Most of us do not like spending money inside of apps.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.Collect all of the free coins that you can get daily While its following is much smaller than the top app - roughly 1.5 million daily users, according to Ahmad, compared to Jaiswal’s estimate of 51 million daily Ludo King users - data from Sensor Tower show it has experienced 111 percent growth in revenue from in-app purchases during the lockdown. He’s the co-founder of Gameberry Labs Pvt., owner of Ludo King competitor Ludo Star. “Once people start to see the utility of the game, they’ll switch from Ludo King to Ludo Star,” said Afsar Ahmad. “You’re fighting for a share of the time in the day, gaming is just one activity that’s fighting for a piece of 24 hours.”Įven if Ludo apps remain popular, Ludo King is far from players’ only option: More than 100 alternatives are available in Alphabet Inc.’s Google Play Store. “Once lockdowns are lifted and social distancing measure ease, many of the new players will go back to other forms of entertainment or activities that they are replacing with video games at the moment,” said Matthew Kanterman, technology equity research analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. He expects habits developed during the lockdown like increased use of smart devices for entertainment and necessities to continue after the lockdowns are lifted. “In Ludo King’s case, it seems likely the recent large spike in downloads will result in an increase in active users,” Chapple added. Gametion, which employs more than 70 staff, is currently relying on its revenue to run the game. Ludo King has some new features in the pipeline already: It plans to introduce five- and six-player options to keep its users engaged, as well as audio chat functionality, said Jaiswal. “While there are many tactics developers can use to help increase engagement and retention, having a good quality, fun game is ultimately what keeps players coming back,” said Craig Chapple, Mobile Insights Strategist, EMEA at Sensor Tower. “Keeping consumers engaged with your game is a challenging prospect when there are so many entertainment options easily available at the touch of a button.” He points out that games don’t just compete with other titles for attention, but also other platforms such as streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, as well as social apps like TikTok. “It’s a good pastime for my wife and I, and helps me bond with my sons.” Even though the family all live under one roof, they prefer the app to the traditional board game.īut what happens to gaming apps like Ludo King when lockdown lifts and people’s ready supply of spare time dries up? “I like the app more than the board game, the moves are more calculated and the sound effects make it more lively,” said Mrinal Kanti Sarkar, an ex-SBI branch manager from Kolkata who regularly plays for as much as six hours a day. “The game has individual dice pads, catchy animation and the dice isn’t rigged - every move is random,” said Vikash Jaiswal, creator of Ludo King and Gametion’s founder.įor Indian players, Ludo is familiar, nostalgic and can quickly become highly competitive. The app builds on the appeal of the physical version.
Up to four players take turns throwing dice in a race to get their tokens “home” to the center of the board, and to knock other competitors’ tokens off. One key to the app’s success is that many Indians have grown up playing Ludo, a simple game with its roots in a medieval pastime called Pachisi. While it’s free to download, Ludo King’s May revenue was about $922,000 worldwide, Sensor Tower data show, thanks to in-game purchases. First launched in February 2016, its popularity has boomed during lockdown, with a 142% jump in downloads between February and April. Ludo King, developed by Mumbai-based Gametion Technologies Pvt., is the first Indian gaming application to pass 100 million downloads and was the sixth most downloaded game worldwide in May, according to Sensor Tower. But as the country opens up again, the question is whether Ludo apps can retain their popularity. While much of the world has spent lockdown playing Nintendo Co.’s Animal Crossing, millions of Indians have been glued to a centuries-old board game called Ludo - or at least, a digital version of it.