Playtika CEO Robert Antokol interview — Why participant retention matters now

Robert Antokol, CEO of Playtika, believes we’re in the heart of the revolution. But when he describes what it’s a ways, it could per chance well sound love ragged news. Antokol believes mobile video games and other kinds of video games can cast off enjoyment in recommendations round retention, or conserving present gamers contented.

Game companies can force retention elevated with live operations (live ops), equivalent to tournaments or vacation events or other unique speak in present video games. Maintaining your present gamers contented is greater than spending quite loads of cash on acquiring unique gamers, who could well well presumably additionally simply or could well well presumably additionally simply no longer stick round and who could well well presumably additionally simply or could well well presumably additionally simply no longer use money. Antokol acknowledged Playtika — which is valued at round $7 billion as a public company — by no technique grew its industry by spending lots on user acquisition.

With Apple’s fresh privacy changes, it’s extra exceptional to trace users and so user acquisition spending isn’t as efficient. And so the time of retention has come to the forefront. Playtika’s video games love Slotomania develop by keeping their users for years after which at the side of unique users thru community enhance.

“Here is our time to shine and develop,” Antokol acknowledged in an interview with me.

Playtika invested heavily in AI know-how that can aid it perceive user habits greater and what small print lead to greater retention. And Playtika cooks unique video games for a in fact prolonged time, altering small print thru soft launches and in the waste getting the user retention upright.

That’s what it did with the sizzling originate of Switchcraft, developed by Playtika’s Wooga division, Antokol acknowledged. At the identical time, Antokol has to persuade game developers to stay to their present video games, rather then rolling over to unique ones, by giving the developers the risk of getting users to come relief relief each day. I also asked Antokol about nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in video games, and he had an spell binding acknowledge.

Here’s an edited transcript of our interview. (Antokol goes to be one of our audio system at our GamesBeat Summit 2022 tournament on April 26-27, 2022).

GamesBeat: You maintain we’re at a level in a revolution upright now. Can you focus on why you should well well presumably presumably additionally be feeling Playtika’s blueprint round retention is crucial as a a part of that?

Robert Antokol: Sure, I assemble maintain we’re in the heart of a revolution, in the heart of something gigantic going down that’s altering the enviornment of video games. Whenever you occur to ogle on the closing 10 years, the enhance of the game industry has come from mobile. Here is the principle provide of enhance. It started on Facebook. Playtika started working video games on Facebook round 12 years in the past, and we were a few of the principle companies that moved from Facebook to mobile. We did with our ability in live ops, our ability to preserve our gamers.

Whenever you occur to ogle around the enviornment at what’s going down with [Apple’s decision to prioritize privacy over targeted ads by making it easier for users to decline being tracked through the Identifier for Advertisers] IDFA upright now, with elevated CPIs (costs per set up) and other disorders round user acquisition, this isn’t a predominant replace for corporations love Playtika in rising their industry. Playtika by no technique grew its industry thru user acquisition activities. Playtika repeatedly grew the industry by keeping gamers, by making gamers contented and staying with our video games for 10 years. That used to be repeatedly our energy.

Now we have unique platforms, unique technologies, unique stuff going down. Here is the upright opportunity for corporations love Playtika. It’s going to cast off time, however I maintain that the ground is shaking upright now. The enviornment of video games is shaking, in a legitimate manner. Five years in the past it used to be very easy to cast off a mobile game with a small company and in two weeks it could per chance perchance well presumably additionally very effectively be in the cessation 50 grossing video games in the U.S. This day that’s no longer doable. This day it’s honest love the PC and console game markets. The worth of user acquisition is too high. This leaves room for corporations love Playtika that eavesdrop on keeping gamers. Here is our time to shine and to develop. That’s why I’m so livid with what’s going down around the enviornment. It’s going to be a anxious time, however for Playtika right here is the opportunity I was making an strive forward to.

GamesBeat: The core piece of the industry that quite loads of different game companies don’t appear to absorb, then, is the flexibility to preserve prospects for that prolonged duration of time. That’s the foundation. It helps you assemble money now, and also preserve an ogle on the long term. Whenever you occur to ogle on the long term, what are you planning? What are you having a take a look at at on high of that core job of keeping present prospects?

