2022SLG resumption: Ali 4399 buying volume slashed, Sanqi entered the game to grab volume, this marketing trend is rising

Image source: @VisualChina

Text | DataEye

In the past year, the involution of the domestic SLG track has been intensifying——

In the first half of 2022, all parties gathered to participate in the buying volume war, while the ant theme sprang up in the second half of the year.

After the year of 2022, SLG manufacturers have basically got rid of their dependence on buying volume, except for the two ant-themed ones! ——In 2023, most SLGs weakened their buying volume - this is a moment of historical significance and worthy of going down in history.

Looking back on 2022, how has the domestic SLG changed? What are the marketing trends shown by the various camps?

Today, DataEye Research Institute will fully disassemble the domestic SLG track 2022.

PS: The hot investment camp is divided into three categories, which are the Three Kingdoms theme camp, the multi-civilization theme camp, and the ant theme camp, and the hot investment products of the camp are analyzed, as follows:

• Three Kingdoms Faction: "Three Kingdoms History: Strategic Edition", "Leading the Coast of the Land", "Siege of the World"
• Multi-civilization camp: Return to Empire, Civilization and Conquest, Awakening of Nations
• Ant Camp: "Little Ant Country" and "Rise of the Ant Clan"

In order to show objectivity, this article will strictly distinguish between "facts & figures" and "DataEye Institute views".

01 Domestic SLG market and main camp launch

(1) SLG gameplay to the overall market

【Facts & Figures】

1. Category placement trend and CPA trend

DataEye-ADX delivery data shows that the amount of SLG gameplay materials in 2022 fluctuates greatly throughout the year, and July is the lowest point of the year. In terms of the number of delivery plans, the number of launches soared in January, May and October, while the whole Q3 showed a trough and the intensity of delivery was low.

In terms of category CPA, the average CPA of strategy iOS exceeded 300/A throughout the year, with the peak occurring in early March, and the estimated CPA exceeded 500/A. In contrast, the category CPA performance of Android is stable, maintaining within 200/A throughout the year, and there is little fluctuation.

2. SLG category material placement

In 2022, video assets accounted for 57% of SLG delivery materials, while image assets accounted for 43%. Compared with the SLG material data in 2021, the proportion of image materials increased by about 10 percentage points.

In terms of the frequency of material use, among the new materials added to SLG gameplay in 2022, the cumulative delivery of 1-5 days (inclusive) of the material accounted for about 81%, and the cumulative delivery of more than 11 days of new materials was about 9%.

【DataEye Research Institute Viewpoint】

DataEye Research observed and summarized the overall situation of SLG track marketing in 2022:

First, the purchase volume is rolled in, and the return cycle is long, and manufacturers can't eat it. At the beginning of 2022, the number of new game purchases surged, and manufacturers passively increased their purchase volume to cope with this rush war, which led to a continuous increase in investment costs. Coupled with the large environmental impact in 2022, many manufacturers implemented the strategy of "reducing costs and increasing efficiency", and the overall volume of Q3 declined. In fact, for some small and medium-sized manufacturers' SLG products have the greatest impact, the purchase volume is cut off, or directly lie flat.

Second, the number of inputs has surged, the demand for materials is large, and picture materials have become a new favorite. For medium and heavy games such as SLG, the creative genre has always been dominated by video materials, mainly to present product highlights concretely. As purchases surge and creative assets are consumed excessively, more and more SLG manufacturers are adopting image assets with low production costs and fast production efficiency, but this may also affect the conversion effect.

Third, the traditional track is strenuous, and creative themes are on the rise. In 2022, the overall investment level of traditional SLG tracks in China will decline, in addition to high investment costs, the decline in user conversion efficiency may also be one of the main reasons. In the case of long-term purchase volume of head products, SLG has entered the stock market, and returning users have become an important object of buying volume marketing, resulting in higher creative requirements and cost requirements. Therefore, from the marketing level, innovative themes such as ants and Star Wars are tapped, in addition to hoping to tap users who have not been transformed by traditional themes, but also hoping to broaden the user circle and attract more users with the help of fresh theme factors.

