How game cryptocurrency(FLY coin) adoption enhanced users’ engagement

In terms of User Acquisition/Retention Curve/Monetization

• Two-fold increase in Monthly New User count
• approximately 20% increase in D-1, D-7 retention rate
• 14 times increase in Quest Accomplishment rate
• three-fold increase in Paying User to Login User ratio

Flyff for GameXCoin Closed Beta Test Abstract

Flyff for GameXCoin is an integration of Gala Lab’s Flyff(Fly for fun) and GameXCoin blockchain. Flyff is a MMORPG(Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) which has already serviced for over 15 years. It is renowned as a first game in Korea to integrate a flying system, and has over 50million accumulative users worldwide.

Flyff for GameXCoin has introduced FLY coin to Flyff, thereby giving gamers a new enjoyment as well as leverage blockchain to keep a transparent record of all FLY coin transactions. Prior to the official launch, 10 days of Flyff for GameXCoin CBT(Closed Beta Test) took place, starting from April 29th to May 8th. During the CBT period, users could acquire FLY coin in games by killing monsters and boss monsters, accomplishing quests, or as a reward for a login event. The acquired FLY coins could be used in the in-game FLY shop to purchase various items.Fly for GameXCoin CBT has shown the following intriguing results :

Integration of blockchain to an existing game resulted in the

1. influx of new users
2. significant increase in user engagement compared with the original Flyff
3. notably high FLY coin consumption propensity of users

The aforementioned ‘significant increase’ refers to

1. 16%, 21% respective increase in D-1, D-7 retention rate
2. increase in quest accomplishment (max. x14 )
3. a three-fold increase in the Paying User to Login User ratio(hereinafter referred to as PU).

I. New User Acquisition

[New Members Count]

The news regarding the GameXCoin blockchain integration to Flyff has been released via GameXCoin development updates on January 15th, 2019. GameXCoin pre-registration started on February 28th and ten days of Flyff for GameXCoin CBT took place from April 29th to May 8th.

Prior to playing Flyff for GameXCoin, users must create Flyff accounts from the Flyff official website. New users count from January 1st to May 15th, 2019 is shown in the graph below. Monthly new users(orange) demonstrates a steady increase in number of new users after the GameXCoin integration news release. It is especially noteworthy that Flyff has recorded its 2019 all-time-high record of new user influx on the first day of Flyff for GameXCoin CBT. In terms of monthly average, monthly new user influx has almost doubled compared to the previous month. Likewise, GameXCoin integration has attracted a lot of new users, rejuvenating a classic game which has serviced for over 15 years.

II. Gamer Engagement Increase

[Retention Curve]

Retention rate refers to the ratio of users that returned to the game after some time. In other words, D-1 retention rate is the ratio of new users that return to the game the very next day. Ratio of new users that return to the game after three days or seven days are D-3 and D-7 retention rate, respectively. A high retention rate can be interpreted as a heavy user engagement in games. This is an important index to evaluate the success of games in the context that a high proportion of users remain long enough in the game.

The graph below demonstrates D-1, D-3, and D-7 retention rate of new users in the original Flyff server(Jan 1st — April 30th, 2019) and Flyff for GameXCoin server(April 29th— May 8th).

Compared to the original GameXCoin server, retention of each period has increased by D-1 16.2%(44.5->51.7), D-3 18.2%(28.9->34.2), and D-7 21.0%(22.3->27.0). In other words, proportion of new users returning to the game after some time period has increased by 16.2%, 18.2%, and 21.0%, respectively. According to the fact, it can be inferred that games can secure a user pool with high long-term loyalty by adding ‘acquirement and use of gamecoin’ to the game.

