Android Developer Story: Hutch improves player engagement with A/B testing on Google Play

Posted by Lily Sheringham, Google Play team

Hutch is a London based mobile studio focusing entirely on racing games, with
more than 10 million players on Google Play. For their latest game, MMX Hill
Climb, they used A/B testing and game analytics to improve the game design and
experience resulting in more than 48 mins daily active usage per user.

Watch Shaun Rutland, CEO, and Robin Scannell, Games Analyst, explain how they
were able to deliver a more engaging user experience in this video.

Learn more
about A/B testing and get the href="http://g.co/play/playbook-androiddevblogposts-evergreen">Playbook for
Developers app to stay up-to-date on new features and learn best practices
that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.

Announcing Open Registration and Exhibitors for Google Play Indie Games Festival in San Francisco, Sept. 24

Posted by Jamil Moledina, Google Play, Games Strategic Lead

To celebrate the art of the latest innovative indie games, we�re hosting the
first href="https://events.withgoogle.com/google-play-indie-game-festival/">Google
Play Indie Games Festival in North America on September 24th in San
Francisco. At the festival, Android fans and gamers will have a unique
opportunity to play new and unreleased indie games from some
of the most innovative developers in the US and Canada, as well as vote for
their favorite ones.

href="https://events.withgoogle.com/google-play-indie-game-festival/registrations/new/">Registration
is now open and the event is free for everyone to enjoy.

We�re also excited to announce the games selected to exhibit and compete at the
event. From over 200 submissions, we carefully picked 30 games that promise the
most fun and engaging experiences to attendees. Fans will have a chance to play
a variety of indie games not yet available publicly.

Check out the full list of games selected href="https://events.withgoogle.com/google-play-indie-game-festival/exhibiting-games/">here
and below.

A Matter of Murder	Antihero (coming soon)	AR Zombie (coming soon)	Armajet (coming soon)	Armor Blitz (coming soon)
Bit Bit Blocks (coming soon)	1979 Revolution: Black Friday (coming soon)	Coffee Pot Terrarium (coming soon)	Crayola� Worlds for Tango (coming soon)	Dog Sled Saga (coming soon)
Endless Mine	Futurable 1. Summer City (coming soon)	Gunhouse (coming soon)	HoloGrid: Monster Battle (coming soon)	Hovercraft: Takedown
HOVR (coming soon)	Maruta 279 (coming soon)	Norman's Night In: The Cave (coming soon)	Numeris	Orbit - Playing with Gravity
Parallyzed	Psychic (coming soon)	Riptide GP: Renegade	Roofbot	Sand Stories (coming soon)
SmashWars VR: Drone Racing	ThreeSwipes	Rainmaker: Ultimate Trading	Zombie Rollerz (coming soon)	Coming soon

Fans will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite games at the
festival, along with an authoritative panel of judges from Google Play and the
game industry. They include:

• Ron Carmel, Co-founder of Indie Fund; co-creator of World of Goo
  
• Hyunse Chang, Business Development Manager at Google Play
  
• Lina Chen, Co-founder & CEO of Nix Hydra
  
• David Edery, CEO of Spry Fox
  
• Maria Essig, Partner Manager, Indies at Google Play
  
• Noah Falstein, Chief Game Designer at Google
  
• Dan Fiden, Chief Strategy Officer of Funplus
  
• Emily Greer, CEO of Kongregate
  
• Alex Lee, Producer, Program Manager, Daydream & Project Tango at Google
  
• Jordan Maron, Gamer and independent YouTuber �CaptainSparklez�

We are also thrilled to announce that veteran game designer and professor
Richard Lemarchand will be the emcee for the event. He was lead designer at
Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog, and is now Associate Chair and Associate
Professor at the University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts,
Interactive Media and Games Division.

The winning developers will receive prizes, such Google Cloud credits, NVIDIA
SHIELD Android TVs and K1 tablets, Razer Forge TV bundles, and more, to
recognize their efforts.

Join us for an exciting opportunity to connect with fellow game fans, get
inspired, and celebrate the art of indie games. Learn more about the event on
the href="https://events.withgoogle.com/google-play-indie-game-festival/about/">event
website.

Taking the final wrapper off of Android 7.0 Nougat

Posted by Dave Burke, VP of Engineering

Android 7.0 Nougat

Today, Android 7.0 Nougat will begin rolling out to users, starting with Nexus
devices. At the same time, we�re pushing the Android 7.0 source code to the
Android Open Source Project (AOSP), extending public availability of this new
version of Android to the broader ecosystem.

We�ve been working together with
you over the past several months to get your feedback on this release, and also
to make sure your apps are ready for the users who will run them on Nougat
devices.

