There’s no denying the video game market is a big one. From console games to mobile apps, there are so many ways to play and even more in terms of categories to choose from.
Because of this, creating a standout game and attracting players to use it requires a certain degree of dedication and strategy to reach success.
Patrik Beck mainly started developing his own game because none of the business sims he found met his gaming standards – he had no idea he would end up creating a platform that both educates and entertains thousands of users every day, and that banks more than $400k of annual revenue. Although initially struggling with marketing, he found unique ways to work on organic SEO to attract players – and it paid off in a BIG way. Although it took some time, his game Sim Companies now enjoys a community of 150 thousand monthly active players, and with an almost 5 star rating on the Google Play and Apple stores, Patrik seeks to expand his game availability to Steam games and beyond.
Allow me to introduce Patrik Beck…
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I’m Patrik Beck, the creator of Sim Companies. Sim Companies is a complex and engaging multiplayer economic simulation game that I developed a few years ago. Players can build their own business in a virtual economy and compete against others in a free market.
The idea originated from my interest in business and economic simulations. I was unable to find a game that met my expectations, so I decided to create one myself. Admittedly, I was a bit naïve at the start, it involved a lot more work than I anticipated. But my experience in startup work, software engineering, and collaboration with individuals familiar with data-driven product development helped me push through and develop a successful game.
I had the basic game core loop in mind: invest in facilities and assets, manufacture products, sell them back to the game with profit, repeat. I created an MVP around this, with very simple graphics, to have something to play and show to others quickly. We had very few products and buildings at the beginning. Everything else was added later on top of this. At the moment we have research, trading exchange, government orders, bonds, executives, collectible items and lot more depth.
Launching has proven to be difficult. Ads and PPC turned out to be too expensive to be sustainable. I did invest a lot into SEO and had to wait a long time until this materialized. The game really took off only after I started getting organic traffic from google search engine. Another big milestone was porting the game on the Google Play Store.
It’s hard to point out something specific, and it’s hard to know which of the things we are doing is the one that works. We try to have an open communication with the players, talk to the community, really engage with players. We do not do ads in the game, and try not to be a pay-to-win game. We are enjoying a 4.9 star rating. I believe that once you have a critical mass of players, the word-of-month, recommendation, and referrals start working for you.
Retaining players is very challenging, it’s always easier to play through game content than to create it. Ideally, we aspire to have game mechanics which keeps changing based on player actions in multiplayer. For example free market driven by supply/demand of other players, so the landscape keeps shifting.
For sure, it was my experience working in my previous job at Prizeo and Represent. I learned a lot from the success of the company.
I also want to thank you to our players who have been essential in shaping the game and are still supporting us on our journey. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.
As of today, Sim Companies is thriving, with positive ratings on platforms like the Apple Store and Google, and a dedicated player base of over twenty five thousand daily users and nearly 150 thousand monthly active players. The recent release on Steam this summer has expanded the game’s reach even further.
We want to keep improving the game, both UX and mechanics to create even more immersive experience.
We are also working on another game: Sim Energy Trader and hoping players will love it at least as much as they love Sim Companies.
This is probably a cliché at this point, but I believe, the most important thing is fast path to the market. Build a cut down version of your product, an MPV, so you can start getting feedback early. If you are working alone, or as a small team, it also helps you to remain motivated. The faster you can have something you can show to customers the better.
We would love if you followed us on social:
https://twitter.com/SimCompanies
https://www.facebook.com/SimCompanies/
https://www.instagram.com/simcompanies
But even better, if you just jump on our website and start playing:
www.simcompanies.com
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