid action plan and knew what steps they could take to help Who is? 2 reach its potential.
These recommendations ranged from urgent things, like removing certain levels and changing design elements for clarity, to the ways they can change their store design and late-game content to encourage long-term engagement and retention.
The advice and feedback from Unity's consultants wasn't just limited to helping Who is? 2 as Unico started to apply the tips to their other titles.
Using the analysis given by the Game Design & Revenue Consultancy team, Unico updated their tutorials and worked on a significant revision of their monetization for a few of their other titles.
For example, by increasing the number of levels for certain sections and changing puzzle types that the team identified as a leading cause of player drop-offs, Unico was able to improve player retention for titles beyond Who is 2?.
Learn how the Unity team can level up your game
Contact your account manager today to learn how the Unity Game Design & Revenue Consultancy team can drive better results for your game, from monetization best practices to keeping players playing for the long-term.
