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July 26, 2021
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7 tips to create and improve Battle Pass

by Oxana Fomina on 06/14/21 11:19:00 am



51% of the games in the TOP 100 games by grossing in the US have implemented the Battle Pass, and this feature continues to gain popularity (according to GameRefinery). In this article, I would like to talk about tips that you can use when creating or improving a Battle Pass, with examples from games in the match3 genre.

GameRefinery (c)

1. Battle Pass Duration and number of milestones

You can experiment with the number of milestones until the end of the season, as well as the length of the season in days. If you look at match3 games, a season can last anywhere from 7 days to 30+ days. If this is the first Battle Pass for your game, then it makes sense to make it in the form of an event for 7 days and check the reaction of your players. When choosing the number of days and steps, you should consider the following points:

  • rate how quickly they progress through the Battle Pass milestones,
  • what percentage of users have gone to the end, what percentage only to the middle,
  • average time taken to complete stages, etc.

This information will help you tailor your Battle Pass to increase the percentage of users who buy it each season. It is very important that the players have the feeling that they can reach the final goal and receive a super prize.

2. Rewards in Battle Pass

In match3 games, you can see two options for implementing rewards. Choose the one that works best for the audience of your game.

1. When a player who paid the Premium gets a higher amount of rewards.

Example from the Fishdom game.

2. When a player who has not paid for the Premium Battle Pass receives prizes only once every 2-3 stages, not for each completed stage.

Example from the game Clockmaker.

3. Choose which type of Battle Pass is optimal for your game

In games, there are several ways to implement the passage of stages in the Battle Pass. Choose the one that works best for your game.

1. The user goes through the main levels, and gets stars for completing them. To complete a stage in the Battle Pass, the user must receive a certain number of stars.

Example from the game Candy Crush Soda Saga.

2. The user performs special tasks in the game and receives a special reward for their completion.

Example from the game Clockmaker.

3. The user goes through the levels and receives special medals or points for passing them.

Example from the Matchington Mansion game.

4. Engagement and retention

It is important that the player gets the most out of their Battle Pass. In Homescape, you can see a great example of introducing intermediate prizes that motivate the user to move forward with the Battle Pass. You can have 3-4 prizes that are interconnected and motivate players to continue completing tasks. These can be special decorations, pets, and items for them, etc. As well as a super prize that will be available if the user completes all tasks and buys the paid version of the Battle Pass.

5. Increase conversion for Premium Battle Pass purchases

The Premium Battle Pass allows you to increase your paying conversion and increase your game's revenue. It is important that the user initially understands the benefits of the Premium Battle Pass.

There are several benefits to match3:

  • A reward that is several times more valuable than what the user would receive for completing the free Battle Pass.
  • Extra lives. Usually the user has five lives, but with the Premium Battle Pass this number increases to eight or more lives.
  • A special frame for the avatar, which will help them differ from other users.
  • Decorations / pets / other things that they will receive for completing certain stages.
  • Super prize, which is available for paying players who have passed all stages of the Battle Pass.

By creating an offer to the user, show them the maximum benefit they will get from purchasing the paid version of the Battle Pass.

The player can buy the Premium Battle Pass with hard currency or real money. Psychologically, it may be easier for a player to decide to buy with hard currency than with real money. If you look at how the Battle Pass was implemented in most match3 games, you will notice that real currency is preferred.

Example from the game Candy Crush Soda Saga.

Example from the game Bubble Witch 3 Saga.

6. Battle Pass Optimization

Analyzing the behavior of users who use the Battle Pass will help optimize and increase the game's revenue. Understand the main motivation of users, how involved they are, what gets in the way, and what motivates them to go through more stages. To do this, analyze:

  • funnel of passage in the Battle Pass,
  • time to complete each stage of the Battle Pass,
  • the average duration of all stages of the Battle Pass,
  • what kind of reward motivates users to a greater extent,
  • optimize the reward and price for the Battle Pass,
  • comparative analysis of changes in metrics after updating the Battle Pass, etc.

This will give you more detailed information which will help you improve the user experience, give you a better idea about the rewards that are most likely to lead users to purchase a Premium Battle Pass, and help increase the percentage of users that will win the grand prize.


7. Events in Battle Pass

Motivate users to progress through the Battle Pass stages through various events. An example of such events would be doubling the points received for completing levels in the game within the next 12 hours.

This event can be activated if you see that most users get stuck at a certain stage or when the user does not have much time before the end of the Battle Pass. This will help increase their engagement and increase the number of sessions.

Example from the Matchington Mansion game.

I have analyzed the options for implementing a Battle Pass in many games, as well as how various features of the Battle Pass have been changed in different versions of the games. Let's take a look at each of the games in more detail. This research was conducted using data from the GameRefinery system.

  • You may notice that most of the games have implemented a type of reward, when a user who has not bought a Premium Battle Pass receives a prize for completing each stage, but in a smaller amount.
  • Rewards for the first stage of the Battle Pass are free in all games.
  • In many games, the developers experimented with the length of the Battle Pass. I suspect that this depends not only on optimizing the duration of the tasks, but also on the technical capabilities of the team (for example, the release plan for the next update).
  • The most common type of Battle Pass is the type where the user receives special points for completing a level. 2/3 of the games prefer to use this particular type of Battle Pass implementation.

Below is a summary table with the features of Battle Pass implementation in match3 games.

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