Competitive Research and Actionable Product Recommendations

RPG REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IMPACT DRIVER 3

Player Choice Retention Bonus Daily Login Bonus Update in Dragon Ball Legends

Product Insights

TRENDS 8

Bonus Features by App RPG Feature Investment

REVENUE MOVEMENT 11

Quest Event with In-Game Time Progression Servant Summer Festival in Fate/Grand Order

NEW CONTENT 15

Content Releases

MARKET WATCH 18

Soft-Launch & Breakout Apps Notable Releases

APPENDIX 23

Dragon Ball Legends Release Schedule Premium Partnerships RPG Mechanics Taxonomy

SEPTEMBER

2020

3

IMPACT DRIVERFeatures and events that boost revenue, retention, or downloads

4

RPG > FEATURES > BONUSES

Player Choice Retention Bonus Daily Login Bonus Update in Dragon Ball Legends

Dragon Ball Legends

Dow

nloa

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er D

ay

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

Reve

nue

per D

ay

$50K

$100K

$150K

$200K

$250K

6/21/20 7/5/20 7/19/20 8/2/20 8/16/20 8/30/20 9/13/20

Revenue Downloads Daily Login Bonus Update

REVENUE ANALYSIS

5

Dragon Ball Legends' revenue was +40% and downloads were -40% MoM after the launch of the Daily Login Bonus Update and Main Story Part 8 content expansion. Because the Daily Login Bonus Update focused on retention, revenue growth was likely driven by the Main Story Part 8 expansion.

MoM = Month over month Graph data is iOS, U.S. only.

See the Appendix for a full release schedule.

Details • Players choose one of nine rewards to receive for their next login

bonus (1, 2, and video). • Crystals used for hero summons are tagged as "Recommended." • Rewards refresh occasionally.

Additional Information • See the Daily Login Bonus Update library for more images and

videos. More References for Player Choice Retention Bonuses • Summer Delights in AFK Arena • Recruitment in Arknights • Choose a Character Summons Tickets in BLEACH Brave Souls

FEATURE TEARDOWN

A retention bonus feature lets players choose between nine rewards.

6

21

Choices are inherently rewarding. The five players we interviewed all preferred the new bonus to the old one, which did not offer a choice of rewards. One medium-spending player even cited the old daily bonus as a reason he temporarily stopped playing.1

Research shows that people prefer to have choices and that simply anticipating a choice activates reward centers in the brain.2 Moreover, people enjoy rewards that they choose more than rewards chosen for them.3 For another example of retention reward choice, look at Arknights' Recruitment system, which allows players to pick a time and target for a random summon (1).

Limit bonuses to a few attractive rewards to increase perceived variety while simplifying decisions. Having too few options can lead to dissatisfaction, but having too many can be overwhelming.4 In fact, making a series of decisions has been shown to decrease task persistence and performance, a phenomenon known as decision fatigue.5

So how do you give players the selection they want without swamping them in choices? One approach is to ensure that all rewards are attractive. This increases perceived variety, which lets you offer fewer rewards without hurting player satisfaction.6 If you do it right, players will feel like they have plenty to choose from without facing too difficult of a decision.

Dragon Ball Legends further simplifies the process by suggesting a "recommended" reward (2). Players specifically called this out as helpful: "Had it not been highlighted, [the other options] probably would have distracted me from my goal."7

Add an unlockable random reward option to give high-level players a shot at rare items. While the daily login rewards may be valuable for new players, all players we interviewed said that only the summoning crystals are consistently desirable for high-level play. In light of this, most said they would like sporadic opportunities for rarer rewards.

Consider unlocking a random reward option, like a wheel spin or pick'em, for players above a certain level. This would not only add excitement but would also give experienced players a chance at rarer rewards without over-inflating the economy. As one high-spending player said, "It would definitely make me more interested because every day I log in, I could be like, 'I'm not going to get the chrono crystal. I might get something better.'"8

1 Subject A: Age 25 male, $20/month spend, 30 hours/week playtime 2 The Inherent Reward of Choice 3 How Choice Reveals and Shapes Expected Hedonic Outcome 4 How Assortment Variety Affects Assortment Attractiveness, p. 103

5 Decision Fatigue Exhausts Self-Regulatory Resources, p. 23–25 6 Assortment Size and Option Attractiveness in Consumer Choice Among Retailers, p. 418

7 Subject A 8 Subject B: Age 27 male, $100/month spend, 25 hours/week playtime

7

PRODUCT INSIGHTS For this report, Liquid & Grit interviewed five Dragon Ball Legends players who spend $10–$100 per month.

