From nationwide calendar days to spiritual holidays, seasonal occasions are a good way for cell video games to seek out new and thrilling methods to drive participant engagement. With over 90% of the top-grossing 100 iOS cell video games utilizing seasonal occasions to spice up their revenues, nationwide holidays have turn into an important a part of LiveOps with gamers anticipating an inflow of latest content material as we strategy the vacation seasons.
Editor’s word: This weblog publish was initially revealed in February 2021. We’ve up to date the weblog publish with new seasonal occasion implementation examples and greatest practices for introducing seasonal occasions into your cell sport.
However is there extra to seasonal occasions than simply storefront adjustments, skins and icons, and reskins of previous occasions? On this publish, we’ll cowl all of that whereas additionally taking a look at greatest observe examples that may hopefully offer you concepts on what you may contemplate in your seasonal promotions.
The information and examples proven listed below are gathered from the GameRefinery service, which you’ll be able to entry right here. The examples we’ve included listed below are solely a small handful of the 1000’s of seasonal occasion implementation examples on the GameRefinery SaaS platform, so in case you’re curious about seeing extra examples, try the platform.
Not all seasonal occasions are created equal
It’s good to do not forget that whereas some occasions are vital to you, they might not be culturally related to all of your goal international locations. That is particularly the case within the US and China, the place Halloween and Christmas might be far more important to a US viewers than New 12 months for a Chinese language viewers.
Usually, essentially the most important seasonal occasions within the cell sport markets are New 12 months, Lunar New 12 months, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Nonetheless, a number of different smaller seasonal occasions present a wonderful alternative to offer gamers a content material replace, resembling St. Patrick’s Day and Cherry Blossom Season in Japan. The updates are often rolled out a few weeks prematurely of the precise dates.
Seasonal occasions in cell video games
Listed below are the important thing dates to pay attention to which might be usually celebrated by the cell video games market.
Relying on the demographic and style of your cell sport, you may additionally need to contemplate celebrating charity initiatives and wider consciousness days.
Brawl Stars, Offended Birds 2 and Sky: Youngsters of the Mild are simply among the cell video games with charity occasions which have raised cash by way of the sale of limited-time equipment. Many cell video games are concerned with the Taking part in for The Planet initiative, with studios elevating consciousness of environmental points by internet hosting occasions on main calendar dates resembling World Setting Day (fifth June).
Satisfaction, which celebrates equality and human rights, has additionally turn into a significant calendar date for a number of cell sport studios. Zoobaa, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Beatstar, Farmville, and Zynga Poker are all cell video games that celebrated Satisfaction in 2022 by way of seasonal occasions which concerned a UI refresh, limited-time characters and beauty gadgets, and plenty of cash raised for non-profits championing LGBTQ+ rights.
How cell video games implement seasonal content material by way of LiveOps
There are many methods to implement seasonal occasions into your cell sport, however they often fall into one of many following classes. It’s vital to keep in mind that the extra effort you set into your seasonal occasions, the extra rewarding they’ll be.
Easy UI adjustments to characterize a seasonal makeover
In case you don’t have the interior sources to launch a large content material replace, giving your UI a seasonal makeover is a straightforward and efficient method of getting within the vacation spirit, whether or not it’s a splash of holly and tinsel across the border of your essential menu or pumpkins and ghosts hiding within the background.
Occasion-related affords (e.g., Valentine’s Day skins within the store) + UI adjustments
After all, giving your UI a refresh isn’t going to do a lot in relation to bringing in income, which is why most builders give their beauty gadgets, resembling skins, a seasonal makeover too.
Restricted-time occasion skins should not solely a good way to spice up revenues, however they’re additionally a good way to construct retention and UA by encouraging gamers to play the sport for limited-time gadgets. Diablo Immortal’s first seasonal occasion was Halloween, and it was celebrated with the discharge of Halloween skins and armor units made out there by way of a particular occasion retailer.
New content material, occasion duties, rewards, skins and far more
Choice three is bringing the weather talked about above and wrapping them along with new content material, occasion duties, and rewards as a part of a complete seasonal content material replace. The extra adjustments you make to the sport, the extra monetization mechanics you’ve obtained to play with.