Antokol: Playtika, after we originate something unique, we by no technique mediate about monetizing first. We desire to assemble gamers in fact feel cosy, absorb enjoyable, and assemble a community. We desire gamers to assemble company and withhold a presence in the game. The monetization will come later. That’s by no technique been our focus from day one. That’s why gamers in fact feel much extra genuine in staying in our video games for 10 years. Here is the principle distinction. Most other companies, in the event that they’re no longer monetizing a participant after one day, one week, two weeks, they don’t care about that participant. They’re appealing on to the following participant.

They don’t deserve to preserve that participant, since the principle focus in the closing few years has repeatedly been to simply develop thru user acquisition. You keep in the money, carry in additional gamers, monetize those gamers. That used to be the mentality. Playtika used to be repeatedly varied, because I’ve repeatedly believed that building a community round a game is the staunch asset. That’s why we’ve repeatedly centered on making the participant contented the total time. We’re no longer honest pondering about taking their money. We desire the participant to be contented, to preserve in the game.

Our future, first, is no longer pondering about monetization. It’s about making optimistic gamers preserve taking half in the game and carry their company. That’s the principle distinction.

GamesBeat: The risk as of late, to repeat a couple of of that, is that the technique of the utilization of user acquisition money to secure quite loads of lot of unique users after which model thru them to secure people that will use lots money–that’s the technique of the past, however now it’s extra exceptional to secure those people that will use money. That kind of user acquisition doesn’t work so effectively must you should well well absorb IDFA deprecation in space.

Antokol: Precisely. Mediate the gamers, too. A couple of years in the past, mobile video games were something unique, something thrilling. Gamers were downloading and purchasing quite loads of more than a couple of video games. This day, gamers ogle at video games differently. They don’t deserve to receive 20 video games to their machine. They mediate very fastidiously about how many apps they receive. They’re extra staunch to what they receive and what they play. There’s a special technique to the market. Most companies don’t needless to enlighten. That’s why hypercasual video games and all this industry round it that’s monetizing thru marketing, it’s a momentary industry. It’s no longer prolonged-term.

We’ve repeatedly had a special technique. We’ve by no technique wished to bustle into doing what’s unique upright now. We’re repeatedly pondering in regards to the long term. The platform is altering and maturing. Gamers as of late are extra customary than they were a couple of years in the past. In the starting keep they were very unfamiliar. What’s this? What’s that? This day, they mediate first. Even myself. Every time I ogle at an app, I mediate about it before I receive. Of us are extra suspicious.

If a participant downloads my game now, that’s it. I deserve to tackle them love the cessation participant in the game. I don’t care in the event that they’re no longer paying. I desire them to preserve taking half in the game, to preserve in my ecosystem. The participant is the largest stamp. When we started in the industry, CPIs were 50 cents. This day, whereas you like to absorb to carry in quality gamers, you should well well presumably presumably pay $20, $25, $30. It is probably going you’ll perchance well presumably presumably’t live on on user acquisition whereas you don’t absorb the know-how, the know-how. Whenever you occur to don’t perceive live ops you’re going to fail. You received’t absorb an opportunity to achieve this world. Here is why I’m pronouncing there’s a gigantic opportunity for corporations love Playtika.

GamesBeat: At the identical time, how assemble you present that extra enhance? How assemble you deal with the innovator’s problem danger? It’s repeatedly more straightforward to reinvest money into keeping gamers with an present game, the tentpole franchise, than it’s a ways to originate something unique. How assemble you steadiness that? At closing those solid franchises can decline over time.

Antokol: We ogle at our gamers as a community that can transfer from one platform to one other platform. It doesn’t topic which platform they’re taking half in on upright now. The unique know-how, the unique merchandise–we’ll repeatedly make investments in our fresh video games, because we ogle at our video games as a platform that can work with some other platform. The community can transfer to any platform. That’s why our video games absorb speed so effectively over the closing 10 years. We’ve finished quite loads of innovation, built quite loads of know-how round that ability.

The secret sauce of Playtika is our ability to work with AI. We all know exactly when a participant goes to discontinue taking half in. We all know exactly after they’re going to pay. We all perceive how many times they are accessible in in day after day. I will be capable to’t enlighten we can predict with 100 percent accuracy, however we can predict, for many of our gamers, their activities in our video games. That’s the staunch energy in the aid of the operations aspect. Whenever you occur to could well well presumably additionally predict this, you should well well secure alternate choices to problems. If any individual desires to transfer on out of your game, to delete your app, you already know deal with that participant. We sound the scare. We all know operate and make sure that a participant retains in the game.

