4X is a real-time multiplayer strategy game in which players explore, grow, exploit, and destroy their opponents — thus the name. While the genre name was inspired by PC games, the games on mobile are considerably different. For resources and digital real estate, players compete against one another.

They may, however, work together to form alliances and improve their reputation among the thousands of players on a server.

The Google Play developer growth counseling team has released a new whitepaper called the 4x strategy genre report. Its goal is to help mobile game creators by giving KPI standards against which they can compare their game’s performance. 

As well as player behavior studies, engagement and retention trends, and best practices for features and mechanics found in 4x strategy games.

On Google Play, the “4x Strategy” subgenre of mobile gaming is one of the most monetized game genres. Due to the tough learning curve and a vast range of play styles among audience segments, it also has one of the highest churn rates. Other titles for this game include massively multiplayer online (MMO) strategy, simulated life game, and empire builder.

Genre Overview – 4x Strategy:

The primary goal of a 4x strategy is to take control of digital real estate on the server and, in most cases, to defend against other players in player against player (PvP) battles.

It takes its name from the PC genre (exploring the territory, expanding bases of operations, extracting resources, and exterminating the competition), but the similarities end there because the games on mobile are radically different.

During the early days of free-to-play mobile games, the genre surged in popularity, and it is now one of the most monetized game genres in the business. It also has the highest rate of churn of any genre. When this duality is considered in context, 4x strategy creators have a good chance of succeeding.

These games, in comparison to other genres, demand a greater commitment of time and money due to the basic competitive mechanisms that generate zero-sum results. When combined with the possibility of losing resources or progress after a game session, the genre might feel punishing to players who aren’t used to 4x expectations.

Due to the anticipated degree of knowledge of 4x strategy genre players, the learning curve for new users has historically been steep.

When compared to other genres, this friction might lead to a lower retention rate for the 4x strategy, leading to the erroneous impression that the 4x strategy genre is difficult to get into. Understanding the link between 4x strategy players’ increased monetization potential and their higher risk of early churn is critical to developer success in this sector.

The growth of the 4x strategy genre has resulted in significant KPI trends, which we detail in the ‘insights and recommendations’ section below: retention, engagement, and monetization metrics (weighted averages) have all grown for the top 4x strategy titles.

Our premise is that game performance in these areas improves as developers add functionality to enable additional player types.

The Importance of Hybridization:

In recent titles like Star Trek, the 4X genre is developing, with hybridization from RPG and story-oriented games. Many games in the genre today are not solely motivated by extermination, as was the case in the genre’s early days. Player vs. Environment (PvE) content is now at a healthy level, resulting in improved short and long-term retention.

RPG and narrative hybridization are accomplished early in the game’s player journey for Star TrekTM Fleet Command. After installing the game, gamers are greeted by Scotty and Kirk, as well as other characters from the Next Generation Universe, giving them a sense of familiarity.

It immerses them in the universe and is crucial for early user retention because it gives players the impression that this is the Star Trek game they want to play and the universe they want to stay in.

Genre Affinity: Strategy Player Behavior:

Players of 4x strategy games are believed to be pickier or specialized than those of other genres. To understand why it’s essential to look at genre distinctions at a higher level to put player behavior in context.

Let’s start by comparing strategy player behavior to the role-playing game (RPG) and massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) player behavior, as 4x strategy is part of the general strategy genre. Along with genre affinity, the number of unique genres played and the number of unique games played are two measures that provide information.

Only strategy games are played by 35% of core strategy gamers. This indicates that core strategy gamers are more likely than core players of other genres to stick to their favorite genre (see chart to compare this with core RPG players, 19 percent of whom play only RPG games, and core MMO-RPG players, 21 percent of whom play only MMORPG games).

When it comes to the number of individual games played by core strategy gamers, however, 80% of core strategy players only play one strategy game each month. As a result of this commitment, core strategy gamers are unlikely to abandon their present favorite game in order to try out new ones.

All game creators, regardless of genre, should try to make their games entertaining and sticky enough to keep new players coming back. Given the behavior of core strategy players and the overwhelming chance that those players would want to stay in a single game, it is even more important for strategy game creators to create games that stand out and focus more on engagement and retention among their peers.

The Effect of Lockdown:

As a result of the shutdown, several game developers have reported large increases in player numbers and increased playtime. For the 4X genre, the modifications have been less significant. Retention was somewhat higher in Star TrekTM Fleet Command, but the biggest improvement was in engagement hours per day, which increased from April to June.

Material for 4X games must have a long-term goal, but creators must adjust content to real-world events. When a region is affected by an earthquake or a rainstorm, for example, Scopely sends out additional peace shields to players in the affected areas so they may shield up and know they’re secure in the game while dealing with real life.