What�s inside Nougat

Android Nougat reflects input from thousands of fans and developers like you,
all around the world. There are over 250 major features in Android Nougat,
including VR Mode in
Android. We�ve worked at all levels of the Android stack in
Nougat — from how the operating system reads sensor data to how it sends pixels to
the display — to make it especially built to provide high quality mobile VR
experiences.

Plus, Nougat brings a number of new features to help make Android
more powerful, more productive and more secure. It introduces a brand new
href="https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/android-7.0.html?utm_campaign=android_launch_android7.0nougat_082216&utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog#jit_aot?utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">JIT/AOT
compiler to improve software performance, make app installs faster,
and take up less storage. It also adds platform support for href="https://developer.android.com/ndk/guides/graphics/index.html?utm_campaign=android_launch_android7.0nougat_082216&utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">Vulkan,
a low-overhead, cross-platform API for high-performance, 3D graphics. href="http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/multi-window.html?utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">Multi-Window
support lets users run two apps at the same time, and href="http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/notifiers/notifications.html?utm_campaign=android_launch_android7.0nougat_082216&utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog#direct?utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">Direct
Reply so users can reply directly to notifications without having
to open the app. As always, Android is built with powerful layers of security
and encryption to keep your private data private, so Nougat brings new features
like File-based encryption, seamless updates, and href="https://developer.android.com/training/articles/direct-boot.html?utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">Direct
Boot.

You can find all of the href="https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/index.html?utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">Nougat
developer resources here, including details on behavior changes and new
features you can use in your apps. An overview of what's new for developers is
available href="https://developer.android.com/about/versions/nougat/android-7.0.html?utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">here, and
you can explore all of the new user features in Nougat href="https://www.android.com/versions/nougat-7-0/">here.

Multi-window mode in Android Nougat

The next wave of users

Starting today and rolling out over the next several weeks, the Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player,
Pixel C, and General Mobile 4G (Android One) will get an over-the-air software
update to Android 7.0 Nougat. Devices enrolled in the href="https://www.google.com/android/beta">Android Beta Program will also
receive this final version.

And there are many tasty devices coming from our partners running Android Nougat, including the upcoming href="http://www.lgnewsroom.com/2016/08/new-lg-v20-to-be-worlds-first-phone-to-launch-with-android-7-0-nougat/">LG
V20, which will be the first new smartphone that ships with Android Nougat, right out of the box.

With all of these new devices beginning to run Nougat, now is the time to
publish your app updates to Google Play. We recommend compiling against, and
ideally targeting, API 24. If you�re still testing some last minute changes, a
great strategy to do this is using href="https://developer.android.com/distribute/engage/beta.html?utm_campaign=android_launch_npreview_061516&utm_source=anddev&utm_medium=blog">Google
Play�s beta testing feature to get early feedback from a small group of
users — including those using Android 7.0 Nougat — and then doing a staged
rollout as you release the updated app to all users.

What�s next for Nougat?

We�re moving Nougat into a new regular maintenance schedule over the coming
quarters. In fact, we�ve already started work on the first Nougat maintenance
release, that will bring continued refinements and polish, and we�re planning to
bring that to you this fall as a developer preview. Stay tuned!

We�ll be closing open bugs logged against Developer Preview builds soon, but
please keep the feedback coming! If you still see an issue that you filed in the
preview tracker, just href="https://source.android.com/source/report-bugs.html">file a new issue
against Android 7.0 in the AOSP issue tracker.

Thanks for being part of the preview, which we shared earlier this year with href="https://medium.com/google-developers/n-as-in-so-early-it-s-not-named-yet-f06bbde8c390#.uqdm4w8hi">an
eye towards giving everyone the opportunity to make the next release of
Android stronger. Your continued feedback has been extremely beneficial in
shaping this final release, not just for users, but for the entire Android
ecosystem.

New features for reviews and experiments in Google Play Developer Console app

Posted by Kobi Glick, Google Play team

With over one million apps published through the Google Play Developer Console,
we know how important it is to publish with confidence, acquire users, learn
about them, and manage your business. Whether reacting to a critical performance
issue or responding to a negative review, checking on your apps when and where
you need to is invaluable.

The href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.playconsole&hl=en">Google
Play Developer Console app, launched in May, has already helped thousands of
developers stay informed of crucial business updates on the go.

We�re excited to tell you about new features, available today:

Receive notifications about new reviews

Use filters to find the reviews you want

Review and apply store listing experiment results

Increase the percent of a staged rollout or halt a bad staged
rollout

Download the href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.playconsole">Developer
Console app on Google Play and stay on top of your apps and games, wherever
you are! Also, get the Playbook for Developers app to stay up-to-date with more features and best practices that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.

