On October 1, Belka Games studio announced the launch of its first solitaire — Solitaire Cruise. The game began to earn rapidly even before the world release. Being in the softlonch, the game generated a million dollars. About the project and its first successes App2Top.ru I talked to the game team.
A little about the project
Solitaire Cruise is a classic solitaire with a complex meta: the project includes many additional modes and mechanics.
Among the key features of the game that catch the eye is the “cruise” setting. It also stands out for its realistic drawing for the genre. Most niche projects rely on a more cartoonish style.
The project got into softlonch in the spring (rolling out began with the USA, then the game got into other English-language stores). Since June, Solitaire Cruise has been growing rapidly in terms of box office figures. In September, the game, according to App Magic, while remaining within the pre-launch, collected $ 457 thousand. In total, the game has earned more than $1 million since March.
Interview
App2Top.ru : Why did Belka Games pay attention to the solitaire genre and decided to try it out?
Yuri KrasilnikovYuri Krasilnikov (VP of BD): Belka is actively growing and developing.
In particular, she is increasing her expertise in new genres for herself. The Solitaire Cruise released today is a great example of this.
Specifically for these purposes, a year ago we launched the RnD department. The task of the department is to look at new genres for us, to prototype mechanics, to test hypotheses. It was he who launched Solitaire Cruise.
The midcore project is next in line. So, as you can see, now Belka is not only about casual projects.
We choose the directions ourselves by analyzing trends and the market. At the same time, we try to bring something new to the gaming experience from seemingly familiar genres.
App2Top.ru :
From the outside, the genre of tapeworms does not seem very complicated (however, from the outside, a lot of things seem simple, which is why beginners often burn out, having plunged into a new niche for themselves). Tell me, what pitfalls did you encounter while working on Solitaire Cruise?
Evgeny GilmanovEvgeny Gilmanov (producer, Solitaire Cruise): There were three key challenges in the development of Solitaire Cruise.
First, the economics of the game, or rather, the approach chosen to it. Solitaire Cruise uses a single—currency system when you need one currency to (a) advance through the game, (b) when shopping, (c) to help at levels, it is (d) prizes in core gameplay and side events. The single-currency system and the dual-currency system differ greatly in approaches to balance, gaming experience and a bunch of other moments.
Secondly, a new cor for us. Something new is always not even a pitfall, it’s a new mountain river. We are good at making levels for match-3, counting the balance of the farm and expeditions. This time we had to figure out from scratch how we would approach level design, immediately make our own engine, work out the principles of the game, develop mechanics, take into account their influence on each other, and so on.
Thirdly, we came up with a separate internal challenge for ourselves: to make a new hit from inside the RnD department. We were striving for a quick search for ideas, quick development, quick bringing from 0 to 1, where 1 is such a level of engagement and playability that we are ready to immediately assemble a separate team for the project and start scaling it.
App2Top.ru : How long and by what forces was the project done?
Evgeny Gilmanov (producer, Solitaire Cruise): What we see in October 2020 is what we have essentially come to in six months of frequent and fast sprints.
Ivan LarionovIvan Larionov (PM, Solitaire Cruise): Solitaire Cruise is a product of two stages: the development of a prototype in the RnD department and a full—fledged softlonch by the operation and scale team.
We started developing Solitaire Cruise (at that time, of course, not yet a “Cruise”) at the end of 2019.
As Yura and Zhenya just told us, RnD is our internal laboratory of creative and very multifunctional guys who can test a number of hypotheses very quickly and efficiently in a few releases, from which the MVP of the future product is born. Here either the game comes in, or not.
This was the first stage. The guys made an MVP that determined the DNA of Solitaire Cruise. After the first indicators from the technical launch, when the game showed an encouraging result and demand in the market, it was decided to change the setting and find a different meta from analogues. This increased the chances of success, as well as added uniqueness.
Then, for 4 months, a team of 15 people tested new mechanics and user response to new features in rapid iterations (2 week sprints).
When we at Belka Games realized that the DNA of the product has been formed, and the metrics of the techlonch and the first softlonch satisfy us, we started the second stage of product development.
The last few releases of the game and preparations for the world launch have already been made by a new team, which was partly formed from the guys of the RnD team, partly by new employees of Belka Games, partly by guys from other Belka projects who believed in the project and were ready to switch from the already successful “Watchmaker” and “Funky”.
App2Top.ru :
The Softlonch of the game was held on March 20. The game began to perform strongly already in June. Now, at a low start, which is phenomenal, the game has already earned its first million dollars and entered the top 5 highest-grossing tapeworms in the world. In which regions did you test the project and what helped bring its metrics to very good indicators (according to App Magic, the game earns up to 4 bucks from each installation, the company refuses to comment on this metric, but notes that the ARPU of the game is very high)?
Evgeny Gilmanov (producer, Solitaire Cruise): Then I remembered our round table with Yura about softlonchi on WN, where my colleagues and I talked for an hour and a half on the topic of where to test, on whom, how much, and so on. This was just before the soft launch of the Cruise. Now we have much more experience, of course.
Answering the question. We tested in those regions where we plan the main scale and in which tapeworms have the main weight.
Regarding ARPU, which you mentioned in the question, this is not the only target metric, and, most importantly, it is not the first one that we focused on. The main thing for us is still playability, engagement and market fit. If there are these components, then monetization of the product is the second thing.
App2Top.ru Questioner: And let’s talk a little more about the market. Now there are two main players in the niche — GSN Games and Playtika. Both have a project in the genre (Solitaire TriPeaks and Solitaire Grand Harvest, respectively). One generates $10 million per month, the second — $7 million. What is the reason why, with such an attractive niche, there are so few strong products here?
Yuri Krasilnikov (VP of BD): It seems to me that this genre is insidious in terms of “screwing” meta.
There is a core solitaire, which seems to be familiar to everyone. At the same time, I want new mechanics here. And these mechanics should not scare away.
It is even more difficult with meta, where the setting plays a huge role, as well as the number of actions available to the player. The main thing here is not to overload, as some do.
To find a middle ground between a new experience for the player, while maintaining the fascination of the gameplay, it was possible so far only to the games you named. However, I’m sure our “Cruise” has every chance. Moreover, importantly, we are very good at marketing.
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