Content material updates may contain a brand new narrative mission tied to the occasion, or event-specific sport modes, minigames and challenges. The Chinese language battle royale sport, Sport for Peace (和平精英/PUBG Cell), up to date its essential map, UI and sport modes with seasonal adjustments themed round Chinese language New 12 months initially of 2022, whereas the Match3 puzzler, Anipop, added new sport mechanics as a part of an occasion celebrating the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Relying on the quantity of latest content material and beauty gadgets you’re introducing into the sport, it is perhaps price including a particular occasion foreign money that may solely be used to buy occasion gadgets through the occasion. This provides a brand new monetization channel into your sport and means gamers can work together with monetization parts resembling gachas figuring out they’re taking part in particularly for occasion rewards.
Seasonal occasion examples from high cell video games
Let’s have a look at how a few of these promotional options have been applied in among the hottest cell video games, and the influence they’ve had on obtain and income figures.
Offended Birds Journey – The ‘Easter Kiosk’ Easter Occasion
Offended Birds Journey used Easter to introduce its first seasonal occasion since launching initially of 2022. The Easter Kiosk occasion launched Easter-themed eggs into the maps, which gamers needed to accumulate and commerce in for particular limited-time occasion rewards. Buying all six of the Easter gadgets rewarded gamers with a limited-time Easter icon for his or her avatar.
Destiny/Grand Order: Valentine’s Day Occasion 2022
The Japanese RPG, Destiny/Grand Order, often obtained large with its seasonal occasions and final yr’s Valentine’s Day occasion was no totally different. Gamers accomplished occasion quests to progress by way of a brand new occasion story and accumulate Yojinbo factors to unlock rewards. Utilizing occasion characters (in a position to purchase by way of a number of Valentine’s Day gachas) within the occasion quests boosted the charges of occasion merchandise drops and Yojinbo factors – a good way to spice up engagement.
There was additionally a limited-time occasion store the place gamers might spend occasion gadgets to earn rewards. The Valentine’s Day occasion launched a particular event-limited characteristic known as Buddy Rank, the place gamers that participate in battles earn ‘buddy rating’ and enhance their ‘buddy rank. Characters have been assigned with event-specific expertise and leveling them up was linked to the Buddy rank system, including a seasonal twist to the sport’s conventional RPG mechanics.
Merge Mansion: Valentine’s Day Occasion 2022
It’s common for cell video games to reuse parts that have been used of their earlier seasonal occasions, which is what Merge Mansion did final yr for Valentine’s Day. Within the occasion, gamers might entry a separate merge grid the place their objective was to finish particular occasion duties.
Finishing these duties rewarded gamers with a particular occasion foreign money, which may very well be used to buy limited-time ornamental gadgets in a particular occasion store. Whereas the replace didn’t tread a lot new floor, it brought about an enormous spike in income, proving simply how vital seasonal occasion updates might be.
Sky: Youngsters of the Mild: Days of Bloom (Cherry Blossom Season occasion 2022)
Sky: Youngsters of the Mild (光·遇) has discovered large success in China regardless of being developed in California. As a result of its recognition within the East, Sky: Youngsters of the Mild hosts a variety of seasonal occasions catering for its hottest demographic, and whereas many affiliate cherry blossoms with Japan, the season can also be celebrated in China.
Days of Bloom ran from March 22–April 4 final yr and included quite a lot of petal-themed gadgets and scenic adjustments, together with particular day by day quests and loads of limited-time beauty skins and gadgets to buy. Seasonal occasions are an enormous income driver for the sport, as you’ll see from the graph under, and this cherry blossom replace brought about a big spike in day by day income.
Conflict of Clans: Halloween 2022 occasion
Halloween updates are very talked-about amongst cell video games and often run for a few weeks from the center of October. Conflict of Clans’ Halloween 2022 occasion is a superb instance of utilizing seasonal occasions to create new income alternatives whereas maintaining issues comparatively easy.
For final yr’s occasion, the sport saved issues pretty easy with limited-time Halloween-themed skins, models, and new challenges. Challenges have been Halloween-themed and incentivized using Halloween models as they’d particular completion necessities regarding using these characters.
You may be taught extra about 2022’s most profitable Halloween occasions in cell video games right here.
Distinctive examples of market-specific seasonal occasions
Christmas, New 12 months, Halloween and Easter are among the most generally celebrated seasonal occasions, however there are many extra market-specific seasonal occasions which might be price tapping into relying on the place your gamers are based mostly.