(2) The amount of delivery and the trend of each camp

【Facts & Figures】

1. Comparison of the camps of the three countries

From the perspective of the launch trend, the launch performance of "Three Kingdoms Strategic Edition" showed a significant decline in 2022, and the launch volume was concentrated during the Spring Festival, and Q4 picked up; There was no significant fluctuation in the overall launch of "Rateland Coast", and there was a slight increase in September and October; "Siege of the World" was released in the first three quarters of 2022 with low volume, until Q4 sales increased significantly.

From the perspective of the amount of product materials, "Siege of the World" made great efforts at the end of the year, ranking first in the amount of materials released by the three countries. However, the "Three Kingdoms History: Strategic Edition" is planned to have the highest number of launches.

2. Comparison of multi-civilization camps

The launch volume of "Civilization and Conquest" maintained a high level after its launch, and declined after entering the second quarter, but remained at an average of 1,500 sets per day; "Return to the Empire" also increased its launch after its launch, and the high-intensity launch lasted for about 2 months before it declined. In the second half of the year, the amount of investment in the multi-civilization camp was reduced, and some products were greatly reduced or even not released.

"Civilization & Conquest" ranked first in the multi-civilization camp in terms of material delivery and planned delivery, and "Return to Empire" ranked second with its delivery performance in the online outbreak stage. And the camp old-timers "Awakening of Nations" performed the Buddhist system as a whole and ranked last.

3. Ant camp comparison

"Little Ant Country" represented by Sanqi maintained a strong launch trend after its launch, while "Rise of the Ant Clan", which was launched as early as China, began to increase its launch volume in August. The performance of the two in December diverged, with "Little Ant Country" continuing to improve and break new highs, while "Rise of the Ant Clan" declined significantly.

"Little Ant Country" was launched in September 2022, but it has maintained a high intensity since its launch, and "Rise of the Ant Clan" has also increased, but the total amount of material and the number of delivery plans are still lower than "Little Ant Country".

【DataEye Research Institute Viewpoint】

From the perspective of camp launch, DataEye Research believes that camps have their own characteristics:

Three-country lineup: The impact of the chaotic battle is limited, but it needs to jump out of the "comfort zone". DataEye Research Institute believes that the chaotic battle in buying volume in 2022 has limited impact on the camp of the three countries, and the decline in the launch of the head products of the three countries is still due to problems such as the difficulty of breaking through the user circle and the low efficiency of pulling new ones. Therefore, we can see that "Three Kingdoms Strategy Edition" uses World Cup hot events to create creative materials in the second half of the year, trying to jump out of the "comfort zone" and reach unconverted users with more diversified content. At the same time, it is also necessary to expand the delivery channels and reach more user groups.

Multi-civilization camp: Q3 drop or waist chopping or lying flat, the greatest impact. The new products of the multi-civilization camp have strong performance after they are launched, but the duration is not long, and the delivery volume has fallen rapidly. Until Q3 of 2022, the overall trend of lying flat, "Return to the Empire" does not even make any placement. DataEye Research Institute believes that in recent years, the theme of multi-civilization has risen in China, but there is no absolute head product, and the online rush of new games can quickly gain user attention and occupy the market, but excessive force will lead to a longer follow-up cost recovery time and greater pressure on manufacturers.

Ant camp: The rapid rise of innovative themes, but the purchase volume of creativity is single and routine. In the second half of 2022, "Little Ant Country" released by Sanqi Interactive Entertainment was launched, which also triggered a war in the purchase volume of the ant camp, which in turn led to the Q4SLG track being occupied by two ant themes, and as of the end of the year, the launch was temporarily ahead and continued to increase the purchase volume. In general, the innovative theme SLG is lacking in the current market, mainly to avoid involution in traditional categories, and at the same time to broaden the circle of users. However, in order to quickly acquire users and improve conversion, this type of product focuses more on effect output, and the overall material is single and routine (detailed analysis below).

