How Royal Match redefined success without breaking trust

We recently published extensive research on the mobile hit Royal Match developed by Dream Games. With over 300 million downloads and $3 billion in revenue, according to AppMagic, it's redefining what's possible in the match-3 genre.

These amazing results inspired us to conduct full-scale research on how advanced emotion recognition technology combined with player behavior analysis works. Observing emotional responses and engagement metrics of new and experienced players alike helped us to identify the key elements that make Royal Match resonate with its audience.

In this article, we share our key findings from the study. The full analysis can be found by following the link.

Firstly, about our research

Our research team conducted an in-depth analysis of Royal Match’s design, gameplay, and player engagement. The study included a diverse group of participants divided into two categories: experienced players who had played the game for more than two months and new players who were familiar with competitors like Candy Crush or Gardenscapes but had never played Royal Match before.

All players were given a 20-minute free play session. During this time, the moderators didn't ask any questions to ensure that the players' reactions were picked up naturally. Questions might influence or even make the player hesitate to do something. Experienced players started where they had stopped, while new players began anew. Our emotional recognition technology tracked players' emotions in real time, capturing moments of excitement, frustration, and satisfaction. Afterward, players responded to specially designed questions based on our hypotheses and gave elaborative feedback about their experiences of what worked for them and what did not.

This careful mix of emotional analysis and personal insights has given the researchers a complete picture of what makes Royal Match so engaging.

How does a new player feel playing the game?

When it comes to attracting new players, Royal Match excels in creating a welcoming and intuitive environment. While most mobile games start with heavy tutorials and aggressive advertisements, Royal Match uses much softer, inviting approaches: for instance, the gradual introduction of its mechanics so that players learn by playing rather than from an overdose of instructions.

Castle-Building Meta-Game: New players are particularly drawn to the castle-building feature, where they can decorate their castle using stars earned from levels. This provides immediate progress and visual satisfaction, blending gameplay with a rewarding sense of achievement during the first 20 minutes of gameplay.

Polished Design and Visual Appeal: The graphics of the game are full of color, animations are smooth, power-up effects are pleasing on the ears, which collectively create an emotionally captivating effect. The pacing — shifting between easy and challenging levels again — keeps the pace moderate and appealing for beginners.

“King’s Nightmare” Levels: These time-sensitive puzzles and unique mechanics, widely promoted through advertising, have become a hallmark of the game. Players appreciate seeing these recognizable elements directly in the gameplay, and many new users cite them as a favorite feature that sets Royal Match apart from its competitors.

Combined with these features, Royal Match ensures new players feel welcome and motivated to keep playing, offering a unique combination of accessibility, excitement, and satisfaction.

What keeps experienced players hooked?

Meanwhile, for those who have been playing Royal Match for longer, the game provides a more complex strategic experience. Regulars are very often coming back to build up their progress, lured by the interaction of the game's meta and by bonuses that grow in quantity if all daily challenges are completed.

Engaging Challenges: Different types of challenges attract and retain experienced players. First, there are leaderboards that introduce some competition, enabling users to rise through the ranks, satisfying their competitive urges. Besides, the game alternates between difficult and easy levels, thus balancing activity and rest.

Reward System: Generous rewards are in-game currency, power-ups, and bonuses. It is important in keeping players interested in the game. With consistent valuation of the players' time and effort, Royal Match builds a positive association and motivates players to continue their journey.

Strategic Gameplay: Advanced strategies like optimizing power-ups or beating the more challenging "King's Nightmare" levels add depth to the experience. Some players mentioned that certain levels may get repetitive, yet the variety in gameplay generally keeps them invested.

The balance between challenge and relaxation

Royal Match stands out by balancing relaxation and challenge, keeping players engaged for a long time. Easy levels, with simple goals and calming visuals, offer a stress-free start for new players. At the same time, hard levels are introduced gradually as players progress.

The game goes from easy to hard and back again, almost in rhythm, so that the interest is maintained without the monotony. The hard levels provide an emotional high when accomplished, while the easier ones allow the player to take a breather and rebuild confidence. On higher difficulty levels, the challenge is even greater with multiple tasks to be performed in each level, with added obstacles like locked tiles or restricted moves. These elements demand greater strategy and focus, resulting in heightened player involvement during gameplay.

Moreover, special "King's Nightmare" levels introduce new mechanics and serve as milestones that test the player's skills and keep the excitement high. The ability to skip these stages gives players more flexibility and further enhances satisfaction and trust in the game.

By smoothly mixing these elements, the game appeals to a wide audience and keeps them coming back for more.

Non-standard approach to monetization

Unlike many of its competitors, Royal Match takes a player-friendly approach to monetization. The game avoids intrusive ads and doesn’t force players to make purchases to progress.
Here are the key points:

Balanced Monetization System: In Royal Match, in-game purchases are more like optional tools rather than a necessity. Players can buy extra moves or resources when stuck on a level, but they never feel pressured to do so regularly.

Generosity First: The game provides plenty of boosters, rewards, and in-game currency through chests, events, and tournaments. This ensures players rarely feel the need to make purchases, and when they do, it’s viewed positively due to the game’s initial generosity.

One Step to Victory: When players fail levels, they can often see exactly what move or moves would lead to victory if they buy more. That not only creates a signal for high winning chances inside the brain but also triggers similar dopamine release as winning, rising the arousal and pushing players to act — buy more moves. Actually, the value and the enjoyment of wining after such a close loss is much higher.

Limited-Time Events: Special time-limited events motivate experienced players to complete them before they expire. These events can be challenging, prompting players to purchase additional boosters, lives, in-game currency, or bundled special offers to avoid losing progress.

No Early Purchase Offers: New players are not bombarded by purchase prompts. This helps build trust and avoid frustration with the game. The game grooms the experience positively until spending options are introduced to the user.

Streaks and Leadership: Win streaks and leaderboards maintain intrinsic motivation. Players can keep their winning streaks running and move up the charts, so optional purchases appear rewarding but are not mandatory.

This approach builds a positive relationship between players and monetization, ensuring long-term loyalty.

Match-3 but not only

Beyond core gameplay, Royal Match keeps players busy with its castle-building meta-game. For new players, it is easy and satisfying to follow progress by decorating the castle. For experienced players, events and tournaments connected to the meta-game give them an opportunity to get exclusive rewards and add depth to the experience.

However, our research also highlighted areas for improvement and uncovered potential issues. Explore the full study for all the details!

Lessons for Game Developers

The story of Royal Match has some important lessons for game developers. First and foremost, it is a tale of respect for players' time and money. By avoiding ads and heavy-handed monetization, the game has built up a level of trust that many competitors lack.

Additionally, balancing relaxation with challenge is key to sustaining engagement. The game’s ability to cater to different player motivations ensures broad appeal and long-term success. Finally, delivering on promises — whether through gameplay features or advertising — creates a loyal and satisfied audience. 

If you’re looking to learn more, the full Sensemitter report offers a deep dive into the secrets behind Royal Match’s success.

Want to learn more about how Sensemitter can improve your game? Contact us via this link.