Insights from Gaming Product Management and Analytics

The world of gaming is dynamic and ever-evolving, with each passing day bringing new challenges, opportunities and competition. To shed light on the role of Product Managers (PMs) and the critical role of analytics within the gaming industry, I have compiled the information from the Webinar “PM and Analytics in the Gaming Industry” of Ex-Zynga Product Lead, Vikrant Agarwal, who shared his expertise in Gaming Analytics. In this short article I am aiming to help you out to understand key gaming analytics concepts.

The Role of a Gaming Product Manager: Strategy, Execution, Leadership

The core responsibilities of a Gaming Product Manager can be summerized under three pillars: Strategy, Execution, and Leadership.

PMs act as the strategic visionaries, mapping out the direction a game should take in alignment with market trends and user preferences. The execution phase involves turning these strategies into reality by collaborating with cross-functional teams, from designers to developers. Leadership comes into play as PMs guide their teams through challenges, make data-driven decisions, and foster an environment of innovation.

Distinguishing Between Roles in the Industry

Before we delve any further it is important to break down the distinctions between various roles in the gaming industry to provide a clearer understanding of each one’s contributions:

• Product Manager (PM): Responsible for strategy, execution, and leadership. Shapes the game’s direction and ensures its successful realization.
• Project Manager (Producer): Master of JIRA, handling day-to-day activities and project management. Works closely with PMs and maintains a symbiotic relationship.
• Program Manager: Oversee multiple projects and products, identifying needs and assigning teams to ensure seamless execution.
• Product Marketing Manager (PMM): Focuses on the marketing aspect, promoting the game to the target audience and driving user engagement.

Unveiling Game Success: AERM Framework and Strategic Excellence

What propels a game to success? How do we gauge that triumph?

The answers lie in unwrapping the user journey enfolded within the AERM — Acquisition, Engagement, Retention, and Monetization — framework. This framework underpins the design of victorious games and serves as the crux of strategic thinking for Gaming Product Managers (PMs). By grounding their efforts in these pivotal elements, PMs adeptly navigate the intricate waters of the gaming industry.

User Funnel for a Casual Game

Acquisition: The first stride in the AERM framework focuses on attracting new players to the game. This involves understanding the target audience, deploying effective marketing strategies, and creating seamless onboarding experiences. By drawing players strategically, PMs lay a strong foundation for lasting success.

Engagement: Once players are in the fold, engagement becomes paramount. Engaged players invest time and resources into the game. This involves crafting compelling gameplay, interactive features, and fostering a community that encourages player interaction and friendly competition.

Retention: Keeping players engaged is essential for success. Consistent updates, rewarding experiences, and responsiveness to player feedback contribute to retention. PMs create an environment where players want to return, fostering attachment and loyalty.

Monetization: In the dynamic world of gaming, monetization converts player engagement into revenue. This encompasses strategies like in-game purchases, subscriptions, and balanced integration of advertisements. PMs aim to harmonize monetization goals with user experience for sustained revenue.

In essence, the AERM framework guides Gaming PMs through the transformative “Red Ocean.” Through focused efforts on Acquisition, Engagement, Retention, and Monetization, PMs navigate the evolving gaming landscape, forging triumphant player experiences and cementing their role as creators of lasting engagement.

Product Management through the Lens of Analytics

In the realm of gaming product management, analytics serves as a strategic beacon, guiding decisions and enhancing player experiences. Here, we delve into key aspects that define the marriage between product management and analytics.

1. Basic Metrics: Measuring the Essentials

To understand the pulse of your product, start with the basics. Daily Active Users (DAU) and Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) provide crucial insights into user engagement and revenue generation, forming the foundation for strategic decisions.

2. Game Metrics: Insights into Player Behavior

Deeper insights are unlocked through game-specific metrics. Observing players who complete specific milestones, like reaching level 16, and those who acquire special in-game items, such as the “Warrior” Character, uncovers player preferences and informs game design refinements.

3. Segmentation: Understanding Player Spending Habits

Understanding your players’ spending patterns is pivotal. Segmenting players into categories such as Minnows (spending <$5), Dolphins ($5 — $100), and Whales (>$100) provides a lens into different player profiles, guiding personalized engagement and monetization strategies.

4. Analysis: Unraveling Player Choices

Digging into data, we often encounter intriguing observations. For instance, players purchasing a new character but not engaging with it prompts questions. Analytics steps in to analyze player behavior and offer insights into why certain choices are made, driving iterative improvements.

5. Deep Dive ML Optimization: Enhancing Player Skill Matching

Optimizing player experiences requires precise skill matching. Deep Dive Machine Learning (ML) techniques expedite this process, enabling quick determination of the right ELO (a skill rating system) for each player, leading to more balanced and satisfying matches.

6. AERM Funnel: Strategic Player Lifecycle

Acquisition, Engagement, Retention, and Monetization, collectively known as the AERM funnel, encapsulate the player lifecycle. This strategic model guides product managers in acquiring players, keeping them engaged, nurturing loyalty, and transforming engagement into revenue.

7. A/B Testing: Tailoring Experiences with Precision

In crafting player-centric experiences, A/B testing is a powerful tool. By experimenting with offerings, such as offering 100 food or 100 wood in the “Warrior” bundle, product managers gain insights into player preferences, enabling tailored enhancements.

8. Roles: Driving Insights

In this analytical landscape, two key roles come to the forefront:

• Marketing Analyst: Armed with market insights, they inform strategies by decoding player behaviors and preferences.
• Game Analyst: Unraveling in-game interactions, they provide insights that shape game design, fostering engagement and satisfaction.

The combination of product management and analytics takes us into a space where decisions driven by data enhance player experiences. By embracing these elements, product managers navigate the complex landscape of player satisfaction, innovation, and lasting success.

Possible Interview Question: “What woud you do if your game’s revenue falls overnight?”

Now that you are familiar with some basic gaming analytics concepts let’s work on a possible interview question and understand how the metrics introduced above can be leveraged for discovering causality.

Addressing a scenario where revenue drops by a staggering 50% overnight, Vikrant outlines a thoughtful approach:

1. Assess the Urgency: Determine if the revenue is still decreasing and devise strategies to halt the decline.
2. Verify Game Functionality: Ensure the game is operational and free from technical glitches.
3. Analyze DAU (Daily Active Users): Investigate if there’s a decline in user activity.
4. Examine Recent Sales Releases: Evaluate recent sales to identify potential issues affecting player engagement.
5. Monitor Active Players: Track the number of players actively participating in the game.
6. Analyze Revenue Metrics: Delve into Average Player Revenue and Cohorted Player Revenue to understand spending patterns.
7. Study User Acquisition by Country: Look for drops in the acquisition funnel across different countries.
8. Verify Analytics System: Confirm the accuracy of the analytics system’s reporting and explore additional insights it can provide.

I hope you find this article helpful, please also feel free to watch the webinar and visit Vikram’s personal website.