If we deserve to transfer on to unique innovation, unique platforms, that’s no danger. That’s ultimate for us. We all know transfer gamers. We started making this funding four or 5 years in the past with the principle lab we opened in Israel. Then we opened labs in Ukraine and Belarus, and honest no longer too prolonged in the past we opened a novel lab in Switzerland, a fantastic lab. We’ve been investing in AI for a couple of years. I knew this used to be going to interchange the game.

I’m no longer a genius, however I knew that sooner or later there would come a day that user acquisition used to be going to be an danger. We wished to secure ways to steer clear of that danger, and right here is why we can preserve rising the industry. In some other case we’d be caught. AI, for me, it’s no longer finest the long term. It’s already the sizzling. But again, I’m a gigantic believer in AI and unique technologies. Here is how we can preserve our gamers and carry in additional entertainment in our fresh video games.

GamesBeat: You’re tranquil going to originate unique video games, then, however you’re no longer going to use love crazy on user acquisition must you originate those video games. Uncover me in regards to the technique of launching a novel game love Switchcraft.

Antokol: We’re going to use love crazy on unique video games. But when that’s going to occur, right here is how we use it. Every game that we originate, we’re going to absorb very anxious [key performance indicators] KPIs, and we’re no longer going to use if we can’t salvage to those KPIs. We are very cautious with our money, our income. It’s no longer that we’re no longer going to use, however we’re no longer going to use on a game we don’t maintain can withhold and develop. That’s the distinction.

Switchcraft is a legitimate instance of a game that’s working thoroughly. It’s rising. Restful, we’re no longer spending a total lot money there but. We’re no longer doing any crazy stuff there. We’re waiting and fixing the things we deserve to repair. Here is where we’re a cramped bit varied. Switchcraft is the principle game we’ve launched in a couple of years. We’re the utilization of the expertise at our Wooga studio, which I’m optimistic you already know thoroughly. We’re going to originate extra video games. In the cessation, I maintain we’ll absorb a gigantic success there. But we’re doing this very fastidiously.

GamesBeat: It sounds equivalent to you certainly preserve your gamers contented. How assemble you also preserve your game developers contented? One thing that typically occurs is that developers salvage a game, after which they transfer on to rising the following game, their unique ingenious outlet. If developers deserve to eavesdrop on the present game, per chance they’re no longer going to be so contented.

Antokol: Here is the $100 million demand. This day at Playtika–right here is piquant for me to remark, however it certainly’s the truth. Whenever you occur to’re engaged on a fresh game, you’re much prouder than whereas you’re engaged on a novel game. There’s lots innovation in the sizzling video games that nobody feels they’re honest doing the identical thing. There’s lots stuff, so many unique things going down, the total unique know-how that’s going down around the enviornment in our fresh video games.

In the starting keep, 12 years in the past, I had the foundation that a couple of months after launching a game, we had to cast off the strongest guys from the enchancment team and transfer them on to a novel game. But whereas you assemble that, your fresh video games will tumble off. I had to interchange that mentality. Playtika developed a special mentality. We repeatedly grew thru M&A, so we by no technique had this danger where we had to transfer people to unique video games. Our vision isn’t honest to assemble video games. Our vision is to withhold and entertain our gamers. I modified the mentality of how our workers are pondering. This day, after we have a game that we’ve built up, all people’s proud to work on that game. Every person’s livid.

When we salvage a novel studio, love after we received Wooga–at Wooga the mentality used to be love a novel studio. Guys were repeatedly appealing on to a novel game. They were repeatedly rising thru user acquisition. In the starting keep I lower the UA budget and I taught them concentrate on develop their revenues. I gave them several challenges. “Develop the industry to $100,000 a day.” Here is the kind of danger that made the developers contented to stay to their fresh game. That’s crucial. In other companies basically the most handy guys are repeatedly appealing to one other game, repeatedly rock climbing. Here is the DNA of Playtika. We’re proud to work on our fresh video games.

GamesBeat: It feels love what’s attention-grabbing about that to the game developer is that they’re no longer necessarily centered on monetizing those present gamers. It’s extra love they’re centered on rising and building the community. After they assemble that, it’s something they’re attached to. They deserve to stay to it.

