Gameloft acquires 10% more new users with Google Play Asset Delivery
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Background
In 2000,
Gameloft was
created with a passion for games and a desire to bring them to players around
the world. They were an early pioneer developing for mobile and now have a
portfolio of over 190 games. Many of Gameloft's mobile games are
graphically-intense and have a large download size. This made them a compelling
partner in the early development of Google Play Asset Delivery (PAD), a set of
delivery features for games services that build on our App Bundle
infrastructure. PAD provides free, dynamic delivery of the right game assets to
the right devices at the right time. This intrigued Gameloft as they set out to
switch from the traditional APK + OBB system, reducing CDN costs, and improving
the overall user experience for their players.
What they did
The integration process was relatively straightforward. Moving to the app bundle
format made for an easy change from Google Expansion files to Install-Time.
Implementing the Fast-Follow and On-Demand systems was also simple since they
are similar to Gameloft's existing DLC systems and contain everything needed for
replacement, including fast download speeds, download progress info, and
download state. "Since the heavy lifting was already handled by the PAD SDK, it
was just a matter of replacing a few calls and letting PAD do the rest," said
Maximiliano Rodriguez, Platforms Operations Director at Gameloft.
Once moved to the Android App Bundle, Gameloft integrated PAD's three delivery
modes:
Install-Time—in Asphalt Xtreme, originally released using the Google
Expansion Files (OBBs).
Fast-Follow—in Asphalt 8, originally released using an in-house
asset-delivery system for secondary downloads.
On-Demand—in Minion Rush: Despicable Me, originally released using an
in-house asset-delivery system for downloading additional assets as users
progress through levels in the game.
Asphalt 8
Results
Gameloft saw a reduction in CDN costs for both Asphalt 8 & Minion Rush. With
Fast-Follow delivery, they have had a significant increase in the number of
users who completed the secondary download to start playing the game. This also
resulted in better user retention, with 10% more new players compared to their
previous CDN asset delivery system.
With the promising early results and seamless implementation process, Gameloft
plans to use PAD in more of their upcoming releases. They plan to lower their
game's footprint on devices and provide an overall better experience by dropping
the old APK + OBB system in place of using the app bundle format and PAD's
Install-Time feature. At the same time, they are investigating the switch to
On-Demand for additional games that use their proprietary asset-delivery system,
as well as combining Play Asset Delivery delivery modes in the same game. For
example, the initial asset download in a game could be through Fast-Follow, then
the in-game asset downloads could be through On-Demand. They suggest splitting
data into three categories:
The data that your app needs to run the first time.
The data that your app can live without for the beginning, but will need
after a few minutes of usage.
Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2020-06-01 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2020-06-01 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Gameloft acquires 10% more new users with Google Play Asset Delivery\n\nBackground\n----------\n\nIn 2000,\n[Gameloft](https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=4826827787946964969) was\ncreated with a passion for games and a desire to bring them to players around\nthe world. They were an early pioneer developing for mobile and now have a\nportfolio of over 190 games. Many of Gameloft's mobile games are\ngraphically-intense and have a large download size. This made them a compelling\npartner in the early development of Google Play Asset Delivery (PAD), a set of\ndelivery features for games services that build on our App Bundle\ninfrastructure. PAD provides free, dynamic delivery of the right game assets to\nthe right devices at the right time. This intrigued Gameloft as they set out to\nswitch from the traditional APK + OBB system, reducing CDN costs, and improving\nthe overall user experience for their players.\n\nWhat they did\n-------------\n\nThe integration process was relatively straightforward. Moving to the app bundle\nformat made for an easy change from Google Expansion files to Install-Time.\nImplementing the Fast-Follow and On-Demand systems was also simple since they\nare similar to Gameloft's existing DLC systems and contain everything needed for\nreplacement, including fast download speeds, download progress info, and\ndownload state. \"Since the heavy lifting was already handled by the PAD SDK, it\nwas just a matter of replacing a few calls and letting PAD do the rest,\" said\nMaximiliano Rodriguez, Platforms Operations Director at Gameloft.\n\nOnce moved to the Android App Bundle, Gameloft integrated PAD's three delivery\nmodes:\n\n- **Install-Time** ---in *Asphalt Xtreme*, originally released using the Google Expansion Files (OBBs).\n- **Fast-Follow** ---in *Asphalt 8*, originally released using an in-house asset-delivery system for secondary downloads.\n- **On-Demand** ---in *Minion Rush: Despicable Me*, originally released using an in-house asset-delivery system for downloading additional assets as users progress through levels in the game.\n\n**Asphalt 8**\n\nResults\n-------\n\nGameloft saw a reduction in CDN costs for both *Asphalt 8* \\& *Minion Rush*. With\nFast-Follow delivery, they have had a significant increase in the number of\nusers who completed the secondary download to start playing the game. This also\nresulted in better user retention, with 10% more new players compared to their\nprevious CDN asset delivery system.\n\nWith the promising early results and seamless implementation process, Gameloft\nplans to use PAD in more of their upcoming releases. They plan to lower their\ngame's footprint on devices and provide an overall better experience by dropping\nthe old APK + OBB system in place of using the app bundle format and PAD's\nInstall-Time feature. At the same time, they are investigating the switch to\nOn-Demand for additional games that use their proprietary asset-delivery system,\nas well as combining Play Asset Delivery delivery modes in the same game. For\nexample, the initial asset download in a game could be through Fast-Follow, then\nthe in-game asset downloads could be through On-Demand. They suggest splitting\ndata into three categories:\n\n- The data that your app needs to run the first time.\n- The data that your app can live without for the beginning, but will need after a few minutes of usage.\n- The optional data that only some users will need.\n\nGet started\n-----------\n\nGet started today by learning more about\n[Play Asset Delivery](/guide/app-bundle/asset-delivery) and discover how\nGameloft approaches building for larger screens in the\n[Apps, Games, \\& Insights podcast](http://appsgamesinsights.googledevelopers.libsynpro.com/building-for-larger-screens-and-better-game-experiences-episode-7)."]]
