Tilting Point has launched a new $150 million user acquisition (UA) fund to help developers scale their games and apps.
This marks the publisher’s third time deploying a multimillion-dollar fund, following its initial endeavors in 2016 ($12 million) and 2018 (up to $130 million). Among the first developers to leverage the new fund are mobile game developer Mythical Games, early learning game leader Begin and a soon-to-be-announced rapidly-growing web-based gaming hub.
Kevin Segalla, CEO of Tilting Point, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the company has once again negotiated a line of credit with a bank to provide the $150 million user acquisition fund.
Segalla acknowledged that user acquisition isn’t what it used to be. Before Apple prioritized privacy over targeted ads, user acquisition was quite effective. And Tilting Point was able to help scale more than 200 games over time. But with Apple’s deprecation of the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) in April 2021, the efficiency of user acquisition dropped, Segalla said, as Apple no longer provided much detail on which users clicked on mobile game advertising.
But now the time for a user acquisition fund has come again because mobile game companies and marketers have learned how to cope with the strict privacy rules and the market has broadened beyond just the mobile game app store platforms, Segalla said.
“There are games out there now where the efficiency is there and they have had the ability to scale,” Segalla said.
The very fact that Tilting Point is ready to tackle the user acquisition fund again means that things may be getting better, and the company is willing to take bets again.
“We’re feeling great at tilting point. We’re through the tough period and operating on all cylinders right now,” Segalla said.
He said Tilting Point’s success in growth capital comes from years of experience and a deep understanding of what developers need and how the market changes. Designed as a long-term partnership, the fund provides the financial backing needed to scale successfully without sacrificing independence.
Tilting Point stands out from traditional publishers, venture capitalists, and financial institutions with no gaming DNA by offering a unique, non-dilutive funding model that enables developers to scale without sacrificing ownership, while the company’s veteran marketing experts serve as a sounding board on UA insights and best practices. Developers don’t have to give away stock to venture investors to get user acquisition funds, and VCs don’t have to dedicate a ton of their investments to user acquisition. Now it comes from a bank.
Tilting Point’s approach with this fund is designed to serve as a true financial and marketing partner, not a publisher. The fund’s goal is to provide developers with the capital they need to fuel growth, without taking on the responsibilities or control associated with traditional publishing deals.
Tilting Point does not interfere with the management of UA campaigns unless developers specifically request support, ensuring that they retain full autonomy over their marketing strategy and decisions while benefiting from the essential funding needed to drive success.
“It’s a tricky time for the mobile game industry. For sure, it’s become harder and harder to launch new games. Even big studios are having trouble launching new games. And sometimes games break through, and they’re doing great. What we’re seeing is a lot of games that have been around a long time that are entrenched that are performing better because they’ve been out for four, five, seven years,” Segalla said. “They’ve raised the LTV (lifetime value) of their players. They’ve gotten more efficient with their user acquisition because they’ve really learned how to do it for their particular game.”
But that means it’s still pretty hard for new games to launch and get traction over time.
“There’s a lot of creative stuff coming out and there’s new gameplay that is attracting an audience and there’s new platforms out there for discoverability,” Segalla. “It has gotten really, really difficult. One of the ways that we’re tackling discoverability is by working with large IPs.”
That’s why Tilting Point has titles based on IPs like Star Trek, SpongeBob, Barbie, Bluey, Avatar, Godzilla and more, he said.
“But we’re doing these big IPs because of the fact that visibility and discoverability has gotten more difficult along the way. One potential solution in the future is new distribution. And we’re seeing that work. Sometimes a developer has to do some work to get onto these different platforms,” he said. “But there’s a lot of them out there and you know you can make a 5% increase in revenue with this platform or with that platform and you do that over a number of platforms.”
Tilting Point was the first in the mobile games market to offer UA financing to studios with live games since 2016, having successfully scaled over 200 games across genres and platforms. The publisher’s previous UA initiatives have led to exponential growth for its partners, including:
- Loop Games’ Match 3D experienced a remarkable 30x revenue surge, with monthly spending skyrocketing from $500K to $11M through its partnership with Tilting Point.
- Joycity’s Gunship Battle saw its revenue double, with annual spending climbing to $40M.
- Haiku Games’ Adventure Escape Mysteries leveraged both Tilting Point’s funding and its brand relationships to secure Hasbro’s Clue IP for integration, driving a sixfold increase in revenue.
“We know from our proven success with more than 200 games, how important our UA funds have been for developers. It’s a strong tool for developers looking to scale efficiently while allowing them to strategically utilize their available cash on other priorities,” said Segalla. “We are thrilled to be back where we belong, in this sector that we pioneered helping developers maximize growth without sacrificing equity, which we recognize as their most valuable asset.”
Tilting Point’s track record and deep expertise speaks for itself. As a publisher, Tilting Points has partnered with more than 90 developers worldwide and launched games with some of the most well-known entertainment franchises including SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Trek, James Bond, Godzilla x Kong, Avatar: The Last Airbender and many more.
“We were the first ever to build a UA fund like this, and its success then and now hinges on what we know is the secret sauce: truly unlimited and flexible spending, combined with the full control developers have over how much involvement they want from Tilting Point,” said Asi Burak, chief business officer at Tilting Point, in a statement. “Investing in promising games has always been a key driver of our growth, and it’s how we’ve built some of our strongest partnerships.”
Through strategic partnerships and multiple acquisitions, Tilting Point has amassed over 80 game titles under one roof. Its world-class portfolio features some of the most recognizable licensed IP titles, including SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off, Star Trek Timelines, Narcos: Cartel Wars and Cypher 007.
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