Inclusive competitions with +27% revenue 3Wo3W
Game of Sultans’ Imperial Road combines a tournament with multiple solo progressions to create an approachable event for all players. Game of Sultans’ revenue was +27% 3Wo3W during the first three weeks of the feature.
In Imperial Road, players complete challenges to earn points for a tournament. Points also advance players in two progressions: a reward tier system and a battle pass. At the end of each season, players earn cosmetics based on their rank in the tournament and their reward tier.
Use solo reward progressions to make competitions more inclusive.
When designed well, competitions are one of the most effective ways to foster player communities. To maximize community engagement, competitions need to allow the best players to distinguish themselves and make average players feel involved.
Imperial Road achieves this by singling out top performers for prestigious cosmetics while also rewarding all players for hitting individual milestones in its battle pass and reward tier systems—regardless of how they perform relative to other players. Research shows that this combination of competitive and individual rewards increases engagement from less skilled players.
If you’re targeting a wide audience, don’t demote players.
Imperial Road’s league system reduces feelings of demotivation by allowing poor performers to remain in their current league each round (rather than demoting them). One study found that the fear of losing progress in competitions causes players to set less ambitious goals, and that players engage less after demotions.
Video Insights: Large-Scale Features
In this week’s video insights, we analyze a kingdom vs. kingdom expansion feature in King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare that we covered in the April Core Report. Watch the video to learn how King of Avalon made individual players feel significant during a massive kingdom-wide battle, leading to a +39% Mo2M revenue increase.
Download the full Core Report for our complete analysis, impact data, and other notable releases.