A guide to data analysis for Web3 game developers

Author: lesley@footprint.network

In the highly competitive Web3 game industry, success depends on more than just For the release of the game, a high degree of acumen is also required in the game operation process to cope with the coming of the next bull market.

People are confident about the gaming industry in 2024. Doug McCracken, head of marketing for A16Z GAMES and GAMES FUND ONE, said: "A lot of people in the market have been talking about Disney re-entering the video game market recently, but I think a certain video game company will become the next Disney."

The booming Web3 game industry has put forward higher requirements for operation professionals. In order to improve user retention, increase user engagement, and extend the life cycle of game products, in-depth data analysis has become crucial.

This article provides an in-depth exploration of Web3 game data analysis methods, providing game developers with valuable insights into analysis methods, tool exploration, and more.

Data Analysis Guide for Web3 Game Developers

Within With the market recovery, the Web3 game market has also shown good signs of development since December.

However, we must realize that Web3 gaming is still in its infancy, and the number of active participants lags far behind the Web2 gaming community. All industry players are actively working to explore ways to make Web3 games sustainable and popular at scale.

In the early stages of a game, it is crucial to analyze market segmentation, competitor data, and on-chain participation data. But what really changes the fate of a game is customer acquisition in the mid-term. Developers should pay close attention to user-related data, revenue indicators, and maintain the latest understanding of industry developments.

Data analysis rules that Web3 game developers should keep in mind

Web3 game developers should Note that accurate data analysis is very important to make informed decisions.

In Web3, a common way to develop games is to start with creative narratives, attract high-quality early users, and then find ways to analyze user portraits and optimize gaming experience to expand the user base. Developers need to collect comprehensive data for in-depth analysis, so as to break personal subjective biases and reliance on experience and promote game development more objectively.

The data dimensions that developers should pay attention to include: monitoring user retention and churn to promote continued growth of the game; identifying the behavior patterns of players participating in the game to design More attractive game mechanics; evaluate different profit models, optimize game revenue, etc.

User data: the key to success in the gaming market

As one of the top three dApps, we are successful because we deeply understand customer needs, accurately locate acquisition channels, and ensure that users get a good experience in our applications so that they are willing to continue using them.

—— Wali Khan, co-founder of Gamifly

In the field of Web3 games, user-related data plays a very important role, including user acquisition-related data and user portrait analysis.

In the Web3 economic ecosystem, users are not only players, but also creators and investors, and are the key to the economic value of the game. The active participation of players is crucial to the sustainable development of the game ecosystem.

User-related data

"Learn what's new User sources are crucial to optimizing marketing strategies and effectively allocating resources," said Krish Jagirdar, co-founder of Internet Game.

Game developers can explore high-value user behavior patterns through user data and typical user portraits.

At the same time, re-engagement analysis of inactive users can also help reduce user churn and improve the overall health of the game ecosystem.

Active data is the cornerstone of sustainable development of games

The success ofWeb3 games often depends on an active community. Monitoring community metrics helps measure the health of player interactions beyond the game itself.

—— Krish Jagirdar, co-founder of Internet Game

In order for the game to continue to develop, in addition to attracting new users, it is also important to pay attention to user activity data. This is because active user data can reflect users' recognition of the game's playability or economic model, showing that they are willing to invest time, energy and even money for the fun or rewards of the game.

Seven-day user retention rate

In Web3 In the gaming field, user retention rate is also an indicator that cannot be ignored. In this attention-scarce field, the cost of attracting new users is high, so it is more economical for projects to strive to retain existing users. "Retention rate is an important indicator in the current market, similar to Web2. High retention rate means that users not only enjoy the game, but also agree with its economic model, which reflects their acceptance of the game product," Hoshino, community ambassador of Outer.gg Sasaki said.

Community participation data for Web3 games

Community participation is also important in Web3. An active community represents a diverse group of individuals who actively participate in the gaming ecosystem. Participants in gaming communities typically include players, analysts, community ambassadors, etc. The official game community is the main channel for players to obtain official announcements, and is also the main battlefield for community members to interact. Therefore, analyzing community data, such as trends in membership numbers and community participation, is crucial for game developers.

Currently, the inability to integrate Web2 and Web3 data for analysis is a major challenge, which complicates analysis around the entire user funnel. Footprint Growth Analytics connects Web2 and Web3 data to provide a holistic view for comprehensive analysis of data.

