A pig surrounded by a bunch of coins, celebrities, and millions of players…
Of course, I’m talking about Coin Master – one of the world’s top-grossing games in 2021.
Obviously, Coin Master monetization is the key to its success in revenue.
In this analysis, you will learn all about how the game monetizes, what does it have to do with the gameplay itself, and much more.
How Successful is Coin Master?
Coin Master is brought to us by Moon Active. It was first released in 2015, and it took a few years for it to reach worldwide popularity and top-grossing charts.
We all know the game is successful, and here’s just how much.
By 2021, the game managed to get 181,23 million worldwide downloads.
In terms of revenue, Coin Master reached a total of $1,28 billion during its lifetime.
(Unless stated otherwise, the data in this article comes from an internal source).
For Coin Master, 2020 was a groundbreaking year.
The downloads spiked in May 2020, during the first coronavirus lockdown. Revenues peaked at the same time, in April and May 2020. Afterwards, the numbers remained fairly high for the rest of 2020.
Coin Master’s revenues are driven mainly by the US, which made for more than half (52.61%) of the total revenue. Just like in terms of downloads, Android users took the lead with a 67.12% revenue share.
One of the key factors that drove these numbers is the game’s approach to user acquisition. It is more than obvious that their main focus is the US market, as they got many high profile US celebrities to advertise the game.
The bottom line is – it obviously works. We got this covered as well, so make sure to check our Coin Master advertising dissection.
The people just can’t resist playing the same game as Jennifer Lopez or Kris Jenner!
First Impressions
We believe that the best way to analyze a game is by putting ourselves in the players’ shoes.
For this reason, I decided to play the game for the first time.
We all know the first-time user experience is extremely important. This is how Coin Master handled first impressions.
In the beginning, there was a start menu with two options: playing by connecting to a Facebook account or as a guest. But before that, the players consent to the privacy policy.
I’ve decided to play as a guest and was encouraged to change my mind and connect with Facebook right away. Other than just having the benefit of playing with friends, the players get rewards for doing so.
Onboarding
The next step in the process is a simple, step-by-step tutorial that appeared as I played.
You learn about how it all works. I found out that in order to build my game villages, I have to spin a slot machine to win coins. Other than that, I can attack and raid other players’ villages.
Besides that, the game includes a personalization feature, allowing players to name their viking.
They didn’t go aggressive on introducing in-app purchases in the onboarding process. Instead, they focused on the social aspect of the game.
Game Design
Oftentimes, slot games are all over the place and come with messy features.
This is a mistake Moon Active avoided making – the design is both clean and original.
You don’t expect much from a slots game design, and Coin Master has an innovative approach to it.
The art style is casual just like the game itself, and the start menu does not require much thinking about the features.
Some of the game’s key design features revolve around the protagonist of the game – the pig. It can be found all over the game: in events, offers, etc.
Also, every new village is themed differently, from Stone Age and Sunny Hawaii to Snowy Alps.
UI/UX
Naturally, the slot machine and the big red spin sign get most of the players’ attention.
On the top of the home screen, the players can see how they stand in terms of currency and items.
Just underneath, on the left, there is a small IAP section.
This includes a store icon and any kind of time-limited offer that’s available in the game at the time.
On the right side of the home screen, there is a menu that lists all the other features the game contains: the village, the game’s store, news, village shop, the map, and social features.
When raiding and attacking other players’ villages, there is a whole other gameplay screen. It looks like a mid-core game but with a casual and light design. Since this is not a mid-core game after all, the whole thing only takes a couple of moments and moves.
Main Game Mechanics
The core loop of the game is a traditional slot machine, but what makes it so special is the way it’s blended with the game’s meta elements.
TLDR: spin the slot machine, gain coins, build your base, and unlock levels.
To achieve this, the game works with several different mechanics.
Slot Mechanics
Spinning a slot machine generates different combinations of symbols. This mechanic is at the heart of every casino game and this one is no different.
Naturally, the spins are limited.
The players get 5 free spins every hour. This kind of time-based mechanic falls into the category of energy mechanics. With this pace, it takes 10 hours for a full refill to happen (50 spins).
Therefore, after a good night’s sleep, the player’s first session can begin in full energy.
This type of mechanics also makes an exit point as there is not much to do in the game if you’re not intending to get spins another way.
For this reason, it results in short natural sessions. But the fact the players know they will get a refill in a while is what makes them come back.
Basically, all other layers of the game exist with the purpose of constantly bringing the players back to the slot machine.
Rewards
The spins can result in gaining coins, chests, shields, spins, or action.
To get free rewards from reward, you just need to site everyday and you will get daily links and spins reward itself in the game. Each day the reward amount get bigger and yes it has free spins, coins and Magical chest.
After a few sessions, players also option to bet and multiply their rewards. This means they can risk running out of spins early in exchange for more rewards.
The rewards meta is designed to motivate the players to always come back and spin the slot machine.
PvP Gameplay
There are two possible spin outcomes that open PvP gameplay: attack and raid.
This means the players go after other people’s villages. Both of these will inevitably happen to every village, and the players can only minimize the damage.
Each player is focused on building their own village, upgrading it, and completing it. Once they do that, they can unlock new levels.
There is one item that helps players protect their villages from attacks – shields. And the only way to get them is by coming back to the core – the slot machine.
Pet Collection
This part of the meta is something that unlocks after playing the game for a while.
Before that happens, as players attack others’ villages, they get random cards and chests. The point of collecting them is revealed when they help unlock the first pet.
The pets join the players in the game and help them advance faster. For example, they will always earn extra coins for the player in a raid.
The Social Loop
The game includes A LOT of social features. The players are constantly encouraged to connect with their Facebook friends. If they do this, it can bring plenty of extra rewards or anything they might be missing at the moment.
Additional social features allow for the options of revenge, bragging rights, etc.
There are many more layers of content that make this game exciting and dynamic. Events, the map, village news, etc.
But since our primary focus is Coin Master’s monetization, we will put some more focus into it. After all, there is a lot to learn.