Bejeweled Blitz is one of the most successful, and longest running, cross-platform social games. This talk aims to offer an honest, unadulterated view of what operating a cross-platform social game means, and why "controlled chaos" is the most effective operational method. Attendees can expect to gain an understanding of cross-platform social game operations and the interesting findings that emerged from Bejeweled Blitz operations.

1. One Year of Bejeweled Blitz
Learning to Expect the Unexpected
Giordano Bruno Contestabile
Executive Producer – Bejeweled, PopCap Games
October 10th, 2012
Twitter: @giordanobc

2. Some quick facts
 Launched in late 2000
 History: Bejeweled, Bejeweled 2,
Bejeweled Twist, Bejeweled Blitz,
Bejeweled 3
 Key platforms: Facebook, iOS,
PC/Mac
 Units sold: > 55 million
 Installs: > 200 million
 MAUs: > 25 million
 Total users: 500 million+

3. One Very Long Minute
 History of Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook & iOS
 December 2008: Bejeweled Blitz launches on Facebook
 November 2009: Blitz mode and FB Connect added to Bejeweled 2 iOS client
 December 2011: Bejeweled Blitz iOS launched as a freemium title
 3+ years from launch, still consistently popular:
• Facebook: top 10 games by DAU (3M+)
• iPhone: top 10 highest-grossing games
 One of the first games to be fully integrated across FB and iOS

4. Operating
Bejeweled
Blitz

5. Traditional PopCap model
1. Make game
2. Wait (years) for game to be made
3. Profit!!!
3 YEARS

6. Service development model
1. Prototype
2. It’s fun!
3. Production!
4. Telemetry first
5. MVP
6. Closed Beta
7. Open beta
8. Launch
9. Keep going!
MONTH 1-3 MONTH 4-9 MONTH 9-12 YEARS 2-10

7. When The Game Is live
 Capture and analyze data
 Iterate on features and add content
 Plan and manage regular events
 Tweak economy in real-time
 Change game server-side
 New (to the games industry) professions:
• Data analyst, monetization designer, ops engineer etc.

8. Why We Changed
 Every game we make is a service
• Needs to be updated and improved over time
 Every game we make is free to play
• Reach 10x the audience, need regular events to keep engaged
 The distinction between product and business has disappeared
• One interdisciplinary team
• Product innovation drives business innovation, and vice versa

9. What Did We Learn?

10. “Casual” gamers?
 86% of active players play every day
Frequency of play
Once a month
Every 2 weeks
Once a week
Few times / week
Every day
Multi times / day

11. iOS: A Very Efficient Platform
Key Metrics iOS (FB = 100)
Daily Active Users Weekly Average 48%
ARPU DARPU 229%
Engagement Games / day 100%
Retention 7-day retention 193%
Monetization % of paying users 205%
But iOS players have
multiple, shorter, sessions
iOS performs 2x Facebook in several key metrics

12. Not all mobile players want to be social
Approximately 18% of Blitz iOS
downloads have activated
Facebook Connect…
 FB Connect was required to unlock full features
 Launched “Universal Mode” in June 2012
 FB-connected users tend to spend more
…but over 40% of DAU
use FB Connect

13. FB is for friends!
Players will always find a way
I haven’t met you / and this
is crazy / but I love Blitz /
so add me maybe
ADD ME!
ADD ME!
ADD ME!

14. UI matters. A lot
We changed Daily Spin UI from this: To this:
Snazzier presentation!
Satisfying lever pulling!
Clearer payouts!
 Average revenue from Daily Spin increased 131%

15. UI matters. A lot
2X

16. Key Lesson

17. Be metrics-informed, don’t be metrics-driven

18. Specialize, but share knowledge

19. Huge features are dangerous: go for small sprints when you can

20. Leverage Facebook for rapid iteration and A/B testing

21. Cross-platform is hard, but can be worth it

22. Don’t underestimate players’ willingness to spend
(but give them fun in exchange)

23. Thanks!
Questions?
@giordanobc