Both needed to scale back complexity in order to capitalize on the reach of their respective brands, and did so via more accessible structures like the simplified ‘character shards’ and gearing systems pioneered by Heroes Charge. Since 2016, two successful new entrants in the CCRPG space were tied to major IP (Star Wars, Marvel). Furthermore, SW showed that this model could be a sustainable long-term driver of revenue ($20m monthly since Jan 2016). (Above) Raid: Shadow Legends has had a promising start, potentially at Summoners War’s expenseġ- Plarium made a smart bet, on a large gap in a lucrative market.Ģ014’s Summoners War established a highly-successful legacy in the ‘character collection rpg’ space, with some innovations that significantly increased retention and spend depth.

Here are four key reasons why Raid has succeeded thus far, and why I believe it will be a staple in this genre for some time. Six sleepless weeks later, having invested an irresponsibly large amount of time and money, I decided to share a quick post-mortem as I finally extricate myself from this unholy addiction. To its target demographic, the game touted in the video ads seems comfortable and familiar: a Collectible Character RPG (CCRPG) reminiscent of Summoners War, but with a flashy modern facelift, and gritty, realistic, high-poly characters.īeing myself a card-carrying member of the target demo, I decided to take it for a quick spin… If you played any mobile games during the months of March or April 2019, you likely saw an ad (or twenty) for a game called Raid: Shadow Legends (from Israeli developer Plarium, of Vikings: War of Clans and Lost Island, Blast Adventure).Īfter an 8-month closed Beta period in 2H-2018, Raid Shadow Legends shot out of the gates during the first week of March, with an aggressive paid User Acquisition campaign that peaked in mid-April before returning to a healthy steady-state by early May.

Raid shadow legends meme