Developers Report: Current Status and strategic outlook.
Hello, survivors! I'm Jake (SheikSama on Discord), the Live Ops Producer at Novarama. Welcome to this Developer's Report, where we'll discuss the current state of the game and our company, outline what's coming up next, and share our strategies to resolve known issues within the game.
[h2]Current State[/h2]
UNITED 1944 has struggled filling servers, which of course generates a negative sales and review loop. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to the game. We have been creating games for 20 years and understand that this industry is a marathon, not a sprint.
Many of you have voiced concerns on Discord that we should do more marketing, promote the game more. Of course, being an indie game, in Early Access, on one of the more saturated genres to enter hasn't helped. Yes, we have engaged in several marketing initiatives and collaborated with streamers. And it's true the outcome haven't met the expectations of our community and ourselves. Clearly, a marketing campaign for a multiplayer survival shooter requires means that we, as of today, do not have. But we feel there's a lot of work we can do within the game: we want to create a better game, so we engage our existing community and attract new players.
[h2]DEMO Impact[/h2]
As you are well aware, we released a DEMO to encourage players to come and give UNITED 1944 a try. We're happy to announce that, since the release of the DEMO, we've welcomed 10,000 new unique players. Slowly, but it's a move we consider successful.
Of course, having a demo is useless if people are not playing games. Waiting on an empty lobby is frustrating, and ends up with dissatisfied players and a bad review. To address this, I'm happy to announce a number of measures, starting with a new game mode coming later this month.
[h2]New game mode: Skirmish[/h2]
Skirmish is a compact version of the classic Domination Game mode. It maintains all the essential elements players love but is designed for quicker access and play. With smaller maps and a reduced player requirement, this mode supports 6 vs 6 battles, ensuring faster matchmaking and less waiting. In Skirmish, teams fight for control of the map, engaging in strategic base building, defense, and offensive maneuvers. This smaller setting ensures that players can enjoy all the action while minimizing downtime.
[h2]Improving Retention[/h2]
Once we get players into battles in the new game mode, our focus shifts to retention: maintaining their engagement. We're reevaluating our approach to improve player retention and build a more robust community. It's useless to bring 10.000 players if only 900 stay after one month. We've reviewed our game, the data, and the outcomes of our previous strategies, concluding that retention issues largely stem from various friction points within the game that prevent players from fully experiencing its depth. We’ve meticulously dissected our macro game loop, identifying critical areas needing an overhaul.
The main aspects of the game we’re focusing on include:
- Construction loop
- Base building/Attack/Defense loop
- Safe boxes loop
- Scavenge loop
- Inventory management
We’re not planning to remove these elements. Our goal is to eliminate as many friction points as possible, making the game more enjoyable and engaging for you, the players. Naturally, there are many smaller areas that will also receive attention, but the ones mentioned are our primary focus.
[h2]Survivor[/h2]
In order to work on the new game mode and fix all game mechanics, we must also share some tough decisions. We've decided to remove the Survivor game mode for now to maintain focus: a smaller game is always easier to iterate. We believe Survivor has a ton of potential, but it requires a deeper analysis; we recognize it was launched prematurely and has divided our player base.
We are phasing out the server browser and regional servers to streamline and improve matchmaking. We understand these features are important to some, but our data shows that simplifying how players connect can significantly reduce wait times and the number of active games.
That change is not final, as you know we are a community-driven game, and it might come back in the future. There are many more small tweaks and improvements not detailed, but they are all aimed in the same direction: fill servers, ensure people enjoy the game, and encourage them to come back.
[h2]Our vision: The summer offensive[/h2]
As you can see in the preceding points, we are preparing a Summer Offensive, aimed at key issues like improving player retention and addressing the challenge of not having enough players for a full experience.
Month by month, we will give you updates on this plan. Starting this month of March, you will get the Skirmish game mode. After March, we plan to release updates aimed at addressing the specific friction points identified within our game loop and collecting player feedback. This ensures that our efforts to attract new players aren't undermined by poor player retention.
We can't share every detail from now until June, as we need the flexibility to respond to evolving situations. But I hope this message has given you a good outline of our intended direction.
Of course, we'll continue leveraging proven strategies like the DEMO, Steam events, Visibility Rounds, and significant update launches. These methods have successfully attracted new players, and we're confident in their ongoing effectiveness.
Additionally, we’re excited to increase our interaction with you, our community. Planned activities include developer streams and voice Q&A sessions on Discord, among other community-focused initiatives. Your dedication in the Discord servers and enthusiasm for organizing games have been truly inspiring.
[h2]Parting Thoughts[/h2]
We don’t need to tell you "it’s a hard year in the industry": it's been a terrible year. Many good games have been canceled, and studios have closed. But even when the tide of war seems to go against you, every battle is worth fighting for. You can count on us to keep improving UNITED 1944. Thank you for sticking by our side.
From everyone at Novarama, developers of UNITED 1944, thanks for your support all these months! Back to work!
Remember to join UNITED 1944 Discord for feedback and dev updates.
