Disney: Gift Giveaways are a great tool to show players the benefits of new game content

In connection with the big in-game event in the mobile strategy “Star Wars: Invasion“, we asked the Russian office of Disney about how and why they hold promotions in their games.

To the questions App2Top.ru answered Vitaly Lomtev, Vice President, Head of Media Distribution and Interactive Projects Departments, Walt Disney Company CIS LLC.

Not so long ago, you launched an in-game sale in the iOS version of “Star Wars: Invasion“. Please tell us more about this.

Vitaly Lomtev
We are talking, rather, not about the sale, but about the festive distribution of gifts.

Recently, the game “Star Wars: Invasion” turned one year old. In honor of the birthday, we distributed unique game bonuses – resources for the development of military bases, a huge monster Rancor and other characters of the legendary movie saga.

How do you assess the results of the first year?

Not bad enough. The Empire leads.

Seriously, we are happy with the product. There are already more than 20 million fans of the game around the world, and their number is growing every day. 500 million virtual battles, huge armies, billions of infantrymen. We have collected all these figures in a festive infographic illustrating the scale of this project.

Excellent. Tell us more about the promotions. Do they concern all regions at once, or, for example, only Russia? Do the promotions in Russia differ in anything other than the language from similar versions of the game for other regions?

The last promotion in the App Store was held globally around the world. We actively support events initiated by the headquarters, and currently do not conduct local promos.

The support of global activity is quite justified: the company, in any case, spends resources, developers’ efforts on implementation. Therefore, it is logical for a business to scale the developments and launch on the maximum number of territories.

How do you usually choose the time for such events? Do they happen to you on a regular basis?

On a regular basis, there are updates of games: from small ones – with the addition of new heroes – to significant changes that affect the essence of the gameplay.

For example, recently in the game “Star Wars: Invasion” there was an update that significantly changed the gameplay. First, we have introduced new virtual worlds. Secondly, we added a special competitive moment that united players all over the world.

Now the game periodically announces a fight for a particular planet. After a while, the result is summed up, and all the players of the winning side based in this world receive additional remuneration. In fact, players have new sources of resources that complement their usual activities. This was the first major update, and certainly not the last.

A banal question, but I can’t help but ask: why do you conduct gift giveaways?

This is a great tool to show players the advantages of new game content (for example, strong warriors) or the opportunity to “speed up” – to build additional storage resources in a minute.

Many people do not know or do not use additional features, and we are trying to change the players’ view of familiar things.

Let’s get back to the sales. Do you combine them with the release of new content, or does it come after the sale?

Sales are, rather, a way to warm up interest in familiar things.

But holiday giveaways are a different mechanic. For example, during a recent promotion for the game “Star Wars: Invasion” in iOS, players, among other things, received a monster Rancor. Previously, this character acted only as an antagonist, with whom you need to fight. Now it has appeared in the in-game store, and players can taste it.

How many percent do sales usually jump during such promotions?

As a rule, interest in acquiring new in-game features increases at least three times on such days.

How does this affect the re-engagement of players?

The players are really coming back. Especially those who have recently lost interest in the game.

Why announce the promotion separately if it is a very local event that affects only players?

Firstly, players may miss the push notification or not find out about the promotion at all. Secondly, we attract the attention of newcomers. And, thirdly, the last action is really noticeable. It would be wrong to keep silent about it. Several events intersected at once: the game’s birthday, interesting infographics and, of course, the opportunity to get your own hand monster, strong fighters and a container of consumables.

How do you work with the game community (and, in general, how important is it)?

We have several points of contact with players: the official Star Wars website and communities, gaming media, platforms and resources about mobile devices. These are all fairly large channels.

As a result, we cover both fans of the Star Wars saga, and the gaming community, and the general audience showing interest in mobile devices. Word of mouth also works great. Statistics on the growth of MAU and new installations confirm this.

Well, as a conclusion, please tell us about Disney’s mobile policy in Russia.

The mobile games market is a dynamic and promising sector. We are growing intensively, and we have big plans for the development of the Disney gaming business in Russia. Every year we release more than a dozen and a half new games, and some, such as “Star Wars: Invasion” and “Cold Heart: Starfall“, become real hits.

Often the success factor is the launch of the game for a new movie release. In the case of publishing a game based on a new film simultaneously with the start of the film distribution, we get a synergistic effect from large-scale media and PR campaigns, which at this time go through the film and indirectly promote the game. This mechanics allows you to provide powerful support for the game at the time of launch.

In general, all our games are tied to the company’s franchises and are associated with Disney, Disney/Pixar, MARVEL, Lucasfilm products. We are open to ideas and suggestions from developers who want to create great games in Russia based on our content – with heroes who are known and loved all over the world.

Thanks for the interview!

You will be able to learn about the latest trends in the gaming industry first-hand, personally meet and discuss working issues with leading companies in the game development and publishing market at White Nights Moscow 2015, which will be held on October 13-14.