Summary
Highlights
The creator introduces his mobile game, Stick With It, a free-to-play rage platformer. He explains that the game uses rewarded video ads, where players choose to watch an ad for in-game benefits like an 'undo move' option, rather than forced advertisements, aiming for a better player experience.
In its initial three weeks, Stick With It garnered 150,000 downloads across iOS and Android, earning approximately $926. The revenue peaked at $100 daily on June 7th but steadily declined to $12 by June 26th, signaling a need for significant changes.
Following the revenue decline, the creator released the first major update. Despite jokingly claiming his games never have bugs, he spent an entire day fixing various issues that were making the game frustrating or unplayable for users.
A significant problem was the game's extreme difficulty, which deterred most players from finishing it. To address this, a 'normal mode' was introduced, offering a more forgiving aiming mechanism to make the game more accessible, alongside the existing 'impossible' and 'hard' modes.
Confusion about the checkpoint system was resolved by adding a map screen. This new feature clearly displays reached checkpoints and allows players to switch between different game modes, enhancing navigation and player understanding.
Responding to player feedback, new character skins were added, providing players with more incremental goals beyond just completing levels. An in-app purchase option was also introduced, allowing players to unlock all skins for a small fee.
The creator mentions that "Stick With It" is his ninth mobile game in six years, contrasting its relative success with his previous games, many of which had low downloads and made almost no money. This project benefited from promotional videos documenting its development.
The updates significantly improved the game's financial performance. After the Android update on June 27th and the iOS update on July 6th, daily revenue increased to about $90. The game's total earnings reached $2,400, with $150 from in-app purchases, before platform fees.
The game's Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) increased from 0.2-0.3 cents to about 1 cent after the update, indicating improved monetization. The Effective Cost Per Mille (eCPM) was $2.68, meaning the developer earned $2.68 for every 1000 ad impressions, with over 800,000 total impressions.