02 Domestic SLG track delivery channels

(1) The distribution of media in the broader market

【Facts & Figures】

DataEye-ADX delivery data shows that the top 5 delivery channels are Chuanshanjia Alliance, Youlianghui, Toutiao, Tencent News and Tencent Video, of which the Chuanshanjia Alliance is the leader. In terms of short video platform media, Douyin ranked sixth, while Kuaishou did not enter the top 15 delivery channels.

(2) Distribution of delivery channels among camps

【Facts & Figures】

1. The Three Kingdoms camp

"Three Kingdoms: Strategy Edition" and "Siege of the World" focus on the Pangolin Alliance, the latter accounting for more than 50% of the investment in the past year. In contrast, the delivery channel of "The Coast of the Land" is evenly wet with rain and dew, and the proportion of key delivery channels is not much.

2. Multi-civilization camp

"Return to the Empire" is still dominated by Tencent in terms of delivery channels, and the top 3 are Tencent Video, Tencent News and Youlianghui, and it is also launched in the Chuanshanjia Alliance, but the proportion is not high. The investment of "Civilization and Conquest" and "Awakening of Nations" is relatively balanced, and Tencent's byte series has been launched.

3. Ant camp

The focus of the Ant camp delivery channel is obvious, and the Pangolin Alliance is the main delivery channel, and the two Ant-themed SLGs account for more than 50%. In addition, Toutiao and Youlianghui are also the main delivery channels of the ant camp. On the whole, the ant camp is relatively concentrated.

【DataEye Research Institute Viewpoint】

From the perspective of the overall delivery channel of strategic categories in 2022, it shows several characteristics:

1. The aggregation platform is the main media for SLG categories;

2. Short video platforms are not focused on the SLG category.

DataEye Research Institute believes that the aggregation platform has a wide spread and a large user base, which is suitable for SLG, a category that needs long-term launch. In contrast, short video platforms have not received the attention of SLG category manufacturers, on the one hand, short video platforms are mainly young users, and the compatibility with SLG category user portraits is not high; On the other hand, the original content of short videos is of high quality, the creative content of SLG categories with strong advertising nature will have obvious differences, and the user's perception experience will be poor, which will also affect the conversion effect.

From the perspective of specific subdivision camps, it roughly presents several characteristics:

The lineup of the three countries is clearly differentiated in the delivery channel. "Three Kingdoms History: Strategic Edition" and "Siege of the World" with high delivery volume are still dominated by aggregation platform channels, but the distribution of "Coast of the Land" in the lower and lower part of the year's delivery performance is more balanced in the distribution channels. On the whole, the product launch channels of the three countries camp are relatively wide.

The multi-civilization camp is mainly based on balanced delivery, and the byte and Tencent systems are both wet. Since "Return to the Empire" is a Tencent product, the delivery channel focuses on the Tencent channel, but the byte series is also involved, but the amount of delivery is small. The other two camp products have relatively balanced delivery channels. In fact, the multi-civilization theme is younger than the theme of the Three Kingdoms, the age range of users is larger, and the delivery channels are therefore more diversified and balanced.

The Ant camp's priority is to reach more users. The innovative theme is based on the domestic market, and the project team will focus on effect communication, so as to open up the market, and the Chuanshanjia Alliance and Youlianghui, which have a large user base, have become the main delivery channels.

03 Analysis of creative materials of domestic SLG category segments

(1) Distribution of the first 3s eye-catching points of the top 40 creative and efficient materials of the three countries camp:

【Facts & Figures】

The project team of "Three Kingdoms Strategy Edition" emphasizes "real terrain" and "tactical strategy", mainly highlighting the strategic gameplay elements of the game. In addition, these high-performance materials also contain elements of "star player interviews" and "real user status".

"Land's Shore" focuses on "social system" elements, showing elements such as game dating, game story, and alliances. In addition, the project team will also shoot plot materials for "restoring the history of the Three Kingdoms".

"Gongcheng Tianxia" takes "Three Kingdoms Military Generals" as the main communication entry point, but the project team also highlights the "game welfare" element to attract users' attention, such as online first charge benefits, 100 consecutive draws, and so on.

