Last Thursday, immediately after the release, the Mushroom Wars 2 game from the St. Petersburg team Zillion Whales received a world feature. We talked with the authors of the game about the project, the indicators of previous titles, as well as what Apple’s promotion gave.
To the questions App2Top.ru answered Andrey Korotkov, producer of Mushroom Wars 2.
Hi! Congratulations on the release of Mushroom Wars 2. Before we start talking about the second part, I want to focus a little on the history of the franchise itself. Could you tell me how and when it all started?
Andrey Korotkov
Hi, thank you, this is a very long—awaited release for us!
The game was originally developed by Creat Studio and was first released in 2009 on PlayStation 3. Mushroom Wars was recognized worldwide: IGN named it one of the Top 25 PlayStation Network games of all time, it took 18th place in the Top 25 PSN Exclusives, was especially noted by Gamasutra in the list of the most downloaded games for consoles.
In 2013, we at Zillion Whales took the game and carefully ported it to iOS and Android, where the “Mushroom War” quickly won the hearts of “touchscreen players”. At that time, the game was premium, as it was almost a direct port from the PS3. Later we released a mobile frituplay sequel: Mushroom Wars: Space!. The game has become the #1 strategy in 65 countries, has repeatedly received a feature from the editors of the App Store and Google Play.
Today, the Mushroom Wars series of games has gained more than 10 million installations worldwide. The newest game in the series, Mushroom Wars 2, received awards even before the release, becoming the Best Strategy Game on White Nights, Best in Show and the choice of the editors of Igromania at VK Fest. And just recently, an exclusive launch of the game on iOS and Apple TV took place.
After the project began to develop Zillion Whales, two mobile projects have already been released. Could you tell me what they have achieved. I have heard that their total earnings have crossed the mark of several million dollars. Is it true?
The total revenue of the series is more than $ 3 million, and we have high hopes for Mushroom Wars 2, which has yet to conquer platforms such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Can you share the metrics at the peak of the previous games in the series (hold/online/ARPU)?
We have more than 20% retention on the 14th day, there were several thousand online players at the peak at the same time (I can’t say for sure), and ARPU on the organic audience is about $ 0.80.
When exactly was the decision made to make a sequel and what tasks were set for the project?
We have been hatching the idea of continuing the game for a long time. To work on it, we even brought together the development teams of the original Mushroom Wars and the forces of developers-fans of the first game, who all together with burning eyes undertook to implement their ideas in Mushroom Wars 2. It was at the end of 2014. Then we immediately bet on honest competitive multiplayer (even before it became a trend).
In particular, on our pages you talked about how many metamorphoses the project went through at the development stage. What caused such selectivity, why did they decide not to start from the graphics of the first part?
In fact, we were still starting from the graphics of the first part, just looking for a new style. We understood that cute mushroom warriors are an important part of the “kawaii” game. But the new art was supposed to show the evolution of the game, make it even more colorful and modern.
To do this, we consulted with the team of artists of the first part, who also had a long way to find a suitable visual style. We even had a kind of competition among artists and freelancers who sent their sketches for Mushroom Wars 2. About this in pictures and details in our diaries. And I also put together a small retrospective on Pinterest about how our game developed visually.
The changes, of course, affected not only the external side. What and why did you change in the mechanics itself?
We have kept the basic mechanics of the game, it is quite unique, there was no need to break it somehow. But at the same time, it was necessary to make the game deeper and more relevant. We are looking closely at esports, including mobile, so we have adopted some things from modern MOBA games. For example, we decided to build the gameplay around the characters and their skills.
As a result, the multiplayer remained honest, the heroes introduced variability and an additional layer of depth, the ability to play with 2-on-2 teams, and entertainment, of course. We can safely say that there are no two identical online games.
You can tell us about the monetization of the project. As far as I understand, it is far from standard?
The game is available for free download, it has built-in purchases and subscriptions.
At first we planned to make the game first on the console and on Steam, so we made a classic premium with an episodic model. We planned to subsequently release Mushroom Wars 2: Forts!, in which we would make a modern fritupley (as it was with the original game and Mushroom Wars: Space!).
However, in the spring after the GDC, circumstances changed (an Apple fan of the game, who has Mushroom Wars – the only game on the phone in which more than 10,000 matches have been played, successfully looked at our stand), and the best solution for us was the initial release of the game on iOS and tvOS. In such a short time, it was impossible to make high-quality fritupley mechanics, and all the forces went into developing for a new platform. Therefore, we decided to try the innovation of iOS 10 – subscriptions. In general, since the project is of console quality, we decided not to underestimate the prices at the start.
As a result, after the release, we got a situation where on the one hand we got a bunch of stakes and, as a result, a 2.5 star rating in the App Store for “greed”, but at the same time a good financial flow. I would now describe the situation with the words from the lyrics of the song by Shnurov: “I cry and cry, cry and cry… I can’t do otherwise…”.
Reviews mostly say that the game is cool, but the developers are bastards. If you look at the rest of the games that have been featured this week, then such a story is not unusual on random organic traffic. In other things, I have no doubt that the situation will improve over time, and we will have at least 4.5 stars, like the previous games.
You have received a global feature in the App Store (a large banner in the game section, including in the UK, Germany and France). Domestic companies rarely receive such attention from Apple. Can you give advice to other developers on how to get a feature too?
We have received almost global feathering, and I hope that there will be more feathering in Asia. In addition, it was very nice that the game page received branding, and in the American store a very nice review from Apple editors.
As for the feathering, there is no silver bullet here. I think that we need to make an original product, not a clone that will look and play at the level of Western analogues, well, and go to representatives of platforms as soon as the game is not ashamed to show. They often go to conferences incognito, but at the same time they notice good projects. And there is no need to be afraid of bold ideas. Clash Royal is a great example here.
After that, there is a lot of work to be done in time to make the game on time and not to deceive the expectations of the platform, since the feature can break at any moment. If the quality of the product is not appropriate, the platform will not take risks. And of course, none of the platforms can ever guarantee anything 100%.
And the last question: are there any already first launch results that you can share?
We receive congratulations from all over the world, extremely flattering comments from fans of the first part of the game, haight from random players and hundreds of thousands of installations. At the peak, we had about 6 thousand online.
Literally the day before yesterday, we received a letter from Fox asking us to get permission to show the gameplay of the game in an episode of one of the series. Also the other day, we were praised by the person who came up with the hashtag #, Chris Messina, one of the top “hunters” on Product Hunt.
The game still has a long way to go, a lot needs to be improved, the next episodes need to be made, features added, new markets and platforms need to be entered. But we can definitely say that a worthy beginning to this path has been laid.
Good luck! And thanks for the interview!