Overview:
(*For those not familiar with the recent status of Immortal Wars, you can view the last article here)
After two years of development, we recently launched a solid Alpha version of our game–Immortal Wars. To date, 189 Alpies holders have requested and received early access, and the feedback in our Discord about the game has been positive. Furthermore, we’ve had the game in limited soft launch in a few countries since September 2023, and have been collecting relevant data and successfully optimizing to improve retention and engagement.
*(X-axis represents game builds, each additional blip is an improved build)
*(Y-axis represents percentage of players who finished the tutorial, .4 = 40%)
While the relevant basic metrics have been increasing steadily, they haven’t yet reached our target benchmarks based on industry standards, which are required to accurately measure game KPIs such as retention rate, which essentially inform of the game’s profit potential. And it’s crucial to positively gauge this profit potential to be able to attract additional investment for the game, or to believe that launching it will generate sufficient revenue to fuel growth. Otherwise, even when we launch it, it won’t reach anywhere near its revenue potential.
Furthermore, improvements to crash rate and bug fixes are required to improve the above metrics and overall player experience. For reference, the below are our targets, and the “current” figures were from 1 month ago.
Basic Metrics Benchmarking Goals
Tutorial completion rate: ≥ 80% (40% current)
Daily sessions per user: ≥ 3 (2.3 current)
Daily PvE encounters per user: ≥ 12 (6 current)
PvE encounters per session: ≥ 4 (2.5 current)
Play time: >8m (6m current)
There is no fundamental problem with the above current stats, as this process of “launch fast and iterate” to improve the metrics is a standard one in game development. The issue that we recently faced, however, is one of a lack of available funding to provide enough runway to reach the end of this process.
We had planned to reach the targets for the Basic Metrics by the end of January, 2024, which would have then given us the available data to be able to demonstrate to prospective investors that the game had sufficient profit potential. Unfortunately, as is often the case with software development, things don’t always go as planned, and it took longer than anticipated. Having said that, we had a backup plan in place.
Despite not yet reaching the goals of the basic metrics, and lacking sufficient data in final KPIs like retention rate, the Skybull Studio did an internal analysis of the game’s development progress, and still believes the game has the potential to be profitable if given more development time. The primary reason is due to the upwards progress of the basic metrics.
The core issue remains, as stated before, that we need to meet the basic metrics goals in order to judge KPIs like retention rate of 1D/7D/30D play, play time, and ultimately ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) once monetization is enhanced.
After those basic goals are reached, a somewhat clear picture should be become apparent of the game’s profit potential, which is required for proving to any prospective investors that the game is worth investing in. While at that point, we should be able to launch the game and start generating revenue, continued development will be required to efficiently do things like provide good-quality Live Services, new content, and add Web3 features. For these, investment will be required, or at least, the game should reach a higher standard so that it can generate revenue as launched, which would allow us to gradually invest in these additional developments.
Steps Forward
To reach this standard, Skybull estimated that the game would require another 4 months of development, and after analyzing the pros and cons, we Alpaca core team decided to fund this development extension from the Warchest. Specifically, from the accumulated monthly portion the Team is privy to allocate. The total allocation will be approximately $140k, which covers 4 months of game development and marketing tests starting from February. In exchange for this funding extension, ALPACA holders will receive 21.4% of the game’s future net profits from all channels. The reasons we have decided to greenlight this extension are the following:
- Given the state of the game and prior costs already invested in development, the terms of the deal are lucrative for ALPACA token holders
- Warchest funds have been accumulating without recently discovered channels of meaningful use
- This is a way to diversify profit channels for ALPACA holders beyond DeFi. If the game is successful, it can open new paths in GameFi
- Better aligns interests between ALPACA holders and Alpies holders
[Some Stats on the current Warchest]
- 8 Million total War Chest
- So far we have minted ~2.68 Million ALPACA for various items in the past. (33% used)
- Expecting to use ~700,000 ALPACA for this initiative over 4 months
- There will be~ 4.6 million left in Warchest after
We wanted to share this here so that ALPACA holders are aware of it, and to allow for any Q&A and discussion on this topic. Thank you all for your continued participation in this forum and your support.