Integration of Web2 and Web3 data

Sponsored Business Content

Revenue data is a compass for strategic decisions

At this stage, Web3 is still an area that requires funding and financial support. The amount of money the user community is willing to invest in the game directly reflects the market share of the game project to a certain extent.

——Hoshino Sasaki, Community Ambassador at Outer.gg

Revenue data is extremely important in Web3 games. On the one hand, team income is the cornerstone of project development; on the other hand, user income is crucial to retaining early users, especially in the rapidly developing Web3 game industry.

In the early days of Web3 games, the first thing most developers had to do was to create an economic model for the game so that they could attract players through the "play-to-earn" model. More users.

Although the basis of revenue lies in the design of the economic model, once the game is running stably, continuous revenue monitoring is equally important. This allows developers to adjust game design in a timely manner to attract more users. Revenue levels and growth directly affect how external investors and the market view the value of the game.

Project NFT income

Monitoring block The value of chain games includes tracking the prices and circulation of NFTs and game tokens.

"In blockchain games, the success of NFTs is crucial. Monitoring NFT ownership, transactions, and rarity indicators can provide users with information about the game. important data on the popularity and value of assets within the company,” said Krish Jagirdar.

Top 100 Losers

In addition, Pay close attention to the profitable and losing players in the market, and study whether the game's reward system meets the user's expectations and motivations, which provides a profound perspective for analyzing the design of the game's economic model. They are also an important tool for identifying the reasons for user churn. Some reasons, such as a mismatch between effort and reward, difficulty in making money for new users, inflation eroding profits, or speculation squeezing long-term investment, may cause the game to lose users.

Web3 data analysis tool for game developers

Many games currently rely on simple Web2 Tools to monitor game performance include Google Analytics and SimilarWeb. Some larger companies, such as Gamifly, have begun developing in-house analytics solutions.

"I believe that the Web3 data analysis tools industry is still in its infancy, and widespread adoption by game developers has yet to materialize. I believe that tools like Footprint Analytics will There will be more and more good game data analytics companies over time,” said Krish Jagirdar.

While using Web2 software may provide some basic data, they fall far short of providing deep insight into the complex world of Web3 games. Additionally, for startup Web3 games, developing in-house analytics tools is a challenge due to the complexity and cost of indexing Web3 data.

However, we must realize that data analysis should not become a high-barrier thing. Effective use of data analysis tools to strategically capture key on-chain and off-chain data can provide important support for the decision-making and development of Web3 games.

This is a tool commonly used by some Web3 game developers.

Footprint Growth Analytics

Footprint Growth Analytics

Footprint Growth Analytics is the preferred analysis tool for Web3 game developers, providing comprehensive data on more than 30 blockchains and user-friendly 's website simplifies data utilization. Footprint provides comprehensive features such as asset performance, revenue analysis, wallet data, user exploration and onboarding, making it easy for game developers to gain valuable insights to optimize their projects. Footprint makes it easy for game developers to use data to facilitate informed decisions and drive better survival of Web3 games in an ever-changing market.

Degame

Degame< /span>

DeGame is the world's largest NFT game aggregator. Since its launch in 2021, it has listed more than 4,000 blockchain game projects and 1,000+ Game tokens & game chain. DeGame has established partnerships with more than 50 guilds and public chains, providing a one-stop service platform for NFT game enthusiasts and developers. In 2023, DeGame launched the Proof of Contribution platform DeGame Community, a one-stop shop for Web3 users around the world to discover and play the most exciting new projects and games. Early developers, project ambassadors, KOLs, and community organizers can demonstrate their contribution to the project and be recognized through status roles and rewards.

Galxe

Galxe< /span>

Galxe is a mission platform designed to help games grow and solve customer acquisition challenges for Web3 games. The platform provides games with the opportunity to publish tasks such as registering for games, joining communities and providing incentives. As the leading platform for building Web3 communities, Galxe now attracts more than 14 million unique users and drives growth through a rewards-based loyalty program for Optimism, Polygon, Arbitrum, and more than 4,000 partners.

Summary

Web3 games are still in the early stages of development, although game data analysis still faces some challenges. There are challenges such as data acquisition and processing, but the importance of data analysis cannot be ignored.

Data analysis is not only not a burden for developers, but a powerful tool to enhance the core competitiveness of the project. Developers should have a data-driven mindset and seek professional data analysis services to facilitate the continued growth of the project.

In addition, the entire Web3 data industry should strive to break down data barriers and better collaborate to create infrastructure. In this way, data can play a key role in driving the prosperity and development of the Web3 gaming industry.