【DataEye Research Institute Viewpoint】

For a long time, the creative materials of the Three Kingdoms theme have shown a strong sense of historical atmosphere, but the script also has obvious formatting and Facebook, and this type of material may make many users visually fatigued, and the track enters the stock market, and the conversion rate has also declined. DataEye Research Institute believes that at present, domestic hot investment products present three marketing ideas:

"Three Kingdoms History: Strategic Edition" has become "pan". By inviting star players to interview and linking the World Cup and Messi, the project team endorses the product with the help of celebrity effect, hoping to combine the thick history of the three countries with modern culture, so as to make it younger and easier to communicate with players, hoping to attract all kinds of players, including pan-users;

"The Coast of the Land" is more "deep". The material tries to dig into the historical content and interpret it in a live-action way, making the historical plot vivid and ornamental. In addition, social elements will be highlighted to fill the needs of some players who are more social. "The Coast of the Land" is more and more deeply rooted in history and culture, and into social relations;

"Gongcheng Tianxia" starts from "benefits". Although "Gongcheng Tianxia" takes "Three Kingdoms Military Generals" as the main selling point of entering the track, at present, the relevant elements of game welfare have become a key part of the project team's serious breakthrough in the internal roll. The advantage is that the Three Kingdoms track, which focuses on quality and restoration, forms different elements in game benefits and pays more attention to results, which can quickly pull new ones, but the project team still needs to improve product quality and maintain users in the future.

(2) Multi-civilization camp creative and efficient materials TOP40 first 3s eye-catching point distribution:

【Facts & Figures】

"Return to the Empire" mainly introduces the features of the game, emphasizing that the game does not go out of the grid, RTS gameplay, and mainly shows product highlights. At the same time, it emphasizes that the game is in the same bloodline as the Age of Empires, and uses classic IP game elements to attract players.

The game selling points in the Top 40 Efficient Materials of "Civilization and Conquest" in 2022 are rich, of which "game welfare" elements account for more, such as online benefits, card draw benefits, and so on. In addition, the project team emphasizes the core elements of the game multi-civilization, and introduces and explains the camps of various civilizations.

The overall selling points of "Awakening of Nations" are relatively concentrated, of which the relevant elements of "game opening" account for more than 60%, mainly showing the opening construction, opening region selection and opening civilization, etc., and can also highlight the basic gameplay of the game.

【DataEye Research Institute Viewpoint】

The selling point of "Game Opening" fits the core of the multi-civilization theme product. On the one hand, it introduces each civilization, and on the other hand, it explains the game and lowers the threshold of players' games. Therefore, "game opening" has become a game selling point with high uniformity as content output, and both highlight good graphic performance and unique art style.

DataEye Research Institute believes that the overall marketing idea of the multi-civilization camp belongs to different branch types of one backbone, "game opening" becomes the marketing backbone, and multiple branches are to display product characteristics. For example, "Return to the Empire" uses the Age of Empires IP as an eye-catcher, and conveys the game characteristics of the game without going "grid" to form differentiation; "Civilization & Conquest" expects to form a herd effect through player stories and anchor recommendations. In contrast, category veteran "Awakening of Nations" is more stable and traditional in terms of creative materials, and implements the marketing backbone of the multi-civilization camp.

(3) Distribution of the first 3s eye-catching points of the ant camp's creative and efficient materials TOP40:

【Facts & Figures】

The project team of "Little Ant Country" mainly simulates the "ant world" through the game screen, such as reclaiming territory, going out to forage, encountering natural enemies, etc., and then shows the basic gameplay of the game. In addition, the project team will also combine the elements of "ecological science popularization" to introduce the real ant ecology and deepen the player's impression.

The TOP40 high-efficiency materials in "Rise of the Ant Clan" in 2022 are relatively single, basically all of them use the method of "simulating the ant world" to display the basic content of the game, and there are also prominent game sub-gameplay elements, but the proportion is relatively low.

【DataEye Research Institute Viewpoint】

The ant camp belongs to the "new blood" of the SLG track in 2022, one is the entry of large manufacturers' products, and the other is the surge in purchases. DataEye Research Institute believes that the focus of the ant camp on creative material ideas is mainly to highlight the characteristics and differences of the theme, hoping to attract more users who are interested in the theme.

