Stay occasions have gotten a necessary a part of the expansion technique for cell video games. Nevertheless, it may be tough to find out the perfect method to LiveOps so as to maximize income. Whereas driving engagement is essential, the final word objective is to translate engagement into tangible return on funding (ROI). Not too long ago, we’ve seen an exemplary success case for doing simply that in Metacore’s Merge Mansion.
Merge Mansion is an extremely fashionable merge-2 sport the place gamers mix objects on a merge grid to finish duties and restore an outdated household mansion. Since July 2024, Metacore has steadily elevated Merge Mansion‘s ROI. Trying on the information on iOS for the US market, it’s clear that Metacore is doing one thing proper. The sport noticed constant progress in 2024.
So, how did Metacore do it? The brief reply is that they experimented with extra occasions and revolutionary occasion varieties. Additionally they took benefit of spikes in engagement with good monetization methods.
“GameRefinery’s Stay Occasion Tracker has been an indispensable device for us. We use the Stay Occasion Tracker to determine the tendencies making a distinction for informal video games—for instance, we discover occasion design, the ins and outs of person movement, and reward progressions to evaluate their impression. Entry to those insights has helped inform our product technique. We will isolate must-have components that our sport could also be lacking, contextualize our occasions design, and cut back total R&D prices.
We actually respect GameRefinery information and the help supplied by their crew. We’d advocate the device to any cell sport firm working within the informal house.”Tapio Tuomola, Chief Enterprise Officer, Metacore
Spiking Engagement With Extra Occasions and New Occasion Varieties
One of many largest elements underpinning Merge Mansion’s success has been the rise within the common variety of Stay Occasions for the sport. Evaluating the variety of dwell occasions, you’ll be able to see that on their calendar between March 2025 and April 2024, the quantity has almost doubled.
Not solely has the variety of occasions elevated, however the variety of new occasions has additionally elevated, in keeping with GameRefinery’s Stay Occasions Tracker. new occasion varieties within the six months earlier than and after the top of July 2024, we see an apparent enhance within the variety of new dwell occasion varieties launched.
Taking a granular have a look at the brand new occasions launched, we additionally see quite a lot of occasion varieties.
To supply a clearer image of their occasion technique, we’ll break down a few of the hanging additions and what makes them profitable.
Evolving the Battle Cross Plan With New Additions
Let’s start by taking a look at Merge Mansion’s battle go plan and one of many new additions to its occasion technique.
In February, Merge Mansion launched Merge It Up!, a brand new mini battle go added to the sport’s predominant Battle Cross. It includes a simplified model of a battle go of shorter length that also contains each Free and Paid lanes.
The gist of the occasion is that gamers can accumulate further rewards by their gameplay by merely merging objects. As an added attraction, merging objects in separate occasion boards counts towards the development of this Battle Cross.
Merge Mansion noticed a income spike (of +138% their typical every day income) on the final lively day of the primary occasion of the brand-new “Merge it Up!” Mini Battle Cross. The short-term enhance is probably going attributable to the mannequin for the occasion. Gamers can progress to the go by merging all through the occasion. They’ll additionally buy the premium observe to gather all of the rewards they’ve gathered so far, even on the final day.
“Merge It Up!” just isn’t the one battle go occasion to impression returns. In actual fact, battle go is among the most essential drivers behind Merge Mansion’s income will increase.
income progress from November 2024 to March 2025, the impression of battle go occasions is simple to see. These crests happen both on the finish of the Battle Cross run or originally of the subsequent Battle Cross. It’s additionally value noting that in these spikes, there are often a couple of totally different IAPs accessible to buy.
Profitable New Occasion Varieties in Merge Mansion: A Deep Dive
Secret Provide
Minigames are a staple for informal video games, but it surely’s value taking a look at one specifically, Secret Provide. It was launched to the sport in Might 2024. Metacore additionally reworked the occasion in November by including varied beauty modifications to the UI and extra substantive modifications to the occasion duties.
Secret Provide is Merge Mansion‘s first-ever minigame occasion occasion that mixes on line casino and merge components. Within the minigame, gamers use an outdated arcade machine to play and accumulate as many occasion factors as attainable to earn rewards.
When gamers press the arcade machine button, a number of objects drop. When two or extra matching objects align, they merge and reward the participant with factors. Some objects are value greater than others, and gamers hope for precious matches.
Everybody is proscribed as to how a lot they will use the arcade machine. After a lot use, the machine “overheats” and requires a Thriller Token to be reactivated. These tokens regenerate routinely after a sure interval, though gamers can velocity up the method by in-app purchases (IAP). This occasion was the primary of its variety within the Merge style, and comparable occasions have since been seen in Seaside Escape and Gossip Harbor.
Secret Provide occasions encourage gamers to empty premium forex. They often seem a bit earlier than huge income spikes, doubtlessly as a result of they encourage gamers to buy the premium Battle Cross plan after spending their earlier reserves.
Circus Caper Ornament Occasion
Circus Caper is a limited-time ornament occasion that options an unique (separate) merge space and affords narrative scenes and beauty rewards linked to the sport’s touring circus theme.
Gamers can entry a particular circus-themed merge grid within the Circus Caper ornament occasion. To open the grid, gamers must arrange a portal (an merchandise granted to the participant upon the start of the occasion) on their predominant progress merge grid.
