CASE STUDY

Data-Driven Growth in Game Publishing

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Nearshore Solutions

Gaming

Development Expertise

Snowflake

Sisense

PostgreSQL

Node.js

Python

Outsourced Services

Dedicated Team

Project Management & Delivery

Staff Augmentation

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Big Run Studios is a leading mobile gaming publisher, renowned for delivering top-notch games for traditionally underserved audiences. Their prime focus was to create unforgettable casual competitive games for a unique targeted gaming market.

Big Run is a leading mobile game developer

The people are great, simple as that. Again, I sought out Azumo having worked with them at a previous company (NCSOFT), so I knew his team would be a good tech and culture fit for what we were doing at Big Run. They are all great to work with and excellent at their jobs.

Ben Jordan
Chief Technology Officer

The Challenge

Big Run Studios faced several pivotal challenges in their journey to transition from game development to self-publishing:

  • Data Strategy Gap: As they ventured into game publishing, Big Run Studios lacked a well-defined data strategy to collect, analyze, and leverage user data effectively. They required guidance on technology selection, short-term priorities, and proof-of-concept strategies.
  • Self-Publishing Ambition: To maximize their share of the gaming business, Big Run Studios aimed to self-publish their games. This required a robust data infrastructure to facilitate user acquisition efforts and drive advertising campaigns efficiently.

The Solution

In collaboration with Azumo, Big Run Studios embarked on a journey to resolve their data challenges. Azumo spearheaded the development of an integrated data infrastructure, meticulously converging data from divergent sources. Detailed data pipelines and protocols were put into place, forming the backbone for ensuing analyses.

Tailoring to the studio's unique needs, custom dashboards were conceived and deployed, offering Big Run Studios a lens into the world of data that mattered most to them. Further augmenting their insights, Azumo instituted an automated weekly report mechanism, arming the studio with the capability to promptly detect and respond to significant fluctuations in game interactions.

Vendor Selection

Big Run Studios' CTO had prior experience working with Azumo at different game studios and had a successful history of web engineering collaborations. When Azumo expressed their capabilities in data science, Big Run Studios decided to explore this collaboration. After a successful trial period, they expanded the partnership to encompass their entire data pipeline.

Project Development

The project commenced with a high-level proposal outlining the goals of collecting end-user analytics, generating quick reports, and making data-driven decisions. Azumo provided valuable insights into the initial choice of technologies and assisted in building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).With Azumo's support, Big Run Studios established:- A data lake on Amazon S3- A data warehouse on Snowflake- A reporting layer using SisenseOnce the initial reports on user behavior were generated, the project expanded to integrate data from Adjust, enhancing campaign data tracking. Continuous refinement and expansion of the data pipeline were conducted as new games were rolled out.

Team Collaboration

The project began with a part-time data architect and a full-time data engineer. It has since grown to involve two full-time data engineers, a part-time project manager, and a part-time data architect.

Getting Results

The collaboration between Big Run Studios and Azumo yielded notable results:

  • Data Empowerment: Big Run Studios now possesses comprehensive, near-real-time reporting capabilities for many of their live games. This stands in contrast to their previous limited, out-of-the-box aggregate trends from Firebase. This data empowerment has facilitated critical decisions regarding advertising expenditure and development focus.
  • Smooth Workflow: The workflow between both teams started smoothly, and while scaling the team and games initially introduced some challenges, the addition of a part-time project manager from Azumo streamlined the process. Prioritization and communication improved, leading to more effective collaboration.

Big Run Studios' partnership with Azumo exemplifies the transformative power of data-driven decision-making in the game publishing industry. Azumo's expertise in data science and web engineering allowed Big Run Studios to create an end-to-end data pipeline that substantially improved their understanding of user behavior and informed their advertising strategies. While challenges arose due to the unique nature of the gaming industry, Azumo's adaptability and dedication to finding game-specific insights ensured a successful partnership. As Big Run Studios continues to navigate the competitive landscape of game publishing, Azumo remains a valuable ally, driving their data-driven growth journey forward.

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