Therefore, we will find that the efficient materials of the ant camp in 2022 mainly show the "ant world" in the form of a real game, including related habits, ecological conditions, etc., and will also present relevant strategic elements, such as nest building, turf battles, etc.

When this creative selling point is integrated, it is expected to reach both genre lovers and category players who have not been transformed by traditional themes. However, it was observed that the single creative form and routine may be that the relevant project team did not pay much attention to brand communication in order to focus on the main effect in the early stage of the product.

04 Domestic SLG summary and future

【DataEye Research Institute Viewpoint】

(1) Summary of SLG track in 2022

From the perspective of the delivery volume, delivery channels and materials, DataEye Research Institute believes that among the domestic SLG manufacturers, except for Sanqi Xinyou, other leading manufacturers have gradually got rid of their dependence on purchase volume and delivery. There may be several reasons for this:

First, the payback cycle continues to lengthen, and manufacturers can't afford it. At the beginning of 2022, SLG traffic competition was chaotic, and many leading manufacturers passively participated, resulting in the product return cycle being delayed to 12 months later, which was a heavy burden for manufacturers.

Second, the continuous impact of the cost reduction and efficiency increase strategy. Cost reduction and efficiency improvement will be implemented in the second half of 2022, and the budget of these leading manufacturers in 2023 is not expected to be much.

Third, core users are repeatedly "washed", and the difficulty of conversion increases. The domestic SLG track has entered the stock market, and most of the core users who buy volume are returning users, and have been repeatedly "washed" by multiple products, and the users of the volume tactics may no longer buy it, and they need to work creative materials.

The fourth is the rise of effect-based influencer marketing and the prevalence of brand linkage. Diversified marketing has penetrated into the SLG track and has achieved good results. For example, "Endless Lagrange" promoted video marketing for effect-based influencers, and once again topped the iOS free list after more than a year of launch; In addition, it also includes "Civilization and Conquest" linkage with Ele.me, "Land's Coast" linkage with "Fengqi Longxi" and other brand linkage promotion.

All in all, 2022 is a turning point for the domestic SLG track, and it is also a landmark key node worthy of going down in history. Because in 2022, SLG manufacturers basically say goodbye to buying volume!

This traditional track has taken on a different look at the marketing level. In the future, the domestic SLG track will fight more for operation, not for marketing, more for "retention" volume, not for traffic. This may have great significance for the future development of SLG.

(2) 2023 SLG track development trend and marketing growth points

For the SLG category in 2023, DataEye Research also observed several development and marketing trends:

First, creative materials are no longer bound by the "comfort zone". Some domestic hot investment products gradually jump out of the "marketing comfort zone", and reach and attract various players, including pan-users, while maintaining the established routine.

Second, game live broadcast is increasingly valued by manufacturers. In the past, game live streaming was not well compatible with SLG, but recently more and more manufacturers have begun to try live broadcast marketing, such as "Three Kingdoms Strategy" released a live broadcast recruitment order, "Land's Coast" launched official live broadcast on multiple platforms, and "Return to the Empire" held a team event to rank female anchors.

Third, manufacturers may pay more attention to product marketing nodes. The cost reduction and efficiency increase strategy is still influential, which means that the marketing budget of the project team is limited, and it is expected that important nodes, such as new seasons and new versions, may become the focus of SLG product marketing in 2023.

Fourth, the rise of sub-play marketing, opportunities appear. Some SLG products in China have added sub-gameplay marketing elements, but they have not been popular on a large scale. Mainly: 1 head products are traditional medium and heavy SLG gameplay, unlike "Pocket Raiders" casual; 2 Medium and heavy SLG dominate the core users, resulting in sub-gameplay + SLG not prevalent in China. Then in fact, there is an opportunity point: fusion, casual, innovative theme SLG, may have the opportunity to take advantage of the east wind of sub-play marketing.

The above is a full review of the SLG track in 2022.

Written at the end:

The domestic SLG track has experienced the baptism of 2022, and there may be more unexpected actions at the marketing level in 2023. The DataEye Institute will continue to pay attention.