Antokol: Here is why we’ve repeatedly been successful thru M&A. Whenever you occur to ogle at our acquisitions over the closing few years, we’ve repeatedly received a legitimate product with a legitimate community. It’s no longer necessarily honest monetization or live ops. That’s how we’ve been purchasing for the upright alternatives. It’s a solid product with a gigantic community round it. Then we can carry in our AI and our platform, bringing the total know-how from Playtika. For the developers that absorb a couple of million gamers a day and they’re beginning to assemble money, right here is the risk. It changes everything for them. I deserve to work with a game that’s making $100 million a year, no longer a game that’s making $5,000 a day. It changes the mentality. Of us deserve to work on a gigantic project that can attain many varied kinds of people.

You’re upright that a gigantic piece of it’s a ways community. The mentality of rising video games for a couple of years used to be repeatedly to transfer on to the unique danger. We’ve modified this mentality. Here is why our video games are working so effectively. It used to be very piquant.

GamesBeat: Speaking a couple of revolution and the design in which right here is a special time, we also absorb the pandemic, which has had an assassinate on game-taking half in. Now we absorb a historical enhance in game funding due to that. Games absorb finished effectively and investors absorb paid attention to that. They’ve poured money into present companies thru public choices, however also backed game startups with funding. What assemble you maintain in regards to the aggressive atmosphere in the face of those historical changes?

Antokol: The total lot started in Q1 and Q2 of 2020, when the pandemic started and the total game companies began to assemble money love crazy. Every developer started rising their industry. The hype round startups in video games grew to alter into crazy. Every person raised a total lot money. In 2021, in the starting keep of the year, the money that flowed into game startups–I will be capable to’t mediate of something even cease to it.

But the risk is, all of those startups found themselves–after they raised all this money, they tranquil found it piquant to salvage to their objectives. The money they raised tranquil isn’t ample to salvage to the stage of enhance expected by their investors, because CPIs doubled. Whenever you occur to’re no longer engaged on live ops and you don’t perceive preserve your gamers, you’re going to absorb an danger. Whenever you occur to request me, from my expertise, next year goes to be a piquant year for startups in this dwelling. Prices are honest going to salvage elevated. Startups are going to suffer, because they don’t absorb the upright tools to preserve and monetize their gamers, because they’re built round rising thru UA. It is probably going you’ll perchance well presumably presumably’t develop thru UA now. I’ll enlighten this many times. It is probably going you’ll perchance well presumably presumably’t assemble it. Subsequent year is no longer going to be a fantastic year for startups, in my opinion.

To the 2d half of of your demand, optimistic, there’s tranquil quite loads of competition. There’s competition for workers, competition in the market, competition between video games. But that’s made us an even bigger company. Whenever you occur to could well well absorb staunch competition, you’re pondering about preserve your workers. You’re focusing much extra than you doubtlessly did two years in the past or 12 years in the past. Whenever you occur to’re a company that knows assemble changes, right here is the upright time for you to develop.

GamesBeat: Hundreds of persons are talking about what the following alternatives are. Blockchain and NFTs come up lots. What’s your fresh pondering about those technologies? Are there other alternatives you peep as the big ones in the waste?

Antokol: We are in a position to’t steer clear of what’s going down around the enviornment. We’re having a take a look at very fastidiously. For my piece, I’m very attracted to this world. We’re in the heart of a revolution, as I acknowledged. I maintain something gigantic goes to occur. But I tranquil can’t expose you exactly what’s going to occur. We’re tranquil very a ways from law. The barrier to entry for taking half in NFT video games is tranquil very high. You absorb got to be half of genius to play these video games. It’s no longer an effortless world. It’s a nice world to sell to investors with all these buzzwords, with the metaverse and blockchain making all and sundry crazy.

Playtika has repeatedly been a life like company. We’re repeatedly centered on ourselves. If there’s going to be a novel platform, an proper platform, we’ll be a a part of it. But it’s no longer something that’s going to occur the following day.

Here is a time for corporations, and no longer finest in the video games industry, that absorb the DNA of specializing in their users and gamers. Focal point on declaring them. Here is the time for that kind of company. The subsequent few years are going to salvage extra exceptional. The businesses with an income in know-how, in knowing the gamers and users, are going to cast off on this plug. Playtika is in a legitimate space for this speed.