Within the occasion space, gamers can work on varied merge chains originating from totally different merchandise turbines. As they progress, they finally generate items of the primary level chains, the chain of mergeable objects that may be both collected for factors by double tapping or additional merged to get much more factors from these things.
The factors collected from collected objects assist progress the occasion’s predominant reward threshold. On the finish of every ornament occasion occasion, gamers are supplied an opportunity to increase the length of the occasion by +2 days. They’ll achieve this by paying a set, actual cash worth. Once they prolong, the gamers may even obtain bonus rewards as an additional incentive.
Not like in different ornament occasions, this reward observe doesn’t function a number of separate ornament objects, however only one that you simply improve by development. Gamers don’t personal the merchandise earlier than they hit degree 30 of the development path, giving them an incentive to maintain enjoying till (and past) degree 30. With out the merchandise, their improve development doesn’t rely.
Circus Caper is an instance of an occasion with distinctive mechanics that makes the gameplay expertise deeper and extra built-in.
PvE Restricted-Time Modes
Metacore added some new limited-time PvE Modes to the sport. Beforehand, Merge Mansion had totally different cases of those modes lively, possibly two to 4 instances a month, and so they by no means overlapped. That stated, should you have a look at the calendars for December and January, there are noticeably extra rotations, overlapping occasions, and better total volumes.
In comparison with different merge video games, Merge Mansion’s Restricted-Time PvE Modes are additionally richer in content material and armed with distinctive mechanics. Different merge video games have tended to focus extra on linear development the place you might want to discover new merge merchandise ranges. Primarily, you merge till you attain the highest degree and get rewards by that development (see Journey City or Gossip Harbor).
Nevertheless, Merge Mansion has a number of overlapping objectives, together with filling development bars, facet quests, and narration sequences, and accumulating particular objects for separate collections (e.g., uncommon gems, fish, artifacts, and so on.—every filling the separate assortment albums).
Supercharge
One other profitable occasion, first showing in August 2024, is Supercharge, a lift occasion the place gamers can supercharge their producers to create objects quicker and with greater ranges. The occasion is designed to assist gamers progress extra rapidly by the sport by boosting the output of their common item-producing mechanisms.
Gamers can flip the supercharge function on or off at any time, however when enabled, it doubles the manufacturing velocity and permits producers to create higher-level objects. The supercharge standing is indicated with a particular lightning bolt icon on supercharged objects.
This occasion doesn’t have particular rewards, however activating the supercharge accelerates development within the sport. Gamers who use supercharge will run out of vitality quicker, which drives the sale of vitality and thus total monetization.
Supercharge first began with durations of some days (typically two), however just lately, we’ve seen an enormous enhance within the length of the occasion. Shortly after this modification, Supercharge was formally made right into a everlasting function within the sport—it was not tied to limited-time availability, and as an alternative one thing gamers can toggle on or off by selection.
The Hopewell Bay Challengers
The Hopewell Bay Challengers is a brand new aggressive solo leaderboard event. Merge Mansion beforehand featured three occasions on this class, all following the identical archetype. This new occasion is the primary one differentiated from the bunch.
Briefly, the event introduces development by levels the place gamers compete in one-hour merging rounds on a separate merge board, with leaderboard placement after every spherical contributing to their total occasion progress.
The occasion additionally has some further issues value mentioning. It options a further “rewards” window, the place gamers can observe their total occasion level progress to see which reward they may obtain primarily based on their present level rely on the finish of the occasion.
It makes use of a particular blue vitality, which refills in the beginning of every spherical and drops from the primary board solely throughout an lively spherical. The occasion vitality might be earned when merging two objects, from which one will point out the blue vitality image. The occasion additionally contains a particular store with bundle affords of further blue vitality, gems, and occasion objects.
Classes and Takeaways from Merge Mansion
Total, Merge Mansion noticed a constant constructive impression by doubling down on their dwell occasion technique. They’ve elevated the variety of supplied occasions, in addition to innovated on the sorts of occasions. Listed here are the most important takeaways from their standout occasions:
- Battle Cross is a significant income driver: Income spikes persistently correlate with the start or finish of Battle Cross durations, usually accompanied by varied in-app buy (IAP) affords.
- Occasions ought to all the time help monetization: Deal with occasions that encourage premium forex utilization & quicker vitality depletion.
- Distinctive mechanics can encourage battle go engagement: “Circus Caper” introduces a separate merge space and upgradeable merchandise tied to the battle go. That is an instance of how new occasions can deepen gameplay and create incentives for battle go participation.
- There are advantages to growing rotation and overlapping of PVE Restricted-Time Modes: Merge Mansion now options extra frequent and overlapping PVE modes with richer content material and distinctive mechanics than opponents specializing in linear development.
- A Differentiated Aggressive Event: This new aggressive solo leaderboard occasion introduces development by timed merging rounds on a separate board with distinctive mechanics like blue vitality and a reward observe, diversifying their aggressive choices.
In case you’d prefer to be taught extra concerning the LiveOps technique of high video games, take a look at GameRefinery’s Stay Occasion Tracker or you’ll be able to guide a demo with a member of the GameRefinery crew.