1

2

8

Tracked RPG Apps: AFK Arena, BLEACH Brave Souls, Dragon Ball Legends, Empires & Puzzles, Epic Seven, Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire, Fire Emblem Heroes, Guns of Glory, King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare, Last Shelter: Survival, Lords Mobile: War Kingdom, MARVEL Strike Force, RAID: Shadow Legends, Rise of Kingdoms, Star Trek Fleet Command, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Summoners War

TRENDSInvestment trends for event and feature releases

Bonus Features by App (Past 12 Months)

BLEACH Brave Souls

RAID: Shadow Legends

Dragon Ball Legends

Epic Seven

Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes

Number of Releases

1 2 3 4

BONUS FEATURE RELEASES ARE RARE

9

Few tracked apps have released new bonus features in the past 12 months. BLEACH Brave Souls led with three releases.

RPG Feature Investment (Past 3 Months)

Num

ber o

f Rel

ease

s

5

10

15

20

25

30

Clu

bs

Cur

renc

ies

Com

petit

ions

Cosm

etic

s

Expa

nsio

ns

Colle

ctio

ns

Flow

s

Confl

icts

Leve

ls

Acce

lera

tors

Miss

ions

Not

ices

Rew

ards

Profi

les

Que

sts

Cha

lleng

es

Oth

er

Bonu

ses

Purc

hase

s

Inte

ract

ions

Cus

tom

Des

ign

Min

i-Gam

es

BONUSES TRAIL RPG FEATURE INVESTMENTS; CLUBS LEAD

10

Bonus features were in the bottom 20% of feature investments for tracked RPG apps during the past three months.

11

REVENUE MOVEMENTRevenue changes within apps and across genres

12

RPG > EVENTS > QUESTS

Quest Event with In-Game Time Progression Servant Summer Festival in Fate/Grand Order

REVENUE ANALYSIS

13

Fate/Grand Order's revenue was +92% and downloads were +29% 20Do20D during the Servant Summer Festival quest event, which ran from 8/3 to 8/22.

20Do20D = 20 days over 20 days Graph data is iOS, U.S. only.

Fate/Grand Order

Dow

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1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

Reve

nue

per D

ay

$100K

$200K

$300K

$400K

$500K

$600K

4/20/20 5/4/20 5/18/20 6/1/20 6/15/20 6/29/20 7/13/20 7/27/20 8/10/20 8/24/20 9/7/20

Revenue Downloads

Servant Summer Festival

Although Fate/Grand Order is not one of our tracked RPG apps, we wanted to highlight this event's exceptional revenue impact.

Details • During this event, quests switch in-game time between day and night phases (1). • Story quests advance the main narrative. • Free quests award event points to unlock the next story quest. • The second half of the event offers repeatable battles that lower certain enemies' health (2).

• Certain heroes and items give collection bonuses (3). • Event items acquired through quests can be exchanged for rewards (4). • Completing the event awards an exclusive hero (5). • Some quests offer hero enhancement rewards.

• A mastery challenge unlocks after the final quest. Additional Information • View Fate/Grand Order on the App Store.

FEATURE TEARDOWN

Players complete two types of quests to progress through a story with day and night phases. Repeatable battles decrease the total health of certain enemies.