Our China and Japan market sport analysts have collected some examples of seasonal occasions that hopefully encourage new concepts to drive participant engagement in case your goal markets are in China or Japan.
Seasonal occasions to contemplate in China
Qixi Competition
The Qixi Competition, or “double seven,” because it’s celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, is the Chinese language equal of Valentine’s Day. A number of cell video games rejoice the occasion yearly, with Revelation On-line (天谕), Battle of Fishing (捕鱼大作战-欢乐真人千炮捕鱼游戏王者，柳岩推荐), Three Kingdoms Fantasy Land (三国志幻想大陆 – 国创加强版), and Shén wǔ 4 (神武4) all collaborating within the festivities in 2022.
Dragon Boat Competition
The Dragon Boat Competition, aka. “double 5,” is a conventional summer season competition celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, which is often in June. Traditions for the day embody large dragon boat paddling races organized on the rivers of nearly each village and metropolis, in addition to consuming a particular sort of steamed and stuffed dumpling product of sticky rice known as zongzi.
PUBG Cell, which is called 和平精英 “Sport for Peace” in China, included particular dragon hovercraft in its Dragon Boat Competition occasion, the place gamers might win sport merchandise and reward playing cards for the Chinese language eCommerce firm, JD.com.
Singles’ Day
Also referred to as ‘Double Eleven’ day is an unofficial vacation in China, identified for being the most important procuring day on this planet by client spending. Originating as a day to rejoice single folks, it has been closely commercialized by on-line retail firms resembling Alibaba, and it is usually extraordinarily frequent for cell video games in China to characteristic IAP occasions across the day.
Merge Go! (幻兽爱合成) had a Singles’ Day occasion with limited-time IAP bundle affords and a factors system the place passing sure IAP thresholds would earn the participant extra presents.
Seasonal occasions to contemplate in Japan
Listed below are among the in style seasonal occasions that usually pop up in Japan’s market’s video games.
Golden Week
Golden Week is per week celebrated in Japan from 29 April to early Could that encompasses 4 of Japan’s 15 nationwide holidays, and Hanami, which suggests “flower viewing” in Japanese, the standard customized of having fun with the fantastic thing about cherry blossoms.
Final yr, Umamusume Fairly Derby, Mission Sekai Colourful Stage feat. Hatsune Miku, State of Survival, and Guardian Tales all celebrated Golden Week with the addition of latest story content material and gadgets.
Japanese New 12 months (Shōgatsu)
In winter, Japan celebrates the Japanese New 12 months (Shōgatsu), an annual competition with its personal customs, and plenty of cell video games usually participate within the celebrations. Umamusume Fairly Derby’s (ウマ娘 プリティーダービー) New 12 months’s story occasion adopted the Umamusume as they tried to be taught karuta (a conventional Japanese card sport and a well-liked New 12 months’s pastime) and compete in a match, whereas The Seven Lethal Sins featured log-in bonuses.
Suggestions for introducing seasonal occasions into your cell sport
Introducing seasonally-themed occasions to your sport can ship important advantages, as seen in lots of titles throughout all genres. By implementing a mixture of options together with event-specific currencies, shops, seasonal gachas, distinctive sport modes, and collaborations, you’re opening up new monetization channels whereas additionally offering gamers with nice worth for cash due to new content material.
Listed below are some ideas that can assist you implement any seasonal occasions you’re planning easily:
Plan rigorously and roll your seasonal occasion out step by step
It’s vital to construct anticipation in your seasonal occasion. Be sure it’s nicely promoted by way of advertising and marketing channels resembling newsletters and social media platforms so gamers have an opportunity to obtain the sport and begin taking part in earlier than the large content material drop.
Take into account a phased strategy for the discharge of latest content material moderately than releasing every thing on day one. It will preserve your gamers revisiting the sport day by day, moderately than speeding by way of the expertise at launch.
Mix your gachas with seasonal occasions
Gachas are a terrific monetization mechanic and might be simply reskinned and customised to accompany seasonal occasions.
Run a collaboration/crossover occasion as a part of your seasonal occasion
In-game collaborations are a trending characteristic and it’s common for cell video games to collaborate with different video games and non-gaming manufacturers as a part of their LiveOps. In case you’ve obtained the funds, incorporating a widely known IP into your seasonal occasion plans may very well be a good way of boosting downloads and income.
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