Royal Kingdom's Market Performance and Challenges

BuyMMOG Jack
Last Updated Time: 05-16 11:51

I. Launch Performance: Bright Data but Below Expectations
II. Gameplay Iteration: Balancing Inheritance and Innovation
III. Marketing Strategy: Risks of High Overlap with Previous Work
IV. Challenges and Future Directions
V. Conclusion: Possibility of Breakthrough for the Sequel

I. Launch Performance: Bright Data but Below Expectations

Strong Initial Burst

Royal Kingdom launched globally on November 21, 2024. It topped the iOS free chart in 40 countries on the first day. In 17 days, it made $14.7 million, which is 2.2 times the revenue of its predecessor, Royal Match, during the same period ($6.73 million).

Poor Long-Term Growth

Despite strong initial performance, it only reached a highest ranking of 49 on the US bestseller chart, which is much lower than Royal Match's top position. As of December 10, 2024, it only entered the top 50 bestseller charts in 5 countries.

User Retention Issues

The early version had a low user retention rate of 6.6% due to the PVP gameplay. After switching back to traditional PVE mode, the retention rate improved to 16%.

II. Gameplay Iteration: Balancing Inheritance and Innovation

Core Gameplay Continuation

It keeps the match-three mechanics from Royal Match, including the "Super Light Ball" item and level design, which lowers the learning curve for old players.

It uses a "pay after clearing" model, but adds a "Dark King" boss battle every 10 levels to increase difficulty and encourage player spending.

Male-Oriented Design Attempts

The world view expands from castle decoration to planet conquest, adding themes like desert and snow to attract male players.

Strategic PVE: Players must plan attack orders to defeat the "Dark King," combining RPG elements to enhance challenge.

Failure Adjustments and Optimizations

Social PVP was dropped. The early PVP gameplay borrowed from Coin Master had low retention and was replaced with safer PVE design.

A new trophy system was introduced. The "Trophy Room" showcases future activities and enhances player long-term goals, increasing user engagement.

III. Marketing Strategy: Risks of High Overlap with Previous Work

Material Homogeneity

Ad materials reused Royal Match's "three-part structure": bold start + king in danger + intentional failure, even directly swapping character models for reuse.

It emphasizes RPG elements, like turning match-three blocks into bullets to attack enemies, highlighting combat attributes.

Conversion Rate Differences

Royal Kingdom's download-to-active-user conversion rate is 16%, lower than Royal Match's peak of 25%. Its CPI (cost per install) rose due to repeated materials, increasing acquisition pressure.

IV. Challenges and Future Directions

Competition Risks with Previous Work

User overlap: Similar materials between the two games lead to user diversion from Royal Match, causing a "self-defeating" effect.

Revenue gap: In 2024, Royal Match had an average monthly revenue of $700-800 million, while Royal Kingdom needs to invest heavily in user acquisition to catch up.

Innovation Bottlenecks in Genre

There is limited room for iteration in match-three gameplay. Adding RPG elements may stray from casual player needs.

It needs to balance experiences for "light" and "medium" players, such as using AI to adjust level difficulty dynamically.

IP Universe Building Potential

Character professionalization: The loading screen shows multiple character profiles, hinting at possible future spin-offs or crossover events.

Resource reuse: The castle and unit designs with snow and desert themes may pave the way for future strategy games.

V. Conclusion: Possibility of Breakthrough for the Sequel

Segmented market focus: Concentrate on male players or strategy-oriented match-three gameplay to avoid direct competition with the previous work.

Long-term operation adjustments: Optimize event designs (like limited-time conquest tasks) and reduce reliance on user acquisition.

Technology empowerment: Explore new monetization models like AI dynamic difficulty and virtual item payments.

While Royal Kingdom did not meet the expectations of a phenomenal hit, its attempts at gameplay integration and IP expansion provide important references for the match-three genre. Whether it can replicate Royal Match's success depends on whether Dream Games can address user overlap and innovation bottleneck challenges.