Android Developer Story: Hole19 improves user retention with Android Wear

Posted by Lily Sheringham, Google Play team

Based in Lisbon, Portugal, href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hole19golf.hole19.beta&hl=en_GB&e=-EnableAppDetailsPageRedesign">Hole19
is a golfing app which assists golfers before, during, and after their golfing
journey with GPS and a digital scorecard. The app connects the golfing community
with shared statistics for performance and golf courses, and now has close to 1
million users across all platforms.

Watch Anthony Douglas, Founder & CEO, and F�bio Carballo, Head Android Developer, explain how Hole19 doubled its number of Android Wear users in 6 months, and improved user engagement and retention on the platform. Also, hear how they are using APIs and the latest Wear 2.0 features to connect users to their golfing data and improve the user experience.

Learn
more how to get started with Android Wear and href="http://g.co/play/playbook-androiddevblogposts-evergreen">get the Playbook
for Developers app to stay up-to-date with more features and best practices
that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.

Expand Your Global Reach on Google Play With New Language and Country Analytics

Posted by Rahim Nathwani Product Manager, App Translation Service

With users in 190 countries around the world, Google Play offers you a truly
global audience for your apps and games. Localization is one of the most
powerful ways to connect with people in different places, which is why we
launched translation support for in-app purchase and Universal App Campaigns
earlier this year. With over 30 language translation options available via the
Developer Console, we updated our app translation service to help you select the
most relevant languages, making it quick and easy to get started.

With the launch of new language and country analytics, you gain access to app
install analysis on Google Play, including:

• Information on the top languages and countries where apps have been
  installed, broken down to the level of your app�s category
  
• The percentage of installs that come from users of those languages
  
• Further information to help inform your go-to-market plans for these
  countries

To make ordering translations easier, we show language bundles that you can add
to your order in a single click.

To get started, select Manage translations -> Purchase
translations from the Store Listing page in the href="https://play.google.com/apps/publish/">Google Play Developer Console.

5 Tips to help you improve game-as-a-service monetization

Posted by Moonlit Wang, Partner Development Manager at Google Play
Games, & Tammy Levy, Director of Product for Mobile at href="http://developers.kongregate.com/">Kongregate

In today�s world of game-as-a-service on mobile, the lifetime value of a player
is a lot more complex, where revenue is now the sum of many micro transactions
instead of a single purchase with traditional console games.

Of course you don�t need a sophisticated statistical model to understand that
the more time a player invests in your game, and the more money they spend, the
greater their LTV. But how can you design and improve monetization as a mobile
game developer? Here are 5 tips to help you improve game-as-a-service
monetization, with best practice examples from mobile games publisher, href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7580247376460930437&hl=en_GB">Kongregate:

1. Track player behavior metrics that have a strong and positive correlation with LTV

D1, D7, D30 retention indicates how well a casual player
can be converted into a committed fan.


Session length and frequency measures user engagement and
how fun your game is.


Completion rate at important milestones can measure and
pinpoint churn.


Buyer and repeated buyer conversion, represents your most
valuable user segment.

2. Optimize for long-term engagement and delight your best players

Retention is the first metric that can distinguish great games from mediocre
ones. Games with higher retention rates throughout the user� lifecycle, monetize
better consistently. Retention is king, and more importantly, long-term
retention should be prioritized. Therefore, when designing your game,
aim to create a sophisticated and engaging experience to delight your most
committed fans.

[This chart shows the retention of top games / apps over time]

When considering long term retention, focus on achieving a strong D30, but
also look beyond the first 30 days. Measure long term retention
by assessing the following rates: D30 to D60, D30 to D90, and D30 to D180. The
higher the rate, the stickier your game is in the long term, which will increase
your LTV.


Players are willing to pay a fixed amount of money per hour of �fun�, so
think about updates when designing your game, to make
the content rich and fun for those who will play at very high levels and
spend the most time within your game, don�t gate your players or hinder
their in-game progression.


Use the href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2016/01/new-features-to-better-understand.html">Google
Play Games Services - Funnel Report to help you track different
milestone completion rates in your games, so you can identify drop off points
and reduce churn

.

3. Increase buyer conversion through targeted offers

First-time buyer conversion is the most important as player churn rate
drops significantly after the first purchase, but stays relatively flat
regardless of the amount spent. Also, past purchase behavior is the best
predictor of future purchases. Find your first-time and repeated buyer
conversion rate directly in the href="https://developer.android.com/distribute/users/user-acquisition.html">Developer
Console.

Use A/B testing to find the price that will maximize your total
revenue. Different people have different willingness to pay for
a given product and the tradeoff between price and quantity is
different for different products, so don�t decrease prices blindly.