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2

4

1

5

3

15

NEW CONTENTNew heroes, equipment, and abilities

CONTENT RELEASES I

16

2

6

4

1

5

3

RPG > Content > Abilities, Equipment, and Heroes

8/19 8/5

8/20 8/5

8/12 8/16 8/31 8/12 8/26 8/12 8/26 8/31

8/1 8/20 8/27

8/5 8/5

8/13 8/20 8/27

8/5 8/27

8/5

Hero Adjustments and Changes — AFK Arena abilities Lucius The Mariner Skin — AFK Arena equipment Belinda Summer Belle Skin — AFK Arena equipment (1) Drez the Quicksand Recluse — AFK Arena hero Ezio — AFK Arena hero (2) Fierce Battle Summons: Genius — BLEACH Brave Souls heroes CFYOW Round 8 — BLEACH Brave Souls heroes Leave my dad...ALONE! Memory No. 1 — Dragon Ball Legends equipment Awakened Don't you agree? No. 1 — Dragon Ball Legends equipment Legends Rising Reawaken — Dragon Ball Legends heroes Legends Proud to Fight — Dragon Ball Legends heroes (3) Balance Changes — Empires & Puzzles abilities Zocc — Empires & Puzzles hero Miki — Empires & Puzzles hero (4) Frigg — Empires & Puzzles hero Doll Maker Pearlhorizon Specialty Change — Epic Seven abilities Hero Balance Adjustments — Epic Seven abilities Rise of a Monarch — Epic Seven equipment Crown of Glory — Epic Seven equipment (5) Snow Crystal — Epic Seven equipment Briar Witch Iseria — Epic Seven hero Choux — Epic Seven hero (6) Weapon Refinery Update — Fire Emblem Heroes abilities

17

CONTENT RELEASES II2

6

4

1

5

3

RPG > Content > Abilities, Equipment, and Heroes

8/7 8/8

8/10 8/18 8/19 8/25 8/31 8/11 8/17

8/5 8/11 8/19

8/3 8/19 8/28 8/14

8/3 8/5 8/5

8/27 8/31 8/31

Pirate's Pride — Fire Emblem Heroes heroes (1) Darros: Seawalker — Fire Emblem Heroes hero Olwen: Blue Mage Knight — Fire Emblem Heroes hero A New Future — Fire Emblem Heroes heroes Jorge: Traveling Peddler — Fire Emblem Heroes hero Eirika: Restoration Lady — Fire Emblem Heroes hero Corrin: Child of Dusk — Fire Emblem Heroes hero (2) Guard Skills Optimization — Guns of Glory abilities Thunderbolt R7 Coat of Arms — Guns of Glory equipment Genesis Statues — King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare equipment Hero Skill Optimization — Last Shelter: Survival abilities Character Updates — MARVEL Strike Force abilities Emma Frost — MARVEL Strike Force hero (3) Swarm — MARVEL Strike Force hero Baron Zemo — MARVEL Strike Force hero Kreela Witch-Arm — RAID: Shadow Legends hero (4) William I — Rise of Kingdoms hero Stella Updates — Star Trek Fleet Command equipment Outlaws Part 3 — Star Trek Fleet Command heroes (5) Admiral Firmus Piett — Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes hero Monster Skill Balancing — Summoners War abilities Street Fighter V Collaboration — Summoners War heroes (6)

18

MARKET WATCHNew apps and notable releases from established competitors

Angry Birds Legends by RovioSoft-Launch App Details • Players recruit Angry Birds, pigs, and humans in this turn-based RPG (1). • Combat uses a card-like battle system. • Certain heroes can merge abilities for special attacks and power-ups.

• A main quest campaign takes place on a 3D world map (2). • The re-launched version of the app included substantial graphics updates

and some combat balance adjustments. Launch Information • Soft-launched 3/25/20 on Android in the U.K., Finland, and Sweden • Inactive beginning 5/3/20 • Soft-launched again on 9/1/20 • Total revenue since initial launch: $34 • Total downloads since initial launch: 4,323 • View Angry Birds Legends on Google Play

Tom Clancy's Elite Squad by UbisoftBreakout App Details • Heroes and levels are drawn from popular Tom Clancy

franchises like Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, The Division, Splinter Cell, H.A.W.X., and Endwar (3).

• Combat uses a mixture of auto-attack and real-time abilities (4). • Gameplay includes a story campaign as well as cooperative and

competitive multiplayer modes.

Launch Information • Released worldwide on 8/24/20 • 41st highest-grossing RPG as of 9/1/20 • Average daily U.S. revenue: $20,235 • Average daily U.S. downloads: 44,168 • View Tom Clancy's Elite Squad on the App Store

Rovio seems to be testing a non-Angry Birds version of this app called Chronicles of Legends. Both versions have alternated soft-launches in the same regions. See Chronicles of Legends on Google Play for more information.

