BENCHMARK from GamesAnalytics to provide F2P games health check

12, February 2013, Edinburgh: Award-winning predictive analytics specialist GamesAnalytics, today announced the launch of BENCHMARK - a new service designed to assess the monetization and retention readiness of Free-2-Play (F2P) games.

With publishers and developers under increasing pressure to maximise the potential of the freemium business model, Benchmark helps game design teams identify issues likely to have an adverse impact on retention or in-game revenue generation.

On average, monetization features implemented in today’s F2P games score a lowly  46.5% according to over 50 assessments conducted by GamesAnalytics to date.

Benchmark offers a full review of a game’s design across 75 key categories covering all aspects of Player Relationship Management (PRM) including engagement, retention and monetization. The service also scores each game against the best-in-class and as an average for games of the same genre.  By comparing game design against established best practice de-risks the development investment and ensures the game is optimised at launch.

Available for all connected platforms and game genres, Benchmark critiques games at Alpha or Beta and uses evidence-based research to identify where the game design is strong and where attention is required. Actionable and measureable recommendations provide a clear roadmap for design improvements and problem areas, as part of a comprehensive analytics programme.

Chris Wright, CEO at GamesAnalytics said: “It’s considerably easier and more cost effective for publishers and developers to get their games right before launch. Once a player has had a poor experience they are unlikely to return on the off chance that the game experience might have improved. Our Benchmark service recognises the games industry’s critical need in 2013 to better understand how to fully maximise the potential of F2P games.”