Virality is an initial cause for most games; however, if the game is not well developed and tested rigorously, the success could be short-lived. Here, at Gamecloud Technologies, we specialize in end to end game testing and 360-degree game feedback, to provide the best experience to gamers and developers. We have compiled a list of 10 games that reached 10 million users in the shortest time and the factors responsible for their rapid growth.
⦁ Super Mario Run
Super Mario made headlines when it took only a single day to reach 10 million downloads. It was developed jointly by Nintendo and DeNA and was built using the Unity Engine. The game was praised by critics who found little no bugs in it. However, players criticized the game for its pricing. Having no bugs suggests that Nintendo was thorough with their game testing, and their focus was on game quality.
⦁ Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go is an AR game developed by Niantic in collaboration with The Pokémon Company. It was at the center stage around mid-2016 when it took the world by storm. Despite its soaring popularity, the game was heavily criticized by players for its several glitches and bugs, the most famous of which was “three-step-glitch.” Pokemon Go is a classic example of a viral game where little attention was paid to game testing and quality. This led to a decline in earnings in the next year after the release.
⦁ Clash Royale
Clash Royale is a freemium strategy game that combines elements from multiple genres and is developed by Supercell. It is one of the most well-received games and was the recipient of various awards. There were a few minor glitches that were soon addressed in updates that followed.
⦁ Candy Crush Jelly Saga
Candy Crush Jelly Saga is one of the sequels of the immensely popular Candy Crush Saga. When it began, the franchise had several glitches, but the developers resolved them as they released more games. Maybe they partnered with top-class QA testers, someone like Gamecloud Technologies.
⦁ Angry Birds 2
Angry Birds 2 is very similar to its predecessor without any significant changes. It owes its success to the popularity of the previous version to some extent. The developer, Rovio Entertainment, made every attempt to ensure that the game is glitch-free. However, players found some bugs and figured out ways to use them to their advantage.
⦁ Minecraft
Currently, Minecraft is a sandbox video game, developed by Mojang Studios, with over 126 million monthly users. The game was released in November 2011, but development began as early as 2009, and beta testing began in late 2010. Superior game quality and the game’s uniqueness are the primary reason for the massive success of Minecraft. The new updates by Mojang should also be praised.
⦁ Grand Theft Auto 5
The most popular edition from the fabled GTA franchise from Rockstar Games has sold more than 130 million copies. Of course, the gameplay, the plot, and the graphics are the primary reason for its success. However, Rockstar’s patience and reluctance to release the PC version until it passed all the tests should not be overlooked. Here again, the priority of the developer was not cashing in as fast as possible, but to strive for technical perfection.
⦁ Fortnite
Fortnite was released in 2017 by Epic Games, and the free to play battle royale mode put it in the limelight. Inspired by PUBG, Epic Games learned a lot from it and took a different approach to boost game quality. Epic added several updates and went for the hotfix option to address the various glitches in the game.
⦁ FIFA 18
FIFA 18 from EA Sports is the best selling FIFA game until now. Fans were eager to continue the Journey mode introduced in the previous edition, driving sales in the process. Unlike most FIFA games that used the Frostbite engine, FIFA 18 was built using an internally developed game engine.
⦁ Slither.io
Slither.io is an online game where up to 500 players can play simultaneously. The game developer, Steve Howse, struggled to find stable servers that could fit 600 players. Its simplicity and ability to accommodate so many players helped it to become a runaway success.
Conclusion
It is an undeniable fact that a game’s popularity plays a critical role in its initial success. However, the importance of game testing, which improves game quality, shouldn’t be downplayed. At Gamecloud Technologies, we have tested more than 1000 games across multiple platforms, helping developers refine games to be their best versions.