Tailor your in-game experience as well as in-app purchase offers
based on the player�s predicted probability to spend using the href="https://developers.google.com/games/services/android/stats">Player Stats
API,
which predicts players churn and spend.

For example, in href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Kongregate&hl=en_GB&e=-EnableAppDetailsPageRedesign">Kongregate�s
game href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kongregate.mobile.spellstone.google&hl=en_GB">Spellstone,
testing two pricing points for a promotion called Shard Bot, which provides
players with a daily �drip� of Shards (the premium currency) for 30 days, showed
players had a much stronger preference for the higher priced
pack. The first pack, Shard Bot, priced at $4, granted players 5 daily
shards, and the second pack, the Super Shard Bot, was priced at $8 and granted
players 10 daily shards.

[Two week test results showing preference for the more expensive pack, which also generated more revenue]

Kongregate decided to keep the higher priced Super Shard Bot in the store,
although both packs resulted in very similar retention rates:

4. As well as what monetization features to implement, take into consideration why, when and how to do so

Why: �Buyer intent� is most important. Any item with a
price tag should serve to enhance your players in-game experience. For
example, a new map, a new power, something exciting and additional to the free
experience. Don�t gate your players with a purchase-only item as happy users
means more time spent with your game, which will lead to higher
revenue. Educate users by gifting some free premium goods and currency during the tutorial, and let users experience the benefit first.

When: Time offers based on when users may need it.
If your IAP is to continue gameplay after timeout, then you should surface it
right when the timer ends. If your IAP is to offer premium equipment, then you
should surface it when users gear up their characters. The offer should be
contextually relevant, such that the content should cater to the player�s
current status and needs in-game.




In particular, Starter Packs or New Buyer Promos need to be well timed. Players
need to understand the value and importance of all the items before they are
shown the promotion. If surfaced too early, players will not feel compelled to
purchase. If surfaced too late, the offer will not be compelling enough. The
Starter Pack should appear within 3 to 5 sessions since install, depending on
your game. Additionally, limiting its availability to 3 to 5 days will urge
players to make a quicker purchase decision.

For example, href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kongregate.mobile.battlehand.google&hl=en&e=-EnableAppDetailsPageRedesign">BattleHand�s
starter pack is surfaced around the 4th session, it is available for 36hrs and
contains the following items to aid players in all areas of the game:

Powerful cards that have an immediate effect in battle


High rarity upgrade materials to upgrade your card deck


A generous amount of soft currency that can be used in all areas of the game


A generous amount of hard currency so players can purchase premium store
items


Rare upgrade materials for Heroes

[Example starter pack offer in Battle Hands]

Thanks to the strength of the promotion over 50% of players choose the Starter Pack instead of the regular gems offerings:

How: There are many ways you can implement premium content and goods in your game, such as power-ups, characters, equipment, maps, hints, chapters etc. The two most impactful monetization designs are:

Gacha - There are many ways to design, present and balance gacha but the key is to have randomized rewards, which allows you to sell extremely powerful items that players want without having to charge really high prices per purchase.

[Example of randomized rewards in Raid Brigade�s boxes]

LiveOps - Limited time content on a regular cadence will also create really compelling opportunities for the players to both engage further with the game and invest in the game. For instance, Adventure Capitalist has been releasing regular limited themed time events with their spin on the permanent content, their own progression, achievements and IAP promotions.

[Example timed event for Adventure Capitalist]

Through this initiative, the game has seen regular increases in both engagement and revenue during event times without affecting the non-event periods:

[Timed events drastically increase engagement and revenue without lowering the baseline average over time]

5. Take into account local prices and pricing models

Just like different people have different willingness-to-pay, different markets have different purchasing powers.

• Test what price points make sense for local consumers in each major market.
  Don�t just apply an umbrella discount, find the price points that maximize total
  revenue.
  
• Consider charm pricing but remember it doesn�t work everywhere.
  For example, in the United States, prices always end in $x.99, but
  that�s not the case in Japan and Korea, where rounded numbers are used. Pricing
  in accordance to the local norm signals to the customers that you care and
  designed the game with them in mind. The Google Developer Console now
  automatically applies href="https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6334373?hl=en&ref_topic=6075663">local
  pricing conventions of each currency for you.

href="http://android-developers.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/android-developer-story-vietnamese.html">Check
out the Android Developer Story from games developer, Divmob, who improved
their game�s monetization threefold simply by adopting sub-dollar pricing
strategies. Also, href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Google_Inc_The_Building_for_Billions_Playbook_for?id=cJEjDAAAQBAJ&e=-EnableAppDetailsPageRedesign">learn
more best practices about building for billions to get more tips on
monetization.

href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.secrets">Get
the Playbook for Developers app and stay up-to-date with more features and
best practices that will help you grow a successful business on Google Play.