Platform relations are more important than tech decisions when you want to reach players on alternative app stores, argues Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion Mobile.
Samsung’s decision to remove their store from the Unity Distribution Platform (UDP) was probably largely commercial but it will leave some developers with stark choices.
From 15 January, in-app purchases and game updates will likely stop working for developers using UDP to publish their game in the Samsung Galaxy store. Essentially the games will be broken on that platform.
This will give developers the choice of withdrawing from the store and losing the player loyalty they have built up. Or they can re-engineer their game and submit it directly to the Samsung Galaxy store. Unity has issued details of how to do this here.
But for some developers, there is a third option: outsourcing. Using a distributer like Flexion, for example, would solve the tech problem of integrating with Samsung at zero upfront cost and with little effort. It would also offer a whole lot more to a game’s revenue potential.
UDP sought to offer a developer utopia — push button access to multiple platforms. But the dream was never fully realised because the technical challenge is actually only a small part of integrating with a new store.
More than 60% of games are developed on Unity and it will remain a potent tool for developers. But, even with UDP, it only ever gets you to the front door of an app store.
Games only become successful if they are featured, if they are marketed well, if they take advantage of platform features to monetise. These are all things that come as standard with a Flexion distribution deal. They require an understanding of and a relationship with the platform, and they tend to be labour intensive.
Even if you get the technology right, it’s not so easy to generate revenue. This is where a partner like Flexion can help. The platform relations and the marketing can make the difference between a game being on a platform and a game being successful on that platform.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Flexion’s approach, contact info@flexionmobile.com