SOFT-LAUNCH & BREAKOUT APPS

19

1

2

3

4

NOTABLE RELEASES I

20

1

2

3

4

App Library Description

AFK Arena

Arena of Trials quest feature

• Players can test newly released heroes in a series of battles for rewards (1 and video).

The Misty Valley quest event

• Daily battles unlock on a quest map (video). • Each battle contains three tiers of challenges for reward chests (2). • During the first tier, players can spend diamonds to request help from friends.

• Completing all battles awards a large chest of player-chosen rewards.

Dragon Ball Legends

Raid Rush Extreme Clash!! Otherworld

Warriors club event

• Players team up to defeat a series of bosses for medals (3 and video). • Medals are used to purchase rewards.

Empires & Puzzles

Goblin Balloon collection feature

• Completed challenges award crates to fill a balloon with five slots (4). • Items from crates can be purchased or exchanged for other rewards (video). • Filling the balloon and purchasing all stored items unlocks a mystery crate.

NOTABLE RELEASES II

21

1

2

3

4

App Library Description

Guns of Glory

Battle Drills quest event

• Daily series of challenges reward players for defeating enemy troops (1 and video). • Battles use temporary troops instead of those owned by players.

Tide of Darkness club event

• Clubs compete to earn merit by attacking and occupying towns on a map (2 and video). • Players earn supply points for their clubs by gathering resources and defeating enemies. • Supply points unlock banners. • Banners expand clubs' territories and add merit bonuses. • Clubs can destroy each other's banners and repair their own.

• Leaderboards reward players based on club merit, solo supply points, and solo town damage. 

King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare

3D World Map cosmetic feature • The world map is now fully 3D and more detailed (3 and video).

Camelot Championship

club event

• Kingdoms battle each other in a three-stage tournament. • In the first stage, players compete on leaderboards to deal the most damage to a boss (video). • Kingdoms with at least one top-ranked player advance to the next stage. • The top 50 players advance to the next stage.

• In the second stage, kingdoms are grouped into sets for a single-elimination tournament (4). • The final stage consists of a three-round battle using temporary troops.

NOTABLE RELEASES III

22

1

2

3

4

App Library Description

King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare

Path of Conquest club event

• Alliances compete to capture castles for reputation (1 and video). • Leaderboards rank alliances and individuals by reputation for rewards.

Lords Mobile: War Kingdom

Royal Treasures purchase event

• Players earn points for making purchases. • Points can be exchanged for in-game and real-world prizes (2 and video). • A leaderboard ranks players based on the number of prizes earned for additional rewards.

Star Wars: Galaxy of

Heroes

Galactic Challenges expansion feature

• Multiple tiers of challenges offer different difficulties, boosts, debuffs, and rewards (3 and video).

Summoners War

Street Fighter V Collaboration reward event

• This collaboration with Capcom's Street Fighter V includes daily login rewards, an event collection, and an event store.

• Players earn points by using energy, spending arena tickets, and summoning monsters. • Points are used to purchase rewards, including Street Fighter V hero Ken (4). • Daily missions allow players to upgrade Ken (video).

Quickly review all features and events

Filter the Library Tool by month and year to see all new releases.

This event contributed to +21% 3Do3D revenue growth.

APPENDIX

23

5K

10K

$125K

$250K

6/21/20 7/5/20 7/19/20 8/2/20 8/16/20 8/30/20 9/13/20

Revenue Downloads

Reve

nue

per D

ayD

ownloads per D

ay

Dragon Ball Legends Daily Bonus Update

Releases

7/29–8/25: Legends Rising The Crusher reward event 8/5–8/31: BEAT THE HEAT!! Campaign reward event 8/12–8/26: Ginyu Force: Sizzling Summer Boot Camp collection event 8/12–8/26: Turn into Sweets!! Majin Buu quest event 8/12–9/2: Legends Rising Reawaken reward event 8/17–8/27: Choice Battle!! challenge event 8/19–8/27: Legends Androids Vol. 4 reward event 8/19–9/1: Golden Showdown #2 competition event 8/19–9/7: 600K SNS Followers Worldwide Celebration Campaign notice event 8/19–9/8: Legends Return - Piccolo reward event 8/19–9/9: Main Story Progress Support Campaign!! accelerator event 8/19–9/9: Your Power Level Is Puny! - Overhaul! mission event 8/19–9/16: Legends Road - Goku (Youth) - Overhaul! quest event 8/22–8/25: Happy Weekend reward event 8/26: Awakened Don't you agree? No. 1 equipment content 8/26: Daily Login Bonus Update bonus feature

