We donвЂ™t feel like weвЂ™ve arrived anywhere yet, but we have the basis and foundations for a strong IP. That helped enhance our performance and helped increase our retention and helped keep our community feeling engaged. We tied the stories to in-game events and content. Those seem to have really connected with our audience. We just kicked off our first animated shorts last year. We have two Best Fiends games on the market. We feel like if you focus on the brand, the revenue follows. WeвЂ™ve always valued brand building and character creation a bit more than short-term revenue goals.

We try to value, in both our product and our marketing, the creative elements that, compounded, can make a difference to create something super special. The way we look at our brand is, weвЂ™re three years into something weвЂ™re building out over the next 20 to 30 years. Stalbow: We definitely think weвЂ™re at the beginning. GamesBeat: Do you feel like youвЂ™re getting some good momentum from brand value? Is it already brand, even as such a young game in the scheme of things? WeвЂ™re learning from different things that our players and our audience enjoy. One reason is theyвЂ™re leaning in to their existing products so they can grow.ДЄn example of what we achieved last year with our original Best Fiends game, we took it from 11 or 12 cents at the beginning of 2017 to a 22 to 25 cent ARPDAU by the end of 2017 just by making it more fun. Clearly some of the biggest mobile games companies in the world didnвЂ™t release new titles in 2017. Stalbow: If youвЂ™ve managed to build a product thatвЂ™s attracted an audience that you can build a business on, you need to lean in to that.

GamesBeat: ThereвЂ™s a pattern where everyone fishes around and spreads out and tries a lot of things until they find what works, and once they find that, they get rid of everything else and focus on the one thing. TheyвЂ™re so much more compelling now with all the improvements theyвЂ™ve made. Many of those products are unrecognizable compared to where they were three years ago. We see the evolution of Supercell products like Clash Royale or games like Candy Crush. WeвЂ™re seeing a lot of companies succeed by focusing on core propositions that they know will work, whether thatвЂ™s a Zynga or a Glu. We all have to create brands and experiences that are more compelling than answering your email or watching the Ozarks.В ItвЂ™s a great opportunity for people to lean in, understand what their audience is attracted to, and double down on that. Stalbow: ThereвЂ™s really only one area that everyone is focused on, and thatвЂ™s engagement.

GamesBeat: All those things you pointed out are competing for your time, and so, itвЂ™s even more precious. Right now, the mobile market is the most vibrant ecosystem in the world, but itвЂ™s also the most competitive media platform in the world. You didnвЂ™t have Spotify becoming what it is now. You didnвЂ™t have Netflix becoming what it is now. If you look at titles that are still performing really well, often they got their start two or three or four years ago. People are focusing on products they have that have established a connection with an audience. GamesBeat: Looking at some of your competitors that are narrowing down and getting very focused, do you see that as a common trend or something youвЂ™re doing too?ДЄndrew Stalbow: I see it across the industry.

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