We continue to summarize the results of 2021 together with top managers and experts of the gaming industry (and related ones). Next up is an interview with Vasily Sabirov, head of analytics at the Easybrain gaming company.
How did 2021 go for the company?
The main event that happened to us was the merger with Embracer Group at the beginning of the year. It is important that we have maintained independence in all solutions and continue to make the best mobile puzzles in the world.
People often ask, what has changed?
I answer sincerely: nothing has changed in the internal processes and structure of the company. And this is the best thing that could happen as a result of such a deal. But there was an opportunity to share expertise with other companies under the wing of Embracer. Win-win is a situation for all participants.
Important: the stunning growth of our indicators continues even after the merger, this can be seen in Embracer’s quarterly reports.
Most recently, we have overcome an important milestone of 1 billion installations!
Can you even imagine 1,000,000,000 installations in your head? It is also very difficult for me to visualize this number, so starting from a certain order of numbers, I already begin to think in the category of emotions.
A billion is undoubtedly cool. This is a great result, which is not even a sum, but the product of all the efforts that were put into it.
In 2021, we released the Number Match project (iOS, GP). He immediately began to show excellent metrics. If we talk about our portfolio, then Number Match is one of my favorite projects.
The game implements the principle of “easy to learn, hard to master”. It has a low entry threshold and a large depth. It is very easy to start playing it, you will also achieve your first successes quickly, and then, session by session, you will dive deeper into the game and understand new, deeper moves that will allow you to set new records.
What event or trend of 2021 do you consider central within our niche?
I specifically didn’t say anything about it in the answer to the first question to share in the second.
The main event for the mobile games market was the release of iOS 14.5. As soon as this release was not called, even the IDFA Apocalypse.
It’s too early to sum up all the changes that the new version of iOS has brought with it, but preliminary ones are possible. In short, the negative effect was lower than we expected. It was not easy to adapt to the new world, as well as to deal with SKAN and conversion value (at some moments there was too much uncertainty).
However, this case has taught me personally that if a) you are in a team of professionals, b) you act proactively and plan scenarios for future actions in advance, c) you keep a flexible mind and a cool head, then you can work effectively even after cardinal changes in the rules of the game.
And a little bit about the pandemic. 2020 passed under the sign of uncertainty from covid. In 2021, covid is still with us (and, according to my forecasts, will remain with us for a long time), but the uncertainty has almost receded. Waves of morbidity and associated lockdowns can already be predicted according to the law of large numbers, forecasts for changes in metrics can also be made more accurately now than a year earlier.
At the same time, I really hope that 2022 will not pass under the sign of omicron and the like. In general, I want covid to stop getting into such posts from next year.
What will be the stake in the development of the company in 2022?
I won’t surprise you: we will be true to ourselves. We will rely on strong expertise in product development, our own forecasting and modeling tools, advanced marketing analytics, data-driven approach, creativity and striving for excellence. It’s not just an approach anymore, it’s our DNA.
And, of course, we will continue to make mobile games in the genre of casual logic puzzles, which will be able to take leading places in their direction.