8/26: Legends Proud to Fight hero content 8/26: Main Story Part 8 expansion feature 8/26–9/2: Increased Crystals Ultra Space-Time Rush mission event 8/26–9/5: Super Chrono Crystal Sale purchase event 8/26–9/23: Legends Late Summer Adventure 2020 collection event 8/26–9/26: Special Summer Sale purchase event 8/26–10/1: Legends Proud to Fight reward event 8/26: • $7.99 Chrono Crystal F IAP to #2 (NPL) • $20.99 Chrono Crystal W IAP to #6 (NPL) • $13.99 Chrono Crystal Y IAP moved +1 to #9

8/28: • $13.99 Chrono Crystal Y IAP moved +3 to #6 • $7.99 Pack E to #10 (NPL)

8/29–9/1: Happy Weekend reward event NPL = Not previously listed

DRAGON BALL LEGENDS RELEASE SCHEDULE

24Graph data is iOS, U.S. only.

25

PREMIUM PARTNERSHIPS

Liquid & Grit partners with these premier market research and analytics companies to infuse our reports with the most relevant and detailed gaming user personas, data, and statistics available.

Quadrant Strategies Kinrate Analytics Sensor Tower

Market Research Quadrant Strategies

Player Personas Kinrate Analytics

Mobile App Store Intelligence Sensor Tower

Quadrant Strategies is a market research consultancy that uses research to help the world's most prominent technology, gaming, and entertainment companies develop strategies for building their user base, increasing user engagement and spend, and strengthening their marketing and brand plans.

We do that using a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including gamer segmentation and persona development, feature testing, message creation, and loyalty and engagement modeling. The work of our senior leadership goes back many years, and includes long-term engagements for console and gaming-PC hardware-makers, individual games in a range of genres, and across consoles, PCs, and mobile, and for some of the top game franchises.

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Other services include advanced market prediction analyses for identifying emergent gaming trends and access to unique AI-enhanced data of 140 thousand game titles and 48 million game players.

The products of Kinrate Analytics have been developed in university-led research projects in collaboration with economists, psychologists, game scholars, and data scientists.

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Clients harness Sensor Tower's suite of app intelligence tools to: ‣ Evaluate app economies and app vitality. ‣ Drive organic growth with the leading App Store

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RPG MECHANICS TAXONOMY

26

Family Definition

Accelerators Increases the power, impact, or efficiency of play

Banks Saves a % of spend that can be unlocked later

Bonuses Free bonuses given to players (e.g., retention or W2E)

Challenges Goal-oriented tasks for players to complete

Clubs Groups that accomplish goals or compete with other groups

Collections A set of items players collect (often for a completion prize)

Competitions Players competing against other players

Conflicts Players engaging in battle with their characters 

Cosmetics Improvements or updates to the app or a feature

Currencies Changes to currencies, economies, stores, and items

Custom Design Options to customize aesthetics

Expansions Additional rooms, worlds, play modes, VIP lounges, etc.

Flows Specific flows, like the NUX, ratings, and surveys

Family Definition

Hazards Level elements/blockers that make levels more difficult

Interactions Social features with direct or indirect interaction

Leaderboards Stand-alone leaderboards

Levels Anything to do with leveling

Mini-Games Smaller, shorter games within a game (e.g., scratcher cards)

Missions Linear sets of tasks that players must complete

Notices Feature or product announcements

Other Miscellaneous features and outliers

Profiles Players' setups, profiles, settings, and controls

Purchases Anything to do with purchases

Quests Tasks that players complete to progress along a map

Rewards Rewards players receive for engagement or spend (other than those in the bonuses family)

"And sometimes, when you fall, you fly."

— Morpheus, The Sandman Vol. 6

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