Turning Failure into Success: The Story of Monopoly Go

Monopoly Go has achieved immense success since its launch in April, topping the US mobile charts in August. Despite the challenging mobile market, the game's success can be attributed to its well-suited design for the current landscape. According to Massimo Maietti, GM of Monopoly Go and VP of product at Scopely, the game's brand recognition and social features played a significant role in its success. Initially, the team developed a synchronous PvP game that required skill and commitment but was difficult to play with friends due to its real-time nature. The results from testing this version suggested it might sustain a reasonable business but wouldn't be a big hit. The team realized that the gameplay didn't fit the Monopoly brand, as it felt like labor rather than accumulating wealth through capital and investments. Maietti explains that the fantasy of Monopoly is about getting richer by having money, not through labor. The team went back to the drawing board and re-envisioned Monopoly Go as an asynchronous event, focusing on social and viral hooks like its invite system. This approach allowed players to invite friends and family, creating a network effect. Maietti emphasizes that the game doesn't incentivize indiscriminate inviting, instead focusing on meaningful connections with a small group of people. The team's strategy was to create a game that would appeal to a large daily active user base, making it easier for players to find others to play with. Maietti calls this approach 'high-risk, high-reward' and notes that it changed the way the company tested the game in soft launch. Instead of focusing on individual KPIs, the team tested whether the social elements were working. The results were promising, with the game taking hold of the market during its soft launch phase. Maietti attributes this success to the game's ability to create a network of users that is healthy enough to dominate the market. The team's approach to the soft launch was different, as they launched a nearly complete experience instead of testing and tweaking. Maietti says that the results from internal playtesting and external user feedback gave them confidence in their approach. The game's success is still in its early stages, and maintaining momentum will be crucial. Maietti believes that it's no longer enough to have a great game design; developers also need a great structure around data and insights, as well as a deeper integration between the game and marketing. He emphasizes the importance of community building and synchronization between game development and marketing. As part of Scopely, the Monopoly Go team can draw learnings from other successful games, and their intent is to grow the game and make it an evergreen title. Maietti wants to convey a message of hope to fellow game makers, stating that despite the challenges in the mobile market, it's still possible to create a successful game that resonates with a large audience.