[Quest Accomplishment rate]

Flyff, a classic MMORPG, has various game contents including solid scenarios and quests. Flyff for GameXCoin has rewarded users with FLY coin for accomplishing certain quests. *

    * The quest list entitled to FLY coins was announced on the fourth day of CBT period via official Flyff for GameXCoin cafe

As a result, accomplishment rate for quests entitled to FLY coins has demonstrated a maximum of 14 times increase(‘Purple ***’, 0.24%-> 3.6%), compared to that of the original server’s(after 2016). Most notable of all is that the accomplishment rate of ‘Indecipherable ***’ quest, which recorded a high rate of 24% in the original server, tripled to 72% in Flyff for GameXCoin.

Such increase in quest accomplishment is of great important in terms of gamer’s engagement enhancement. This is because game users can enjoy the game even better by actively consuming the contents that game developers have prepared. Also, active quest accomplishment is one of the factors that increases a gamer’s retention. Thus, integration with GameXCoin blockchain has the effect of locking gamers inside the game by increasing their engagement.

III. Monetization

The user retention rate comparison has demonstrated that Flyff for GameXCoin users generally show a higher engagement than Flyff users. Next, we will focus on the indices of an individual user’s in-game coin usage.

[Paying User to Login User Ratio]

In-game FLY coin usage

Flyff for GameXCoin CBT participants could earn FLY coin as a reward for killing monsters, boss monsters, accomplishing quests, or participating in the login event. The acquired FLY coins could be used at the in-game FLY shop to buy various upgrading items, pets, and costumes. Since gamecoins can be exchanged for GXC coins that have real value, an in-game FLY coin consumption can be interpreted as a cash item purchase in the original game.

The following are the graphs of CBT participant’s overall FLY acquirement and consumption.

The blue graph indicates individual CBT participant’s FLY acquirement while the red graph indicates correspondent’s FLY consumption. The gap between the two graphs shows that a significant portion of the acquired FLY coins was consumed on purchasing game items.

CBT participants had an average acquirement of 13,529 FLY and an average consumption of 8,930 FLY.

Paying User to Login User ratio(PU ratio) during the CBT period can be calculated as following :

CBT PU ratio = number of participants that consumed FLY/total CBT participants

As a result, Flyff for GameXCoin CBT has recorded a PU ratio of 62.3%. In other words, more than 60% of the entire participants have used FLY coin inside the game. Such influx of user-acquired FLY coin back to the game has the effect of promoting game economy circulation.

Conclusion and Implications

Flyff for GameXCoin CBT has opened a new possibility for both game developers and gamers. Previously, we have seen that the integration with GameXCoin blockchain has brought about a new user penetration with high retention and contents consumption rate. This implies that the user propensity differs between Flyff for GameXCoin and the original Flyff. Therefore, by participating in the GameXCoin ecosystem and minting unique gamecoins, game developers can acquire gamers with high engagement.

Flyff for GameXCoin gamers can play a new type of game. Currently, game ecosystem is either a purchase-to-play game or a F2P(Free to Play) game. However, games in the GameXCoin ecosystem encourages the gamers with game coin as an incentive to better enjoy the game. In the gamer’s point of view, gamer has an additional benefit of acquiring game coin, and can actively improve their game experience by utilizing the game coins.

First Step to the Open World

Interactive characteristic of games has a lot in common with the real world. Under a given worldview of games, each gamers play a certain role and collaborate to form a distinctive game society. Moreover, every game has a game economy with its own ‘game money’ at the core. Dynamic economic activities including acquirement and consumption of common goods, exchange with other gamers, or selling at stores, are taken place inside each game worlds. Thus, every game is a closed world with a closed economy, each composed of a unique worldview and game economy.

Therefore, there exists as many ‘virtual’ closed economy as the existing number of games, each of them functioning via a unique game money. However, GameXCoin ecosystem supports an exchange between every game coin and the GXC coin. This in turn implies that the economic activities, of which range was previously restricted to a single game, can be extended to the entire virtual economy of GameXCoin ecosystem via gamecoins as a medium. Moreover, by leveraging GXC coins that have real-world value, virtual worlds can be connected with a real world, thereby connecting every worlds. Flyff for GameXCoin, as the first game in the GameXCoin’s ecosystem of connecting-worlds, has shown the possibility of a new game ecosystem.