Gaming's biggest trend is faltering

MARVEL Strike Force’s Pestilence event helped grow revenue 62% 11Do11D by allowing high-level players to choose a variety of combat conditions—like enemy buffs and hero debuffs—to increase the difficulty of a series of battles. This event has similar mechanics to AFK Arena’s highly successful Trials of God feature (72% revenue MoM), so other core apps should take note of this emerging, impactful mechanic.

Bingo Bash’s Bash Leagues Beta provides a fresh take on competitions by having players compete based on engagement rather than skill. This is the first competition feature that we've identified in a top-grossing bingo app in more than two years, and it helped increase revenue 19% 10Do10D. 

In Bash Leagues Beta, players earn points from bingo, daily logins, and a premium mode to compete in leagues. At the end of each week, top players are promoted to the next league, bottom players are demoted, and players who meet a point threshold earn badges based on their leagues.

Caesars Slots’ Long John’s Treasure Map offers an extremely novel base game in which players spin a mini reel set to land directional arrows that move a character across a game board. Instead of traditional pay lines, the machine uses symbols on the board to award currency and bonuses.

Players spin to move a character across a game board. Landing on certain spaces awards prizes and bonuses, while falling off the side of the board restarts players from the beginning. Reaching the end of the board awards a jackpot.

A high ratio of free rewards makes purchase offers seem more valuable.

After the release of the Endless Marathon purchase event, Toon Blast's revenue grew 21% MoM and 19% 2Mo2M. Endless Marathon usually runs for 1–4 days with 1–7 days between each release.

Upgradeable accelerators speed up the midgame and add strategy

After the release of the Artifact Hall collection feature, Lords Mobile's revenue grew 22% 2Wo2W. Free and purchasable chests award artifacts that grant permanent boosts. Players can spend resources to level up artifacts and enhance their boosts.

Milestone rewards and social mechanics drive engagement

After the launch of Daily Bonus, POP! Slots' revenue was 7% MoM and 10% 2Mo2M. Players log in on consecutive days to unlock a series of rewards, including prize wheel spins at milestones. Players earn additional currency for each in-game friend they have.